Vancouver Christmas Market supports local entrepreneurs as spending dips

With Christmas just around the corner, the Vancouver Christmas Market is busier than ever.

Located in the Jack Poole Plaza, the market showcases over 90 vendors, the majority of which are local entrepreneurs.

Long lines scattered around the market are filled with people patiently waiting for specialty items, like the Transylvanian Chimney cake, which is tossed in cinnamon and brown sugar and served hot and fluffy.

“It’s so good,” one customer said.

Rows of booths are filled with hand-crafted gifts, including some for your dog — like the bowties and harnesses at Puccissimé Pet Couture.

“This is an environment for artisans, people bring their own unique products here, and its amazing exposure not only for Vancouver, but for all the tourists that come here. (It’s great) to get your products out there so people can see the quality,” said Ahoo Entesarian, founder of Puccissimé Pet Couture.

The market helps the merchants during a time when consumer spending is down. According to new research from Co. Poll, most Canadians don’t plan to spend excessively this December. Research shows 47 per cent of people do not plan to spend more than $500 on gifts, food and decorations this holiday season.

“We are experiencing that customers are holding back, there’s a bit of uncertainty, they don’t know how things are going to turn out in 2024,” said Jackee Kasandy, owner of Kasandy gift shop.

Benedikt Fleischhacker, marketing manager for the Vancouver Christmas Market, says during the week, the market sees an average of four to six thousand patrons. On weekends, he says that number doubles.

“People come to us to eat or shop for presents, and since everything is handmade or hand-crafted and you can’t find it on Amazon,” Fleischhacker said. “Its very unique to our market.”

Kasandy has a booth at the market. Even though sales have been slow, she says she takes pride in her fair trade products.

“We want to make sure that every artisan we work with is paid fairly. They set the pricing and everything we are doing is the best we can, eco-friendly and ethically sourced.”

Kasandy also creates products that can be used more than once, like candles that can be refilled at her shop.

“You can bring it back many times and when you’re done using it you can turn it into a planter,” she said. “So we make sure that you’re not actually throwing out things.”

The last day for the Vancouver Christmas Market is on Sunday.