Craving some mulled wine? Hoping to get ahead on some Christmas shopping?

The Christmas Village in Baltimore will open once again at the Inner Harbor, boasting its largest number of vendors and largest footprint to date.

The authentic German Christmas market, located on Light Street between the Maryland Science Center and the Baltimore Visitor Center, will be open from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve this year. The market, now in its ninth season, will also have a preview weekend on Nov. 19-20.

“The whole idea is to create a festival to bring people together for the holidays,” Christmas Village project manager Nancy Schmalz said. “To give them a place to come together, have a good time, and to create some Christmas memories.”

This year, the village will have more than 55 vendors, both local and international, Schmalz said. They will sell toys, jewelry, artwork and more, according to a news release.

Particularly exciting, Schmalz said, is the return of German vendor Käthe Wohlfahrt, which sells glass ornaments and nutcrackers, as well as other products, that are shipped over from Germany.

Another vendor called Cynful Bliss sells alcohol-infused desserts, she said. Last year, seven desserts were named after the seven deadly sins.

This year, there is a new children’s book vendor, a new cake vendor and some new jewelry booths.

Other attractions include a Ferris wheel, carousel and a 30-foot Christmas pyramid at the center of the village.

Those coming for the food can fill up on potato pancakes, German schnitzel, bacon on a stick, Raclette cheese sandwiches and more, according to the release. The market will also offer drinks, including flavored and mulled wines, as well as a “non-alcoholic German-style spiced hot drink” called kinderpunsch.

On the afternoon of Nov. 26, the traditional German Christkind will make a visit.

The Christkind “is kind of like the face of Christmas for us Germans,” Schmalz said. “My grandmother always calls it the German Christmas superstar.”

Every two years, Schmalz said, the city of Nuremberg — home to one of the oldest Christmas markets in the world — votes for the new Christkind, a girl between the ages of 16 and 19, who officially opens the city’s Christmas market.

For the first time in two years, the Christkind will fly in from Germany and arrive at the market from a boat in the Inner Harbor.

She will speak “the traditional prologue,” Schmalz said. “And with that, our Christmas Village will then be open.”

Local singer-songwriters, bands, choirs and others are scheduled to perform at the village on weekends and some weekdays.

Last year, the market drew around 300,000 visitors, Schmalz said, up from 150,000 in 2019. The village didn’t happen in 2020 due to the pandemic, Schmalz said.

The market will open at 11 a.m. every day of the week. It will close at 7 p.m. from Sunday to Thursday, 8 p.m. on Friday to Saturday, and 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.

Entrance to the market’s outdoor area is free. Its “heated festival tent” is free for the first two weekends, but after that it’s free for kids and $5 for adults.

cadence.quaranta@thebaltimorebanner.com