Stanley's Christmas Market

December is one my my favourite times of the year. The holiday mood is in full swing and there are festive decorations everywhere.

This year, our first Christmas event was at Stanley's Christmas Market. Although there were a number of shops selling crafts and toys, the Christmas vibe just wasn't quite in the air. Maybe it was the lack of carolers or shops selling Christmas-y decorations. Somehow the market had more of an arts and crafts theme than Christmas.

But I tried mulled wine for the first time and thought it was pretty tasty. It was nice to have a warm drink in the cool evening, and its cinnamon fragrant made it quite different from any other wines I've had before.

The Christmas Market at Stanley (Photo: Chark)

I've always thought Stanley was a great weekend getaway, even without the Christmas Market. There's a real island/vacation vibe about the place. After walking around the market we grabbed dinner along the Waterfront Promenade. We stopped off at the Buddah cafe and that and the cafe next door were owned by a husband-wife team. The husband is a funny, cheerful guy who made a great host. The wife was in the kitchen, serving up yummy snacks and desserts. CharK and I ordered chicken satay skewers, lobster siu mai, and mango/dragonfruit/watermelon coconut dessert.

After another walk around the Stanley harbour, taking in the beautiful night scenery, we stopped off at a Belgian Bar in the Stanley Market.

Christmas lights along the Waterfront (Photo: CharK)

The Belgian Bar was the real highlight of the night. I tried a fruity beer called Delirium Tremens, it's a cherry flavored beer with hints of grapefruit. I liked it, even more than another Belgian beer I use to drink in Toronto, Fruli Strawberry Beer. This bar was a very small shop in the corner of the market, but the staff made it a great atmosphere.. There was a friendly host who was very skilled at drawing in the crowd to try their beers. As it got later in the evening, The Belgian owner got into a funny singing competition with a French customer. The French guy was giving an impromptu lesson on singing from the belly versus the throat. It was a really funny scene.

A fun night in Stanley (Photo: CathC)

December's off the a great start. It'll be a great way to end the year with a few more weekend get-aways like this.