🧒 With kids
- Saint Nicholas Market · State Fairgrounds
- Moore Square Winterfaire · Downtown
- International Holiday Market · Downtown
- Handcrafted Holiday Market · State Fairgrounds
- MAKRS Holiday Fest · Downtown
- Jolly Raleigh Holiday Market · Five Points
✨ Date night
- Holiday Market at NCMA · NC Museum of Art
🎉 With friends
- Christmas Carousel Holiday Gift Market · State Fairgrounds
European-style market
IllustrationEuropean-style market · State Fairgrounds
Saint Nicholas Market
A European Christmas market run by the Orthodox community — Eastern European food, crafts and St. Nicholas himself.
🧒 With kids🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- Ukrainian and European food — holubtsi, borscht, halushki, kielbasa
- Mulled wine and cider
- Run by a parish whose priest's family is from Ukraine
Small, warm and delicious — come hungry.
- 2026
- Dec 4 (5–9 pm) & Dec 5 (10 am–5 pm), 2026
- Last season
- Dec 12–13, 2025
- Cost
- Free (donations welcome)
Getting there and parking
- NC State Fairgrounds, off Blue Ridge Rd / Trinity Rd
Worth knowing
- Friday is an evening session (5–9 pm); Saturday runs 10–5
- Come hungry — pierogi, kielbasa and cabbage rolls sell out
Holiday market
IllustrationHoliday market · Downtown
Moore Square Winterfaire
A three-day European-style festival in the downtown square: 70-plus local vendors, mulled wine and beer, a food-truck rodeo, caroling and Santa.
🧒 With kids🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- 70-plus local vendors
- Mulled wine, beer and a food-truck rodeo
- Figgy Pudding caroling and a German band
- Santa, face painting and s'mores
Raleigh's best outdoor Christmas weekend — go Saturday evening.
- 2026
- Dec 11 (5–9 pm), 12 (11 am–9 pm) & 13 (10 am–5 pm), 2026
- Last season
- Dec 11–14, 2025
- Cost
- Free
Worth knowing
- Friday is evening only
IllustrationHoliday market · Downtown
International Holiday Market
Vendors and food from the city's many communities on Fayetteville Street.
🧒 With kids🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- Gifts and food from around the world
- International wine and beer
- Kids' crafts, letters to Santa and carols
A one-day European-style market in the heart of downtown.
- 2026
- Dec 12, 2026, 10 am – 6 pm
- Last season
- December 2025
- Cost
- Free
Getting there and parking
- City Plaza on Fayetteville St; downtown decks
Worth knowing
- One Saturday only, 10 am – 6 pm
- Illustration
Holiday market · State Fairgrounds
Christmas Carousel Holiday Gift Market
Raleigh's Thanksgiving-weekend tradition for 38 years: 250-plus exhibitors of crafts, holiday food, decorations and gifts in a 90,000 sq ft hall.
🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- 250-plus exhibitors
- Crafts, holiday foods, floral and decorations
- A Thanksgiving-weekend tradition for 38 years
The Triangle's big Thanksgiving-weekend shopping show.
- 2026
- Nov 27–29, 2026 (Fri 9–6, Sat 10–6, Sun 11–5)
- Last season
- Nov 28–30, 2025
- Cost
- $12 adults, $10 seniors/military, $5 ages 6–12, 5 and under free
Getting there and parking
- Free parking at the Fairgrounds, accessible spaces near the entrance
Worth knowing
- Single-width strollers only
- Service animals only
- Same-day re-entry with a hand stamp
- Illustration
Holiday market · State Fairgrounds
Handcrafted Holiday Market
Triangle Pop-Up's biggest market: 200-plus local makers the weekend before Christmas, with live music, food trucks and Santa.
🧒 With kids🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- 200-plus local makers
- Live music and food trucks
- Santa
The best last-weekend makers' market — cheap and big.
- 2026
- Dec 19–20, 2026 (Sat 10–5, Sun 10–3)
- Last season
- Dec 20–21, 2025 (Sat 10–5, Sun 10–3)
- Cost
- $5 in advance, $7 at the door; 16 and under free; ticket covers both days
Getting there and parking
- Free parking at the State Fairgrounds
Worth knowing
- Sunday closes at 3 pm
Weekend market
IllustrationWeekend market · Downtown
MAKRS Holiday Fest
Raleigh's largest one-day holiday market: 200-plus vendors along Fayetteville Street, food trucks, beer and wine, music and an inflatable igloo.
🧒 With kids🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- 200-plus local vendors
- Food trucks, beer, wine and bubbly
- Inflatable igloo and street performers
Raleigh's biggest one-day market — arrive before noon.
- 2026
- Nov 28, 2026, 11 am – 6 pm
- Last season
- Dec 6, 2025, 11 am – 6 pm
- Cost
- Free
Worth knowing
- 2026 moves to the Saturday after Thanksgiving
IllustrationWeekend market · Five Points
Jolly Raleigh Holiday Market
A Shop Local Raleigh market of small businesses, with kids' crafts, face painting and Santa photos.
🧒 With kidsWhat's there
- Raleigh small businesses
- Kids' crafts and face painting
- Santa photos
A friendly neighborhood market for families.
- 2026
- Sat Dec 5, 2026, 11 am – 5 pm (at The Exchange Raleigh, 1000 Social St)
- Last season
- Dec 6, 2025, 11 am – 5 pm
- Cost
- Free
Getting there and parking
- The Exchange Raleigh, 1000 Social St (North Hills) — moved here in 2026
Worth knowing
- One Saturday only
- Illustration
Weekend market · NC Museum of Art
Holiday Market at NCMA
Local artists sell in the museum while live music plays on the plaza; the galleries stay open.
✨ Date night🎉 With friendsWhat's there
- Local artists in the museum
- Live music on the plaza
- Galleries open
Combine gift shopping with the museum and park.
- 2026
- Sat Dec 5, 2026, 11 am – 4 pm
- Last season
- Dec 6, 2025, 11 am – 4 pm
- Cost
- Free
Getting there and parking
- NCMA on Blue Ridge Rd, across from the State Fairgrounds; museum lots
Worth knowing
- One Saturday only, 11 am – 4 pm