Christmas Market Mugs—this is a 2021 addition to our Christmas celebration. At the Brussels Christmas Market in 2019 BC, we got used to paying four euros for a cup of gluhwein, then turning in your cup to get the one euro deposit back. I heard people remark on what boring cups they were and how they wouldn’t be adding them to their collection. Collection, what?
My parents’ second day in Belgium we drove to France to get their Covid info uploaded in the EU system so they could get a QR code and go to restaurants and Christmas markets and stuff. In Lille, the deposit was still just one euro, and the mugs were adorable. What an inexpensive souvenir! Fun. We got the QR codes and we took the mugs home. This was the beginning of our own ridiculously delightful Christmas market mug collections.
We did not keep THESE boring mugs. We have standards 
These are the mugs you are looking for 
The kids finished school for the year and we packed up the car for a few days touring German Christmas markets. Here the mug deposits were three euros (and remember the gluhwein is an additional three euros). Still an inexpensive souvenir! And SO CUTE! Look at these little fat bottomed mugs from Aachen. Here you can make a joke about liking your gluhwein like your ladies: hot and fat bottomed! You’re welcome.
The next day we went to Cologne, Germany and market hopped around. The cathedral market mugs were colorful, but we saw people here and there with round elf mugs. Off to the elf market! Here we found our desired elf mugs, and also added blue sail-shapes mugs from the harbor side market. There were more markets, but we were out of time and energy and space to carry mugs.
My friend Jenn had told me about Merode Castle’s Christmas market. The Valkenburg cave markets we wanted to go to in the Netherlands drifted out of reach as the Netherlands closed Christmas markets suddenly because of Covid. This left a castle-shaped hole in our itinerary, so we popped over to Castle Merode for a walk around the moat and of course another round of gluhwein and mugs and a lesson in thermodynamics around the barrel heaters. It was nice to go to a market without trecking across a city. But my goodness, it was COLD that day.
After Christmas, Chris and I popped over to Vienna, Austria. We thought the markets were closed, so imagine our delight to find market stalls all around St. Stephen’s Cathedral! I bought mittens, Chris bought a hand-carved nativity, and we both tried the Viennese fruity gluhwein punch.
We thought this was the end of our mugging this season, so it was completely unexpected to run into a charming boot mug back at the Brussels Christmas market on New Year’s Day near the ice skating rink in De Brockere! These insane mugs were five euros each, which felt a little ridiculous, but it was a boot, so….
These little .21 l mugs are just right for hot chocolate and tea time. Charming and completely ridiculous! Last year, our family was alone and marketless, and I have no idea where we’ll be next year at Christmas, so you know what they say—you gotta mug while the mugging is hot. Or drink while the mug is hot. Or whatever. Boot mug!
WORLD’S BEST PIZZA
Skiing Under Duress
Edinburgh
Wit and Whittier