Holiday Market Season Is Here. A Guide to Shopping New York's Small Makers, and Getting a Table Yourself

NEW YORK — For a lot of the city’s small makers, the next eight weeks can make the year. New York’s holiday markets are opening one by one, and many of them are designed to put local businesses in front of shoppers who want gifts with a story behind them.

Here’s a guide for both sides of the counter: where to shop, and where founders can still get in.

Already Open: Bryant Park

The Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park opened Oct. 28. Time Out New York reports more than 180 new and returning kiosks this year, with the holiday shops open through Jan. 3 and the free-admission rink running through Feb. 28, 2027. Shop hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends, according to Time Out.

For founders, the notable feature is Bank of America’s New York City Small Business Spotlight. According to market operator Urbanspace, the program returns for the 2026–2027 season, and it is open to businesses based in and operated out of the five boroughs with annual revenue of $1 million or less. Food products in the Spotlight booth must be shelf stable, since there is no on-site preparation. Urbanspace’s page invites interested businesses to sign up for details, so check it directly for the current application status.

Coming Nov. 9 to 12: Grand Central and Union Square

The Grand Central Holiday Fair in Vanderbilt Hall runs Nov. 9 through Dec. 24, with 35 food and craft vendors, many of them made in New York State, Time Out reports. It closes on Thanksgiving.

The Union Square Holiday Market, which Urbanspace says hosts 185 vendors and was named best holiday market in America in 2023, opens Nov. 12 and runs through Dec. 24. New this year is a partnership with Made in NYC, the local manufacturing network, which is giving six city businesses a one-week residency each in its booth. The lineup it has announced:

• Silly Sketched Pets, Nov. 12–18: hand-drawn stationery, art and live pet portraits.
• Kettle & Kame Clay Studio, Nov. 19–25: handmade pottery and ceramic jewelry inspired by New York and nature.
• Rose’s Pineapple Shorts, Nov. 27–Dec. 3: handmade Taiwanese-American pineapple pastries.
• SloGlo, Dec. 4–10: small-batch shower steamers, soaps and bath goods.
• The Printing Block, Dec. 11–17: block-printed apparel celebrating Black life, cultural icons and creativity.

A sixth residency, a Risograph stationery and home goods line, closes out the run. Made in NYC lists the market’s hours as 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays, closed Thanksgiving. Hours can change through the season, so confirm before you go.

December: Herald Square, Columbus Circle and Brooklyn

Several more markets arrive after Thanksgiving, according to Time Out’s guide:

• Macy’s Holiday Square by Urbanspace returns to Broadway between 32nd and 36th Streets, with most attractions opening Nov. 12 and the market itself running Dec. 3 through Jan. 2. Urbanspace says this year’s Herald Square market will be twice the size and double the length of last year’s.
• Urbanspace Columbus Circle Holiday Market runs Dec. 1–31 with an all-new layout after 20 years.
• FAD Market, a curated fashion, art and design pop-up, comes to Empire Stores in Dumbo daily from Nov. 30 to Dec. 20, and to St. Paul’s in Cobble Hill on December weekends.
• Brooklyn Flea holds holiday weekends in the Dumbo Archway through Dec. 21.
• The Grand Holiday Bazaar on the Upper West Side, which Time Out says gives all of its profits to four neighborhood public schools, runs Dec. 12, 13, 19 and 20.

For Makers: A Free Table in the Bronx

If you sell handmade goods and haven’t locked in a holiday market, one open call stands out. The Bronx Museum is seeking local vendors, artisans, makers and small business owners for its First Friday: Winter Holiday Market on Friday, Dec. 4. The application is free, there is no vendor fee, and the museum provides tables and chairs. Vendors bring their own table coverings and decorations.

The deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 11:59 p.m. ET, and vendors must be 18 or older. Set-up runs 4 to 5:30 p.m., and the museum says it cannot accommodate late arrivals, so don’t apply if you can’t make that window. The public event runs 6 to 9 p.m. with free admission.

How to Make the Most of a Market Spot

A one-week residency or a single evening table is short, so preparation matters more than the booth itself:

• Bring a way back to you. Cards, a QR code to your online shop and an email sign-up turn one sale into repeat customers in January.
• Price for gifting. Have something at an easy gift price alongside your signature pieces.
• Take card payments and plan for weather. Outdoor markets mean cold hands and long hours, so test your card reader and lighting before day one.
• Track what sells. A week at Union Square or a night in the Bronx is real market research. Note which products move and which questions shoppers ask.

Before You Go

Whether you’re shopping or selling, check each market’s official site for final dates and hours. Buying from the people who make things here is the simplest way to support New York’s small businesses this season.