2013: TOP-10 Christmas stocking stuffers at Bergo

While visiting the Toronto Christmas Market at the Distillery, I stopped by Bergo Designs to see if they had a few fun trinkets I could add to Christmas stockings. It turns out they just expanded last week and have added a new toys section!

Bergo, in the heart of the Distillery, is still filled with beautifully designed expensive things ($300 tabletop fireplace, anyone?), but you will find more gifts under $50 than ever.

Here are the TOP-10 favourite things I found under $20 is this great store (in no particular order). It is followed by information about the cutest useless $24 gift I got at Bergo for my daughter! (Note that the Christmas Market goes on until December 15, 2013.)

Related posts about The Distillery:

TOP-10 hostess gifts at Soma

TOP-10 favourite things at the Christmas Market

Inside Case Goods Warehouse

(1) Cool hostess gift! Little belts to use as drink markers.
The good thing is that they work on all shapes of glasses.

(2) No room for a Christmas tree? No problem. How about an 18-inch inflatable one?

(3) Perfect for cabin fever! A card game with a log pattern on the other side
so you can also build a cool house of cards! They also have card sets to build
a castle, a townhouse or a green house.

(4) This can of soup includes 36 dice with letters on them to play word games
with the whole family. Love it!

(5) Just because.

(6) Bergo carries all kinds of cool molds for cupcakes and muffins. This kit comes with
two molds and two spoons shaped like rabbit ears.

(7) A Christmas stocking is not complete without silly gadgets.

(8) These magnets look so real! The insects are almost 3-cm long.

(9) You can turn any objet into a character with these googly eyes.
The green box includes eyes that will glow in the dark.

(10) This cool bike clip carries the message: I want to ride my bicycle.

I'm so getting this!
I fell in love with an electronic butterfly in a Mason jar sold for $24. It is so whimsical, it puts a smile on anyone's face. 

The butterfly is attached to a thin wire. There's a battery (included) inside the cap. When you tap the cap, it activates the flexible wire and the butterfly starts to move in a very realistic way. Watch this video to see it in action! (It is in the kids' section at Bergo.)

Toronto Christmas Market 2012

I visited the Toronto Christmas Market yesterday and was really pleased to see that there were enough people to have a great ambiance, even on a Monday night. 

There's still time to enjoy the Market. It will be opened Monday to Friday from 12 noon to 9 pm and weekends from 10 am to 9 pm, until Sunday December 16.

For the kids
There's a Santa's Lane, a little outdoor maze of evergreens leading to the Big Guy (bring your camera) and an indoor Elve's station open until 8 pm with some craft activity for the kids (and a large TV screen which was featuring a sports channel when I was there... for the dads?). Note that Santa is in on weekdays from 2 pm to 7:30 pm and on weekends from 10 am to 7:30 pm.

You can check the Event Schedule on their website to see who's performing on their outdoor stage (many performances are presented daily).

There's a small midway offering three different rides ($3 each) and pony rides for $5 (could not get the exact time when they're on site).

Like a Swedish fair
The cute booths spread all around The Distillery give the feeling of a Swedish fair to the whole place. Most of them sell food. Yummy food! Very appealing to any child with a sweet tooth and to anyone with a love for cheese, among other things (there were long line-ups at the Poutine and the Grilled Cheese booths).

Some booths sell Christmas decorations and old-fashion wooden toys. 

Girlfriends outing! 
Considering that I love to shop at Bergo (a great store with an amazing selection of well designed merchandise which also carries many small gift/Christmas stocking options), I'd rather visit the Christmas Market with my girlfriends. We would take our time to visit the other stores (furniture, home decor, jewelry, accessories) and then would stop for a drink by one of the many outdoor fireplaces (Warming Lounges) installed by the restaurants.

Related posts on Christmas fun.