A Guide to Bryant Park’s Winter Village

By Stella McFarland

From hot cocoa to ice skating to handmade gifts, Bryant Park’s Winter Village has something for everyone this holiday season. 

Bryant Park’s Winter Village Holiday Market runs from Oct. 27, 2023, to Jan. 2, 2024. The holiday shops are open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

This event is completely free to the public and perfect for students to enjoy the holiday spirit as finals are approaching. Just a short walk from Grand Central station, the Winter Village is a perfect getaway for Fordham students. Stroll around over 180 holiday shops and grab a bite to eat with choices from around the world. The Winter Village also offers bumper cars on ice, a cozy igloo and a curling cafe and bar reservations for those with a larger budget. 

Get all of your holiday shopping done in one place — with a large variety of holiday shops ranging from affordable to luxury, you are bound to find the perfect gift for everyone in your life. For the food lover, make your way over to Hell’s Kitchen Hot Sauce, Truffle Lane Bryant Park and Dorset Maple Reserve. Cantina Royal Hot Sauce offers a free hot sauce sampling with hot sauces featured on Hot Ones and, for a fun gift, grab the $25 hot sauce sampler which includes five mini specialty hot sauces. 

For someone special in your life, there are quite a few jewelry kiosks. Davin & Kesler offers handmade, one-of-a-kind wooden jewelry, among other wooden gifts. Husband and wife, Tom and Mary, work together in Rhode Island to create these perfectly designed, intricate pieces. Doviana sells affordable luxury jewelry and piercings, and you can also get matching permanent jewelry with your best friend at the Friction Jewelry kiosk. 

One of my personal favorite kiosks is Herbs Fit Life. The kiosk features all-natural products ranging from candles to facial serums to their best-seller Muscle and Joint Pain Relieving and Anti Inflammatory Herbal Balm. The owner of the company is from the Cherokee Tribe, and she actually harvests and creates all of the products herself. 

Whether you are looking for something savory or sweet, you will definitely find what you are looking for at the Winter Village. Taste the world through cuisine from Singapore to Latin America. Destination Dumplings sells handmade dumplings, Toastieland sells decadent grilled cheeses, Lemak Malaysian Kitchen sells satay bowls, Cheese Wheel Pasta cooks fettuccine alfredo in a cheese wheel in front of you and Casa Toscana sells delicious oven-hot Tuscan sandwiches. There are even gluten-free options offered at Palenque Empanadas, including traditional arepas and empanadas. 

Bryant Park’s Winter Village offers the most decadent desserts, and a few vendors even give out free samples. There is so much to try, including a variety of hot chocolate places selling everything, even cupcake hot chocolate, lavender hot chocolate, oreo hot chocolate and the list goes on. No Chewing Allowed sells chocolate truffles that melt in your mouth and their famous rich hot chocolate. Loca Madres starts every order with six locos — hot, fresh donut holes with endless toppings, from ruby pink chocolate to fresh strawberries and even a scoop of ice cream. Just take a leisurely stroll around the Winter Village to find warm apple cider donuts, edible cookie dough, babka, macaroons and so much more. 

Bank of America, partner of Bryant Park, has a marketplace by Seneca Women, highlighting four companies at different dates during the time Winter Village is open. Seneca Women is a global leadership community dedicated to amplifying women’s voices, supporting women creators and advancing women in the economy and all around the world. There is also an option to shop online from the 200 businesses in the Bank of America Marketplace by Seneca Women if you are unable to make it to the holiday market. While I was visiting the kiosk, Sequence Collection was being featured. Sequence Collection sells unique handcrafted artisanal products, including bags and bracelets. Their mission is to disrupt the cycle of violence that limits at-risk youth by offering programs that lead to personal and professional development and creating cool handcrafted products to generate youth employment opportunities. 

This year’s Small Business Spotlight highlighted women and minority business owners. Each business showcases its products for two weeks at a time, allowing four different small businesses access to a kiosk at the park for free. HappiHello, an Asian American and Pacific-Islander-owned handmade stationary company, was featured during my visit.

Take a break from the stress of finals to enjoy some holiday cheer while supporting small businesses.