Christkindlmarket Chicago Has Begun Setting Up

Whether you want it to happen or not, it seems holiday celebrations begin for many on November 1st every year. Once Halloween passes, people — myself included, admittedly — jump into Christmas mode until Thanksgiving day, then right back into Christmas afterward.

But for Chicago, one of the biggest events of the holiday season began setting up well before Halloween.

Christkindlmarket is a staple of the city. There are different variations of it elsewhere, including in the Quad Cities, but the Chicago one seems to be the biggest and best (and most crowded).

The market doesn't officially open until November 15th, but setup began on October 25th. It may sound weirdly early, but it's actually been this way for a few years now. Daley Plaza is cordoned off, and construction on the buildings begins.

Here's what it looked like, after just three days:

My main question now is just...where do they store the market when it's in the off season?