The Heart of Gold Coast: Finding Community at the Christmas Markets 🎄✨

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Experience the true spirit of a Gold Coast Christmas! ☀️ Check out the first-ever Christmas Markets GC held at the beautiful McIntosh Island Park in Main Beach. 🏝️  After 11 years at the Broadwater Parklands, this iconic local tradition moved to a new home for its 12th anniversary. I’m taking you behind the scenes to see how this festive village comes to life—from the early morning tent setups to the magical twilight hours.  In this video:  The Setup: Watch the park transform as local artisans prepare their stalls.  Community Connection: Interviews with stallholders about what Christmas means to them.  The Market Experience: Finding cute gifts for my children, enjoying a delicious Christmas cupcake, and catching up with friends.  Meeting Santa: A special visit with Santa in the heart of the park! 🎅  This is a celebration of local artisans, small businesses, and the wonderful community that makes the Gold Coast so special. 🤝💛  If you enjoyed this look at the Gold Coast, please follow the channel for more local adventures!

Transcript

00:00If someone stops believing in the church, how can they get to Christmas back?

00:04Yeah, I'll be back.

00:05Thank you for the Christmas.

00:08Stop giving.

00:10Certainly, when you give, it makes you feel the same.

00:20Behind every great Christmas market is a massive community effort.

00:24All through the day, the Gold Coast's best makers and creators have been busy transforming this space.

00:30Unboxing the magic and getting the finishing touches just right.

00:33And now, the sun is down, the lights are on and the gates are open.

00:38Hi guys, today we're here to show you this year's Gold Coast Christmas markets.

00:44Now, unlike those frosty European events, our markets embrace the Aussie summer.

00:50They're usually held at twilight or at night, so we get to shop under the stars.

00:56And the biggest one, the Christmas markets GC, has actually been a fantastic tradition here for over a decade.

01:05And it's a huge event for our community.

01:08We're talking hundreds of local artisanal vendors and food sellers,

01:13making it a fantastic place to come and grab those last-minute unique gifts.

01:19So you make all these yourself?

01:22Yeah, I make them all myself.

01:23How long does it take to make something?

01:25Um, certain things only take me an hour or so, and then big things like these take me 16 hours.

01:32The mushroom is fantastic.

01:34That is really cute.

01:36Where did you learn to crochet?

01:38I self-taught.

01:39Oh, yeah.

01:40What?

01:41Yeah, I homeschooled and mum told us we had to learn a skill, so I picked crochet.

01:45So I've been doing it for about four years.

01:47How do you think we celebrate Christmas in a hot environment?

01:51You know how it's usually the traditional cold?

01:53Yeah, yeah.

01:54I think it's really spending time with family, and even in the hot, going out to the beach.

01:58You know, that's what I've always done, going to the beach, you know.

02:01And sometimes the Christmas will very feed the homeless, you know.

02:04Stuff like that.

02:05Savory options along this street.

02:07Brazilian barbecue.

02:09Wagyu Blacks.

02:11Tokyo Long Potatoes.

02:13And there's barbecues here, actually.

02:15People are having barbecues too, so you can come down, have a barbecue.

02:20Like, that's the good thing about having the Christmas markets at McIntosh Island Park,

02:25because all the normal facilities that are here at the pub are still here.

02:29Like, they do have rides here set up for the kids, like a bouncing castle and another ride down that end.

02:35But down that end, they've got the normal playground that McIntosh Island Park has,

02:41like the slides and the swings.

02:42So kids can play on those.

02:44So it's just got everything.

02:46Have you got a dog yourself?

02:48I have two.

02:49You have two.

02:50I thought you would have to have a dog yourself.

02:51Definitely a dog lover.

02:52And what sort of dog would you have?

02:54I have a multi-shih tzu called Gella, and she's just turned 12.

02:58And I have a long-haired chihuahua cross-cavion.

03:02And her name's Lola, and she's just turned 16.

03:04And what do you do for your dog then for Christmas?

03:08They've got one of these for Christmas.

03:10Oh, how cute.

03:11So, yeah, because they've tasted everything else, but not this one.

03:15Everything I drop on the floor, they get.

03:18And I don't these ones because they're in a little container.

03:22And they're turkey and cranberry, so that's a bit special for Christmas.

03:26So, nice.

03:26Hi.

03:27Hi.

03:28Hi.

03:28I'm going to get a photo.

03:37Thank you so much.

03:40I really want to take a photo.

03:54It's so beautiful wandering around here because obviously there's Christmas music playing and

04:05it's just the most beautiful vibe, absolutely beautiful.

04:24What's passionate about music for you?

04:41The way it makes you feel and it brings joy or sadness or any, it brings up any heat that

04:47people are feeling. It can take you away from whatever's going on in your life that you

04:55don't like or it can bring up something really happy and nice and it's just a really nice

05:01opening for everyone that can enjoy it.

05:05Probably the best thing I love about markets is just the unique things that you find that

05:10are handmade or sourced from different places that you wouldn't normally find in the shops

05:16and it's similar to the markets that we have, the community markets that we have up at

05:20the Esplanade. But yeah, it's just lovely and there's the scents of different like, you know,

05:26soaps, incense, just food as well. You can just sort of really absorb all the...

05:33The whole atmosphere here is just beautiful and it's all about community and now obviously

05:39this one's all about celebrating Christmas.

05:41See, this is what I mean about the special things that you can find at markets.

05:45They're just so, they're so unique, you know.

05:49Yeah, these are absolutely beautiful.

05:52They've got the Boo Boo Dolls here as well.

06:00The Boo Boo Dolls have gotten everywhere. They've even come to the Gold Coast Christmas markets.

06:19markets. The boo-boo dolls have just taken over the world people. I can't believe they're

06:27even here.

06:36If you could bottle one Christmas feeling from your childhood that you could give to customers

06:44today, what would it be? Receiving something that means a lot to you and that you can carry

06:53in your heart and throughout your childhood. Me in particular, because I always wanted to

06:58be a mum and I ended up being a family day care mum for 16 years so I helped raise a lot

07:02of children. I had the new baby alive that you used to feed and the mouth would go open

07:10and you'd have to change the nappy and the little pram and it had a special smell and that's

07:16my childhood memory.

07:22You don't have a Spiderman do you?

07:24No.

07:25Do you like Spiderman?

07:26Oh yeah, look, this one.

07:27I have one, the red Spiderman and the black Spiderman. That's actually one of the best

07:34salads in Britain.

07:36My little boy loves Spiderman. Okay, so this is fair.

07:40Are you ready?

07:41Alright, yeah.

07:42And we have a promotion. There's $6.

07:43Oh yeah.

07:44Or $2 for $10.

07:45Oh, well, I will get $2 then. That's awesome. That's, okay, so, it's got a little Spiderman

07:52dispenser.

07:53And what can I get?

07:54And what's this?

07:55I want to have one.

07:56What is that? Oh!

07:57So yeah, over there we have more like Hello Kitty and Hello Kitty friends and Barbie and...

08:02Yeah.

08:03Well, I might bring this. I think it's good.

08:07Alright, well, I'll just leave.

08:09You want me to put it in the back here?

08:10Oh, I would love that. Thank you.

08:14These are so beautiful.

08:17See, these are like, these are the things that you come to market to find.

08:22Just these handmade special things. Absolutely gorgeous.

08:28Think about all time, it's a swell time.

08:33I love the little parts. They're beautiful.

08:50Yes, I'll do these classes. I'll be about four a year, which I do donate to the Runaway Bay View Club.

09:00That is really beautiful.

09:02And do you know what View Club stands for?

09:04View.

09:05View.

09:06V-I-E-W.

09:07It stands for Voice, Interest and Education for Women.

09:11Oh, wow.

09:12And there's many View Clubs around Australia and in each suburb.

09:16They're in most cities.

09:18And we have a lot of fun.

09:21But we also raise money for the pet family.

09:24And our View Club, the Runaway Bay one, we support 16 Learning for Life students.

09:30And we raise, like we have to raise $300 a year for each.

09:34Wow.

09:35Really?

09:36And then $1,000 per inch hot school students.

09:39Wow.

09:40That is really awesome.

09:42That's really beautiful and inspiring.

09:45Yeah, good view.

09:47So another awesome thing about coming to local markets is you run into your friends.

09:52It's so good to run into you.

09:54Like it's fun.

09:55You really do.

09:56You run into a lot of people that, you know, when you come down to obviously local events,

10:01which is the strength of local events and yeah.

10:05It's about between Christmas and Christmas.

10:10The Brazilian barbecue smells are really good.

10:16And Wagyu Blacks.

10:19That looks pretty good too.

10:21The food, it sort of goes around in a circle.

10:26And they put out heaps of benches so families can come here and really have dinner here.

10:32And just enjoy the Christmas music, enjoy shopping, enjoy the entertainment.

10:37Just enjoy the vibe of being here.

10:40So, you know, obviously it's a market but it's just the best family friendly event that you can have as well.

10:47Just to come and chill out here.

10:49Do you like fruity flavors?

10:53Oh, I do like fruity flavors.

10:55Actually, my husband loves fruity flavors.

10:57I do not like fruity flavors.

10:58I do not like fruity flavors.

10:59I do not like fruity flavors.

11:00I do not like fruity flavors.

11:08Oh, isn't that beautiful.

11:10So we found a little bench here away from the main crowd.

11:14And that's what I was saying before about McIntosh Island Park.

11:17How fantastic it is that they've got the Christmas markets here.

11:21Because, look, you can always find, you know, it's large enough to find spots.

11:26Yeah.

11:27Yeah.

11:28Have you been...

11:29There's plenty of room for everybody.

11:30There is plenty of room for everybody.

11:31That's it.

11:32That's it.

11:33That's it.

11:34That's it.

11:35That's it.

11:36That's it.

11:37That's it.

11:38That's it.

11:39That's it.

11:40That's it.

11:41Yeah, she showed her with the green.

11:42I really like it.

11:43And this is the Christmas one.

11:44This is one you said it was the best.

11:45I think this is great.

11:46It does look great.

11:47Yum.

11:48Sorry, I don't understand.

11:49Oh, that is good.

11:50Oh, you really are.

11:51Oh, wow.

11:52Oh, wow.

11:53Oh, wow.

11:54Oh, wow.

11:55Oh, wow.

11:56Oh, wow.

11:57Oh, wow.

11:58Oh, wow.

11:59Oh, wow.

12:00Oh, wow.

12:01Oh, wow.

12:03Oh, wow.

12:04Oh, wow.

12:05Oh, wow.

12:06Oh, wow.

12:07Oh, wow.

12:08Oh, wow.

12:09Oh, wow.

12:10Oh, wow.

12:11Oh, wow.

12:12Oh, wow.

12:13Oh, wow.

12:14Oh, wow.

12:15Oh, wow.

12:16Oh, wow.

12:17Oh, wow.

12:18Oh, wow.

12:19Oh, wow.

12:20Oh, wow.

12:21Oh, wow.

12:22Well, I'm happy.

12:23I've got two special little gifts in my bag and these delicious treats for my family to

12:29take home to them.

12:30And look, as usual, the Gold Coast Christmas markets, they just don't disappoint.

12:34They're just such a beautiful place to come.

12:37And the same with Christmas markets all over the world.

12:40There's something special and magical about them.

12:43And also, there's something obviously special and magical about Christmas.

12:47It's that time of year when, like Santa said, it's the giving that makes it really special.

12:53And it's the connecting with our family and with our friends and just enjoying that special

12:58time together as well as connecting with your community too, which is what makes Christmas

13:05markets and the Gold Coast Christmas markets so special.

13:08It's so special.

13:09It's that community feel and connecting with the people in your community.

13:13So Merry Christmas everybody and we will see you and I'm going to bring these beautiful

13:18treats home tonight.

13:20the children.

13:21I love the thing.

13:22They're just wonderful.

13:23And the amount of children is still there.

13:25If not in Santa, they'd be Christmas.

13:26Because if they still believe in Christmas, then Christmas will exist.

13:28If not in Santa, they'd be Christmas.

13:29Because if they still believe in Christmas, then Christmas will exist.

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