Homemade wonders: Salem Christmas market features locally crafted gifts made for the holiday season
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- Angela Watson, right, and Jenn Beird sell stockings at the Pond Town Christmas Market Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Salem.
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- Homemade items are for sale at the Pond Town Christmas Market Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Salem.
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- A woman sells items at the Pond Town Christmas Market Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Salem.
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- Homemade items are for sale at the Pond Town Christmas Market Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Salem.
The Pond Town Christmas Market is a staple of Salem’s annual holiday celebration, giving shoppers an opportunity to purchase unique, locally made gifts they won’t see in a store aisle or an online catalog.
The market began Friday and runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Salem Recreation Center, featuring dozens of vendors from Salem and neighboring towns who put in a lot of time and effort to sell hand-crafted items.
“People love to give unique gifts, and not just something that you’d find at any store,” Pond Town Christmas Market coordinator Madeleine Snow said. “And this is a makers market, meaning that everybody has stuff that they’ve created or made themselves in some way.”
Snow said 2025 marks either the eighth or ninth year of the market, and it features vendors from Spanish Fork, Payson and Orem — but mostly people from Salem.
Among the Salem representation is Delora Winter, who creates vintage-style pottery with a semimodern twist.
“I kind of have a more vintage-colored glaze, and then the handle twists kind of down at the bottom in a more elegant, modern shape,” she said.
Winter said this is the only Christmas market she will sell her bowls and vases at this month, and that the proximity to her house makes it an easier opportunity.
“It’s like four minutes away from my house,” she said. “I don’t have to travel super far to worry about things getting broken on the way. I can just pack it in the car, get it there. It’s not a problem.”
Another vendor, Angela Watson, is selling custom-made stockings that take around an hour to sew — not counting time she’s interrupted by her toddler.
Other homemade items such as hair ties, tree ornaments, crocheted stuffed animals and pens are also for sale.
“I’m just really proud of the people,” Snow said. “When I’ve been talking to them about the prep that they’ve done, people have put so much work into their products. And there are people who have hand-sewn bows and stockings and things. And I’ve sewn pillowcases, and I know how much work goes into those.”
The market is just one of many December events that celebrate the Christmas season, according to Snow. The Pond Town Christmas Lights are lit up at Salem Pond throughout the month, and an upcoming Pond Town Christmas Serenade is scheduled at the Salem Community Center on Dec. 17-18.
She said the love the city has for the community is shown during the holiday season.
“They put a lot of effort into it, and I think it’s because they like the idea of the Salem residents coming together and having it be a small-town feel, so that you’re seeing all these people that you know,” she said.
