Checking out Nutcracker Market in Houston

All right, now to our next holiday event. I am so excited to get a sneak peek of the one and only Nutcracker Market happening at Reliance Center. It opens tomorrow. Coco Dominguez, though, of course, she's getting early access. Coco, what's new? I cannot believe the holidays are here. This is actually the official kickoff of the holidays. The 46th annual Houston Ballet Nutcracker Market where it's happening. A preview is happening right now. You can see folks coming in and they are coming in with a purpose. Ready to shop. Ready to enjoy. I'm here with Ava McCain, thank you so much. And you are the communications coordinator with the Houston Ballet. Are we excited? I am beyond excited. It's amazing in here. It's like a Christmas wonderland right now. It really is. 280 vendors? Absolutely. You can find something for anybody here. Mom, dad, everybody can shop here. Okay, let's talk about some of those boots because I want to kind of look around. And this is one of those traditional things. Are these aprons? Yeah, they are. Oh my god. Who doesn't need an apron? Let's talk about some of the things I know for all of the cooking we're gonna be doing talk about some of the things that we can get so you can get There's dog collars here. There's my one of mine is apples gone wild. That's one of my favorite you can get a caramel apples There is literally Everything over here. We have Christmas decor and crafts type things seriously anything It really is. And some of the guys that'll come up, you see them sitting on the middle bench. Ma'am, you are not tired already. You are not tired of shopping. That's why these benches are here. Are you having a good time? She's having a good time. Is this your mom? Your grandma. And so you guys come every year? Yeah. What have you bought already? Have you already purchased stuff? Yes, ma'am. You got some Kendra Scott. What else do you got? A lot of stuff. A lot of stuff. All right, she's keeping it a secret. She doesn't want anyone to buy the same thing. All right, come on over here. Bags are full. And that's the bench I was talking about. Usually you see the people there wanting to take a little break because they want to shop and you want to keep going. So let's talk about what this benefits. This benefits Houston Ballet. And 11% of all purchases you make here go towards scholarships for people to Have a lifelong love of dance and those beautiful ballets you see. The world-class performances. I mean, all of the funds that are coming from here are going towards that. And you guys set a record last year. Tell me about that. Yeah, so you can find out all of that on nutcrackermarket.com. But we really, I mean, we set records for how much we give towards the ballet always. I always hear about like how much money is made in an hour. People are buying stuff with a quickness. All right, this place is called Penderella. Look how cute. Look at some of these things that they have here. Every type of decor for every person, for everything. Are those macaroon little mirrors? Look at this, guys. This is wonderful. All right, let's talk about admission. This is going on through Sunday. Yes, and if you want to be here first tomorrow, early bird, you can buy a ticket at the door. It opens at 8.30. For GA, it's every day at 10 a.m. Look at these ladies. How cute are we? Happy holidays. Happy holidays to you. Are we happy this time of the year? Cheers. Cheers. Is this an annual tradition for you guys? Cheers. Yes, it is. All right, tell me about coming out here. It's... We look for our favorites, and then we mark it in the book. So I'm not allowed to buy anything today. Okay. We're coming back on Sunday, and that's when I'm allowed to buy. So right now, you're just kind of scoping the scene. Are you afraid they'll be gone? No, we ask. Are you coming back on Sunday? We are very thorough. Okay, and how does it make you feel just to be here enjoying this? It's wonderful. I mean, you did such a great job. It's getting me in the spirit. It is getting me in the spirit. Cheers! Take a little sip for me. There we go. Have fun. Happy holidays to you guys. And really, they can still get in here. So if you've never been out here for a preview, people tailgate. The women go out in the parking lot. All the champagne bottles are here, they come in buses, they come in car service, limos, because everyone's going to be maybe having a little sip here, and you just come on out. So talk about admission prices for previews. Yeah, so for preview party, we don't have the tickets for that, but you can come and get an early bird for $60 tomorrow. Okay, and how does that compare to the general admission? You get in a few hours earlier, so instead of 10 a.m., you get in at 8.30, so you get a first pick. Okay, and there's early bird, only happens Thursday and Friday. Yes, and then the rest of the time is general admission, and we have Sunday only for $20. Guys, look how cute this is. Team Santa, like you can even be celebrating football during the holidays. i'm telling you and let's talk about some of these vendors there are a lot of homemade kind of crafted stuff a lot of local women owned i mean we have a lot of Houston the heart of Houston is in here right now so it's a lot of local Boots and merchants. Okay and right here we see a bunch of tables so tables will be here you can sit and be merry and eat and drink. Well this is a this is a selfie station but you can buy little Christmas trees and wreaths. I mean every single thing and so much more you can't even think of. Yes there's literally something for everybody here. I was shopping on my way in too. I'm like already looking around what I'm gonna buy. Do you have something on your list? I have a bunch of stuff now on my list, and I saw some stuff for guys, too. What is this? Adjustable chairs. I mean, really? And I've seen some furniture here as well. Yes. I mean, quite literally anything you could think of. Oh, is that a stool? Oh, so is that like if you're going to go stand in line somewhere? Camping, fishing, hiking, even a step stool. They hold about 400 pounds and they weigh less than three pounds. You know and I can see people you know the people that like to stay overnight and wait for merch to drop or something you just roll up but bam! I feel like I can be at work instead of sitting around on a live shot I can just can I sit? Yeah, I feel like I'm gonna add this to my collection of things I need for work and then I'll try to write it off Thank you so much. This is called the adjustable chair. Let's go down here and see what else we can see I know we could really be here for the next hour Caroline, but we're gonna not do that. Look at this cool gear Buy one get one free over here. What is this the wine opener? Pop open a little something for us. How do you do? What does this do? We're showing our brand new wine opener. It's got a stainless steel polycarbonate body here with the stainless steel needle. You just poke it and pump it. No more broken corks, no more chunks inside your wine and it keeps the wine and the cork intact. Set it and forget it. Yeah, set it and forget it, you know. I mean you might forget after a couple of these but wow! Thank you for opening that bottle. Now I have to take it with me. I don't really know. Trendy toys. See, cute stuff. What do you have over here? The squishies. They're all the rage. Oh, they are. Not just for kids. I get all. We just said it at the same time. I get all ages all day. Let's do it. I will feel it. All right, guys, we got to go. Thank you so much. This is the Houston Nutcracker Market for the Houston Ballet. 46 years. Congratulations. All right, we are out of here. No, we're not. Coco Dominguez, Fox 26 News. Coco, thank you so much. You just do it right. I feel like I got such a great sneak peek. Thank you. What a fun time.