Philadelphia Fun with Fabulous Friends!! by Patrick H. Hoy |

Patrick Hoy here – and I know I must sound like a broken record, but Angel & I really, really, REALLY get to work with the greatest people in the world! Not only are they talented, but they are FUN as well!

Two weeks ago, our entire team – including Tim Bice! – were together for our Quacker Factory Family Christmas Lunch. I can’t even begin to tell you how much fun it was for all of us to be together – and to have you there with us as we broadcasted it life that day!

I was super excited when John & Leslie from our FABULOUS Design Team told me they were staying in the area for the weekend – because I was too! Even though we all work together, we don’t actually get to see each other all of the time – because John lives in the Catskill mountains in New York – and Leslie is based in the great State of Texas – and of course I’m all the way on the other side of the duck pond in London, England. I was staying in downtown Philadelphia, so I suggested that they meet me in the city so that we could explore the sights – especially since the Christmas Market at City Hall had just opened! So, at lunchtime, they met me at my hotel. I think you can tell from the picture above that we were definitely ready for a FUN afternoon together!

Because it was lunchtime, I suggested that we start our journey by going to Reading Terminal Market. Now let me tell you, if you have never been to Reading Terminal Market, you MUST make this your FIRST stop when visiting Philadelphia – it is a foodie’s heaven!!! It is probably one of the BEST food markets I’ve been to anywhere in the world – seriously! Not only do they have amazing food vendors, but they also have vendors who sell table linens, cookbooks, kitchenware – and even flowers – this place is amazing!

One of my favorite places to go to is Miller’s Pretzels – wow! Just look at all of the different stuffed pretzels they sell – and how cool is it that you can even watch them making the fresh pretzels!

Another one of my favorite stalls is the one with pickles that is also run by official Pennsylvania Dutch Merchants – have you seen so many options before in your life for pickles?!

And check out this selection of bacon – can you say YUMMY?!

And if you’ve got a sweet tooth like I do, then you’ll be as pleased as John, Leslie & I were with all the pastries, candies and chocolate/caramel/peanut butter dipped pretzels we drooled over aisle after aisle after aisle!

Check out all of these vegetables, jams & jellies we came across in mason jars! And I was in popcorn heaven with flavors such as Key Lime Pie, Touchdown Toffee & Maple Pecan!

And because it’s the holiday season, the market had lots of additional ‘decorative’ displays – like these vintage train sets. John & Leslie were like happy little kids operating the trains and lights!

I have to be honest with you and tell you that after looking & smelling all of the delicious foods, the three of us were HUNGRY – so we decided to find a restaurant – versus a food stall – so that we could rest our feet and fill our bellies! John had been to the Market before and he knew of a great restaurant – and as luck would have it, there were three seats at the bar – it’s like they were expecting us! The menu had way too many yummy choices, but I knew exactly what I was going to order – a Philadelphia Cheese Steak sandwich! (I mean, you really didn’t think that I would come all the way to Philadelphia and NOT eat a Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, did you?!) Here we all are – isn’t John’s light-up Christmas ornament necklace the best?!

Speaking of John’s necklace, Leslie and I were having so much fun watching people’s reactions to John’s necklace – it was like having our very own Father Christmas with us – watching him bring happy smiles to everyone he walked by. In fact, when we were leaving the restaurant, a father with his child stopped John and told him that he thought his necklace was the greatest thing ever. As the three of us were about 10 yards outside the restaurant, Leslie & I turned around and saw John go back into the restaurant and give the father and his child the necklace – how much of a sweetheart is John for doing that?!

With our tummies happy, we decided it was time to head over to City Hall and see the Christmas Market. On the way there, Leslie & I came across a statue of two of Philadelphia’s founding fathers – so we had to get silly and have a picture taken with them. (I told you our team was FUN!)

Next up was the beautiful Christmas tree at City Hall and the Christmas Market. Here we all are for the obligatory selfie!

Okay, so you might be wondering where in the world John got those glasses from?! Isn’t he just the silliest?! Believe it or not, he had a bag of goodies with him. As I said before, it was like Leslie & I had our own Father Christmas with us that afternoon! Here’s another shot of us in front of the Christmas tree – and of John modeling his ever-so-fashionable Santa Sunglasses!

As you can imagine, John was the hit of the Christmas Market – and it was great joy to see children and parents alike, grinning from ear to ear when they saw him. One little girl loved John’s glasses so much, that he decided to give them to her – because, well, that’s the kind of great guy he is! Here she is wearing them – I think you can tell that she’s a Quacker model in the making! How adorable is she?!?!

Leslie and I had NO idea what John was going to pull out of his magic bag next – but we didn’t have to wait too long!

And it didn’t take him long to strut his stuff in front of the camera!

After a fun stroll around the market, we decided it was time for some retail therapy – so off to the old Wanamaker’s Department store we went. Wanamaker’s was the first department store in Philadelphia – and one of the first in the entire United States. It also was the first department store to have electrical lights AND the first to have a telephone! It also houses the largest fully operational pipe organ in the world, with 28,000 pipes – and it is still played almost every day! The only thing different now is the name – it’s no longer called Wanamaker’s – it’s now a Macy’s.

Before going in, Leslie, John & I admired the beautiful windows – all decorated for Christmas.

Do you see how big those Paillette sequins are on the right above?! I saw Leslie & John checking them out. Ummmm, I wonder if they were getting inspiration for some upcoming designs?!

Inside the store we were able to see the BIG Christmas tree Macy’s had set up on one of the balconies in front of some of the organ pipes – WOW – that is one BIG tree!

Leslie and I then found the coolest Christmas jackets in the men’s section – so right there in the middle of the store, we just HAD to try them on! Here we are doing our best ‘model’ poses – what do you think?!

And YES – before you even ask – I went back the next day and bought the jacket I’m wearing in this picture – and I think Leslie was planning on bringing home the one she had on too! I guess you know what we’ll be wearing for next year’s Quacker Factory Cookie Exchange show!!

By this time, we were all ready for some liquid refreshment – if you know what I mean – after all, it was certainly 5 O’clock somewhere in the world! But not before our creative, talented and fun Design Duo found the PERFECT bags with their names written all over them – Mr. & Mrs. Sparkle & Shine!

Then it was on to our last stop – one of my favorite piano bars in Philadelphia – but not before John made yet another person happy, happy, happy on the way there on the sidewalk when he gave her his light-up nose! I think this next picture at the piano bar is the only picture of the day where John is au-naturale! (But I think you’ll agree with me that his smile is enough to light up the world!)