By Maria Martinez

BERLIN (Reuters) – For Eva Henschke, Germany’s Christmas markets are a chance to temporarily forget about the colder, darker days with a hot mug of mulled wine or eggnog and a bratwurst off the grill.

But more so than in years past, she has had to keep a careful eye on costs when deciding what festive bite to indulge in.

“When I come here, I buy something. But you have to pay attention to the prices,” Henschke said at the market next to the preserved World War Two ruins of Berlin’s Memorial Church where it was established in 1948.

As costs for festive treats at traditional Christmas markets hit record highs in Germany, traders are unwrapping new strategies, such as all-inclusive tickets and special themes, to keep attracting locals and tourists alike.

“A crisis makes you creative,” said Fabian Lau, managing director of FARO Group. “We founded Germany’s only all-inclusive Christmas market.”

For those who want unlimited mulled wine and as many German specialities as possible without worrying about costs, the Christmas Market at the Spree offers all-inclusive tickets starting from 29.90 euros ($31.48) – for those willing to go after 8 p.m. and during the week. A ticket at peak time, during the weekend, will set any wannabe merrymakers back 45.90 euros.

Lau said demand for the tickets is “extremely high,” with over 1,000 sold daily and 90% of them already snapped up for this Christmas season.

“I think it has changed the way people go to the Christmas market,” said CJ, an international student in Berlin visiting the market. “With the all-inclusive ticket, I think people just come here with an empty stomach.”

Other creative ways organisers have come up with to draw customers include a market catering to dogs, with a dog show and treats for four-legged visitors, as well as unique locations such as an abandoned spy tower and a former airport hall.

“With more than 60 Christmas markets, Berlin is also the capital of Christmas markets,” said Christian Taenzler, spokesperson at Visit Berlin. “While the winter season used to be more of an off-season for Berlin, this has changed significantly since the 2000s.”

In old and new markets, Germany’s favourite Christmas beverage, Gluehwein (mulled wine), now sells for a record 5 euros per mug in Berlin, a 50% rise from the pre-pandemic 3.25 euros.

The elevated costs arise from high energy prices and staff shortages among other factors, said Luba Levkina, spokesperson for activa, which organises mobile Christmas markets.

Sedat Sarikurt, a mulled wine vendor at the Memorial Church, hiked his prices by 50 cents compared with last year, despite initial concerns about selling fewer drinks due to higher costs.

“But we observe that both tourists and locals still buy mulled wine,” Sarikurt said. “It is (just) once a year that we have Christmas.”

($1 = 0.9500 euros)

(Reporting by Maria Martinez; editing by Miranda Murray and Mark Heinrich)