Happy Tuesday, friends. I realize that Tuesday is normally my day to recap Bachelor in Paradise, but Monday Night Football means that the episodes are airing on Tuesdays now. So, I’ll recap BIP on Wednesday instead this week. Which means that I’ll share my weekend at Canton Trade Days.
My in-laws came into town last Friday to bring us a bedroom set for our second guest bedroom. For the longest time, my MIL and I have been talking about going to Canton to their Trade Days. If you aren’t familiar – Trade Days happens the weekend prior to the first Monday of every month. It’s the world’s largest flea market. And, it’s one of those things that ended up on my Texas bucket list. I have heard about it since I came to Texas and had never been.
Canton, Texas
Now, Houston does the Nutcracker Market every November, and I love going. Canton is a small city outside of Tyler, Texas – it’s home to about 4,000 people. But, when Trade Days happen, thousands of people come to visit and explore. I learned that there are more than 5,000 vendors.
The words Flea Market don’t really do it justice. There are vendors that sell furniture, antiques and vendors that sell some reaaaal cute stuff. You name it, they probably have it. My main goal was to find some finishing decorative pieces for our house.
So, my MIL and I headed out for Canton early Saturday morning. The drive was just over three hours, so we grabbed some lunch and checked into our hotel. We knew we would be hot – and it would be late by the time we wrapped up, so we opted to stay in a hotel. There aren’t a ton of hotels in Canton, but there are lots of Bed and Breakfasts.
We dropped our bags off in the hotel, and we immediately headed over to park and explore. Parking was $5, and we entered in the Pavilion Parking Lot. Now, my MIL encouraged me to bring my wagon. Which, I brought it to appease her, but I really wasn’t thinking about using it….
Trade Days
When we pulled up, the wagon no longer seemed weird. People had wagons and scooters, and some people had wagons hooked up to their scooters. So, I decided to bring the wagon along with me, which ended up being a fantastic idea.
There is lots of walking involved. And, it was pretty hot when we went. Envision: September in Texas, everything is outdoors – or under a non-air conditioned cover – so it’s hot. If I did this again (and I will), I will go during a much cooler month.
We started our shopping off in the Pavilion – and made our way into the Arbors – and there are three Arbor buildings. Many of the vendors had some really cute Fall stuff – and some of them were putting their Christmas stuff out. It took us about five hours to make our way through those buildings. And, friends, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Here is the entire map. There were vendors and buildings and areas of Trade Days that we didn’t even make it through. But, after five hours in the heat, we were tired.
We both found some really cute stuff to bring back home. I found some Fall decorations, I found some decorations for my mantle, I got some bandanas for the pups – and a cute plant stand for my yard! (I got that lantern above – without the Christmas decor). It’s up on my mantle now!
Later that night, we explored downtown Canton for dinner, and it’s super cute. We grabbed pizza at 3Ds Pizza, and we headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.
If we had more time, I would like to also explore some of the cute shops in Downtown.
Canton Takeaways
I had so much fun, but I’d honestly give myself a second day to shop it all. We had to head back to Houston early Sunday morning, so we didn’t have the chance to shop again. It was such a fun weekend with my mother-in-law and a great way for us to spend some time together. We chatted about going back again now that we have a better lay of the land, and I’d definitely go during one of the cooler months!
Have you ever been to Canton Trade Days?
What are some of your favorite vendors?
