Melbourne’s historic Queen serves the public this Christmas

That last minute Christmas rush can simply ‘do your head in’, but this year there is a one stop location where you can get everything you need for Christmas day.

This year, for the first time in its 138-year history, the Queen Victoria Market (Vic Market) will be open until 9pm for last minute Christmas Shopping and a Christmas Festival on Friday 23 December.

The market will be a-buzz with activity during the festive season with an estimated 250,000-people expected to visit the iconic market in the week leading up to Christmas, and why not, its where you can do all your shopping from gifts to food.

With a huge variety of fresh produce on offer, Vic Market plans to sell around 20 tonnes of prawns, 10,000 dozen oysters, five tonnes of crayfish, 3,000 turkeys, 15 tonnes of ham and 6,300 kg of cherries for Christmas Day.

In an effort to meet increasing consumer demands and general worldwide trends, Vic Market has extended trading hours over the entire holiday season to ensure customers have even more access to the huge variety of fresh produce and general merchandise on offer.

“On Friday 23 December, the entire market will be open until 9pm for those CBD workers and late-night shoppers still needing to purchase any last-minute Christmas groceries and gifts,” said Mark Scott, Head of Promotions and Communications at Vic Market.

A Christmas Festival with an action-packed schedule of events has been prepared to entertain Vic Market visitors this Christmas with over $10,000 worth of prizes to give away, cooking demonstrations with Emma Dean and Lynton Tapp from My Market Kitchen / Masterchef, live entertainment, roving Santa giveaway, raffles and heaps of food and drink on offer.

Even your car is taken care of with two hours free parking from 2pm.

For the full list of extended trading hours and schedule of events head to: http://www.qvm.com.au/whats-on/category/christmas/