To think that most christmas markets are having us over

I do think this is a result of stall prices. If you need to pay £500 plus per day then you need a big turnover to justify and chunky margins. Can you imagine being a crafter selling your lovely home made stuff and the first £1k a day is just going on costs and materials

I went to the market in Birmingham about 10yrs ago and walked past a stall selling chocolate items including chocolate santas for £3.95 each.
About half an hour later, I was in Poundland. When I arrived at the checkout, the guy from the chocolate stall was there buying 150 chocolate santas, exactly the same as he was selling, but he was buying them for £1 each or 3 for £2, so he paid about 67p each for them and had the nerve to walk up the street and sell them with an extortionate markup!
That was the final straw after seeing all the ridiculous prices throughout the market.
I've not been to one of these xmas markets since.

Oh that’s a shame, I went to one in France last night that was well priced and full of happy families. Going back again this weekend for more yummy foods and the champagne bar!

I quite enjoy the markets in Birmingham. The cathedral one is more focused on local suppliers and has a range of more reasonable offerings and pricier offerings. The German one is pretty much the same year on year, but can get a good atmosphere. They're only 5 minutes from each other so 2 in 1.

The ones in Germany sold a lot of tat too, from what I could see.

We were watching YouTube videos of vaeious Xmas markets and have just been to Hamburg, UK markets charge up to £9.50 for a mug of gluhwein, it was £3.93 approx in Hamburg! Again bratwursts are about £10 on UK markets, and about £4.50 in Hamburg and that's a really nice rustic looking big sausage in crispy fresh baked bread.

I used to work at an evening call center in Manchester and got a taxi home on the late shift. Unfortunately the taxi rank was next to the market and there was always a huge queue. I got dirty looks from the folks in the queue because I nabbed a taxi from where they pulled in on the other side. The market itself was heaving, noisy and crowded with just one narrow entrance to get in and out. It was a safety hazard. I have never visited there since.

You're not wrong. We walked through a local one, and it was very overpriced. DH wanted to win me a Capybara (you got one if you lost), but it was £7! No thanks. The majority of the stalls were (overpriced) food... pretty and nice to walk around, but no

I went to a Christmas Market this year and got chatting to a stalll holder. She told me how much it was going to cost her to have a stall for 2 weeks at a northern city . It explained the mad expensive costs.

absolutely - and I suspect this is the case on the continent too. Go for small towns and smaller events, and avoid the mass-produced tat.

Our local village now has a spectacularly good Christmas market/fair with music, mulled wine for £3.50 I think it was, home-baked cake, sausages which are NOT £9 a pop, and loads and loads of lovely stalls, lots are local designer-makers, which actually qualify as 'craft' rather than as 'tat that I have bought in from China to mark up 400% and sell on'.

I don't know what they charge for Gluhwein at a proper German market but I bet it's less than 6 quid, which seems to be the going rate for half a paper cup round here! Food is outrageous too, and mostly not worth it.

I'm VERY humbuggy about Christmas Markets in the UK now, mostly because the ones I've been to are a bit shite. Basically what I expect is something along the continental North European model - so I want a few stalls selling German/Swiss wooden ornaments, those incense smokers and candle holders, colourful paper star lights, glass decorations, gingerbread stalls - and some decent crafts that are worthy of the term 'craft'. Proper artisanal stuff that's made by the sellers or at least in the UK, something that takes skill and years of experience - pottery, silversmithing, quilts, wood carving, mosaics, handmade candles, etc. When what you get is rows of stalls selling bought-in dross that was made in China, mass-produced tat, and 'craft' that basically entails someone going to Hobbycraft or Baker Ross and buying tacky supplies and then glueing it onto other stuff.

Yes, I'm a crafts snob! Decoupaged wine bottles, glasses with gems and glitter stuck on, diamonte pictures, plaster cast trinket bowls - they give a really bad name to 'crafts'. I make rather nice things that I sell for probably too little, and people printing AI images onto polyester cushions and tote bags next stall to me are charging mad money for it. I should just stop, really. It's sad.

YANBU. I expect the real thing in Germany in freezing temperatures is lovely, but overpriced English markets selling tat from sheds for a fortune? No thanks.

I was at Lilles one last week. Same rubbish overpriced. We were fenced in in crowds that just wasnt safe. Couldn't get out easily. Was dreadful. Bought nothing except a small piece of nougat - 11e. #robbed!

The problem we have now is that we don't get the traditional stall holders from continental Europe coming over because Brexit has made it such an expensive hassle.

tbh I always love the idea of a Christmas market and never quite enjoy it how I hoped I would. I know I’m setting myself up for failure if I’m honest and try hard not to but this year you’re so right the price hike for less quality really peed me off. Paying £7 for a hot chocolate I’d expect milk in it or at the very least use a just add water hot chocolate >.<, also got a “roast dinner in a bap” and they were really proud to show off the bisto gravy and whatever the normal brand stuffing is which whatever fine but I’d hoped for the price to get a decent amount of meat but it was such a small serving. I remember getting these kinds of things and you had to eat it in a certain way to keep all the meat it. I get things are more expensive but it did make me feel a bit bah humbug 😅 especially since I decided on that over a bratwurst. Don’t get me started on barely being able to look at any stalls cuz you’re being shoved through like cattle XD. God I’m a miserable sod, thanks for giving me an outlet 😂. At least I had lovely company and plenty of spiced cider 😅

I used to go about 15 years when I was in my early 20s and they were a novelty. These days I can’t think of many things that I’d like to do less than stand around outside, or sit in a freezing cold tent, in the middle of winter, with hoards of people, consuming mediocre and massively overpriced food and drink.

Although really Cadbury's in Birmingham IS local chocolate 😂

Yanbu. Was shocked by the prices today in Worcester. However we bought nothing and enjoyed the atmosphere. The cathedral was stunning and well worth a visit.

Of course they overcharge at these places it's why I never go 😂😂 it's no surprise!

Last year, I was at the big Bham German Market which is always heaving and I noticed that loads of the hot chocolate vendors had huge bags of Cadburys drinking chocolate powder which I never buy as it always makes a watery tasteless drink and they were charging approx £6-7 with toppings. Just put me off after that!

I’ve no idea why, but assorted social media posters are blaming local councils for the prices. As if they had any control on them

The council here set the price of the stalls really high, so the stall holders have to bump up the prices to get their costs covered. That's why it is the council's fault.

Blame the organisers for charging the stall holders extortionate pitch fees. I often sell at Christmas markets and have to be really selective on which ones I go to, as otherwise I run the huge risk of making losses due to the pitch fees.

For what it's worth, I charge the same for my handmade products at Christmas markets as I do on my online website.

I don't buy food or drinks at the markets I sell at because of the cost, but again, I understand it's because of the high pitch fees they have to pay!

They can charge what they like. No one needs to buy it.

Ah, they have! I'll make myself a £7 Aldi hot chocolate and re-read it.