Christmas Markets Disappointment

[Insomnibrat]

So this year I decided to take myself off to the Manchester Christmas Markets for the day, in the interests of making myself feel festive. The last time I did this was probably 8 years ago and generally got a lovely warm glow from the whole experience.

I've come away feeling really 'meh' about it.... I expect mulled wine to be expensive, but £9 a cup!?! And no hopes of wandering around the markets, cosily huddled up, sipping it whilst perusing the stalls, no, I was bruskly told by a security guard to 'get back behind the fence', no drinking outside the hut. Oh.

I also noticed that a lot of the original craft stalls are all food and drink now, a good 70/30% spit in favour of food, and the stalls selling crafts were repeated every 5 or six cabins along, like they were all franchises, selling exactly the same goods.

It seems to have lost it's soul, somehow.

Anyone else been left slightly cold by the Markets this year?

I went to. Germany last year, it was amazing. Anything else I’ve been to is crap.

I thought it was just me being mean. I don't go shopping to eat so the food stalls don't interest me. I am not interested in expensive home made greetings cards, hand made cheap jewellery, or felt tat.

I used to love a good village hall fayre but recently the cards and felt brigade seem to have taken over there. And the last home made plum loaf I bought was mouldy.

Dowser I once bought one of those spray painted pictures for DS while we were on holiday. It was amazing to watch him do it and is an unusual souvenir.

I'm with Hoosh
Lincoln has the advantage of being set in the old city centre which is itself absolutely beautiful and just made for Christmas
Lincoln is lovely in the Bail, and the Cathedral really added to it. Went to Brugge last year, there were a few really nice stalls selling glass things, but actually not many stalls at all. Did Hamburg, Hannover some years back and they were big, may have changed now. We did by accident come across one on the banks of the Thames which was also lovely, leather books and moccasins and the like. Can't generally do with the crowds now

The Cardiff one does seem to be genuine craftspeople. I know one person who has a stall this year and it’s all things she’s made herself (not cupcakes).

I like the idea of Xmas markets but the reality is always a bit shite. Not helped by the fact I have no interest in people’s crappy crafts whatsoever, or wood carvings or silver jewellery.

Also £9 for a mulled wine!!! I had a mulled wine in central London the other day and it was £6!! 9 is shocking.

The mulled wine isn’t £9 a cup. As soon as you lie it invalidates the rest of your post.

As soon as you lie it invalidates the rest of your post

Agree that lying is pointless but a lot of posters have still agreed that Christmas markets are shit!

Just been To Norwich one. Totally overhyped. Was crap.

The mulled wine isn’t £9 a cup.

I was wondering about this, too. I was there this week (Manchester), and a hot chocolate with brandy that I had was £4.50, so I'm surprised if there wasn't mulled wine under £9.

Otherwise I agree with the OP. It seems mostly the same stalls repeating themselves every few stall. I had a nice enough time there - eating a bit awkwardly while walking, having a drink, looking around a bit, and stocking up on smoked garlic, but mostly because I was with friends who I hadn't seen for a bit. There really isn't a lot I would actually buy in there.

Interlude Ceramics still seemed to have a stall in there, and I'd gladly buy more from them, if I wasn't all set with their mugs already.

A friend of mine was going on recently about the Manchester one but all I could see in the photos they showed me were food and drink stalls. I don't mind Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park for a wander as it's quite pretty but I wouldn't bother much with the stalls there either. Far better as PP have said are makers' markets and open studios where you're actually meeting the people who make what they are selling. Tons in London, quite a few around other cities if you look for them.

I imagine the £9 mulled wine includes the refundable deposit for the cup

Ah but where else can you get Martin Platt selling you some cheese!

Also as other people have said it’s not £9 for mulled wine, you can get it from £4. Licensing laws mean you can only drink alcohol in certain locations and can’t walk down the street drinking

Agree with the repeated stuff on sale

Actually, for the poster who said I 'lied' about the mulled wine, I most certainly did not.

A small cup of mulled wine is £4.50, plus £3 mug deposit.
A large (the one I had) was £6 plus £3 mug deposit. I chose to keep (buy, whatever) the mug, as many others do, so it cost £9.00.

How pathetic to be so pedantic and accuse me of lying about something so trivial. Take your passive aggressiveness elsewhere, please.

Edinburgh is best at 11am on a weekday morning. Someone suggested we take our brownie unit. I once took them to build a bear on a Saturday in December. Never again!

Although we went on Tuesday night after the Silent Night Show, it was still very busy but more manageable than the last time I did a weekend.

Old market town ones are nice but these pop up ones in city centres are soulless and so overpriced. All of the trinkets are so flimsy, naff and made in China. The gluhwein watered down and the bratwurst in a vac packed bun and don't get me started on that massive pan of dry paella with a solitary dehydrated mussel floating around.

The lying comments were rude and unecessary

Can't remember the last time I went to a christmas market and really enjoyed it.

Overpriced, crowded and freezing comes to mind.

Well your mulled wine was actually £6 and you also bought a souvenir cup which was £3. It isn’t pedantic to point that out as otherwise people might think you paid £9 for mulled wine in a disposable paper cup.
But I agree that the markets are overpriced and full of not very imaginative tat.

I went to the Manchester ones with my mum and paid £4.50 for a cup of hot spiced rum (which was expensive but not ridiculous. We didn’t want the cup so returned it and got the deposit back. For enough shit cups in my house already

The Bruges one was bad too - all imported crap from China - traditional Tibetan knitwear it said but they hadn't removed the labels that indicated the factory was nowhere near Tibet! Overpriced hot chocolate and sausages were the predominant stall type.

Lying comment was rude
As for someone thinking mulled wine was £9 so blooody what?

I went to my local one 14 years ago as it was the first time we were in the area. Never again! You couldn’t look at anything even if you wanted too as you got pushed round in the crowd and every other stall was food.

Im with you OP, we visited Manchester Market last year and it was pretty rubbish, A repeat of stalls,,only one selling pretty crap wooden decorations..
We live not too far from Lincoln but I have never been to the market there, Friends who have been told me its pretty meh ,lots of stalls selling cheap tatt,,a bit car boot tbh,
When my husband worked in Essen i went to the christmas market almost every night during the week i was there,
It was lovely,,,beautiful decorations,,sausages and mulled wine , The air was lovely and frosty,
Its my ambition to visit Nuremburg,,,but I think Nelson will get his eye back before i get there,,

I really like the Chester Christmas market. Helps that I pass through it on my way to the library at our fantastic new Storyhouse arts centre, or going to my butchers in the regenerated Chester market, and as a previous poster pointed out it’s right next to the cathedral so you can head in there to the Christmas tree festival.
Haven’t spotted any repeat stalls or plastic tat. Had a great vibe on the day of the Santa dash when loads of the patrons were dressed as FC.

As for someone thinking mulled wine was £9 so blooody what

It isn’t rude to point out something which is incorrect.

It wasn’t me that made the lying comment though.