Christmas markets are crap !

[KittyCatsby]

There I've said it . Over the years I've been to a few ( Bath , Chester , York , Lincoln , Edinburgh , Manchester , Harrogate )
Never found one that have lived up to expectation. Mostly selling over priced rubbish , atmosphere almost zero , can hardly get to see the stalls as over crowded , kids miserable etc etc .
Anyone else feel the same ?

Yep agree, they’re utter shite. Can’t believe so many keep going. I thought more would have folded like those pop up winter wonderlands which were everywhere at one point, the ones where you were greeted by a disgruntled teenage elf and a Labrador dressed as a reindeer!

Completely agree. Most of it is mass produced shit that comes from China.

It's the same as cornish gift shops - just beach themed shit from China

The ones I've been to in London were shite, Southbank was the most rubbish of all. Only good bit of any of them was the Ice bit at the winter wonderland, Hyde park i think as the ice sculptures were amazing (but it wasn't cheap of course!)

You don’t need to understand it.

But yes, it would generally be part of the trip. Just the same way when I say I’m going to Herculaneum or Pompeii for the umpteenth time it doesn’t just mean I’m only going to those places.

DB & DSIL go to the Edinburgh fair - am sure they have a lovely Weekend but not once have they brought anything back as presents anyone likes ( that said any present is lovely but just making the point. )

The Christmas fair in Brussels as I recall is absolutely lovely & reachable by train. Also Brilliant restaurants in a stone's throw, I think it is the Grande Place or Grote Markt. I still have some beautiful Christmas tree ornaments from there and they are not tat even 30 years on.

Does anyone know if the one in Winchester is decent?

The ones in London are not great and thinking about where we could go for a day trip.

We used to live in Germany, to be fair some of the xmas markets there are shite as well : ) but really miss the atmosphere of the nice ones.

My friend has booked a hotel overnight for us to visit the one in Winchester. It’s an excuse to have a nice day out and a stay in a posh hotel, but I have no interest in the market. I’m sure it will be the same shit as the one in my suburban London high st.

@MrsTumblebee then why people are not saying e.g I’m going to Vienna. I love it before Xmas, it’s beautifully decorated, has a nice Xmas market etc.
Why make it as they are going because of Xmas market?

Edinburgh used to be great, but its rubbish now!! It used to be big tradition of mine, but not really worth it now!

@dreamingbohemian it’s not bad but it’s small. We once got a really good deal on wine there though!

Went to the Birmingham one briefly last year. Awful! Litter everywhere, fried cheap meat smells, queues for cheap hotdogs, overpriced “hot chocolate” that also smelled disgusting, drunk men everywhere in the middle of the day. DD asked to leave, it was so grim — and she normally can’t get enough of anything Christmas-themed.

The ones in Vienna were great! Lots of handcrafts and not too crowded. Most of the rest are terrible, although I sort of enjoyed Bath and Lincoln.

Uk ones are crap, Vienna at Christmas is amazing ! Little local markets selling mugs of mulled wine and home made things. Then the big one filled with tat and an ice rink, but MUCH better than the UK.

We were in Copenhagen last xmas (living there at the time) and I really liked their offering , as they had lots of smaller ones split all over the city rather than one very big one

It's in a nice location (i.e. cathedral grounds) but nope same 'sheds of shit' (thank you PP for that cracker!) that you see everywhere.

We went last year the first time since about 2017 and it was dismal. There was an entertainment stage and we watched a chap murder Elvis standards. Kids begged to go home before lunch.

YANBU they are shit. Just a bunch of sheds with £-shop tat that didn't make the cut where you shuffle round hemmed in by dim aggressive geordies and bewildered pensioners.

This was the one I visited that had about 30 sheds most of which were gin and soap. It was a waste of a not inconsiderable drive. Hardly any food options. The only thing going for it was the setting right next to the Cathedral

I have zero interest in such things . I’m not particularly fussed about Christmas to be honest. And I like to spend as much time indoors at winter as possible so I’m fortunate that Xmas for me looks like 10 x bottles of posh scotch for male relatives , 10 cases of wine/ restaurant gift vouchers / gin for female relatives.
toys and games for kids from Amazon .. so I actually complete the Xmas shop in about an hour from my settee 😂 I’d be very annoyed if I got some tat from one of these places and I’ve always declined to accompany people to them . I’m glad to see I’ve been making the right choice now 😂

Exactly. It's a weird way of describing a holiday.

I love Christmas but not the markets , total waste of time

Christmas in general is overrated and it fills me with dread every year.

I had a great idea for a product to sell at Christmas markets but when I costed everything up to sell at a price I felt was realistic/reasonable I'd have barely made minimum wage for the time spent selling at the market (let alone the time prior to that on organisation/production).

I like the Bath one. I choose a freezing cold day, and go early. I love the mulled wine. I’ve been to Vienna too, and that was quite expensive.

I hear you. For my money I loved when fortnum and mason were at Somerset house and they had the lodge for drinks and the ice rink, Prague nice too but not brilliant. Off to Zürich and will report back