To not get the hype around the average UK Christmas market?

[Xenapo]

So I'm not a scrooge and enjoy a family Christmas, although I do think the whole thing is ridiculously commercialised.

But I've been to the Manchester Christmas market a few times over the years and just don't get the hype.

It's very crowded, overpriced, lots of stores selling very similar things, never anywhere to sit and a lot of the stuff sold there just seems like pointless tat. A friend would suggest going then we'd spend ages queuing to pay extortionate prices for small bit of novelty food to eat standing up in the cold. Could never see the appeal myself and probably won't go this year.

I know there's other markets out there so maybe some are better examples in the UK that are worth a visit.

I imagine some of the original German ones must be quite spectacular and have a lot of interesting history behind them as they started them there many hundreds of years ago.

I looked up when most of the UK ones started and looks like 90s and 00s (they didn't have them when I was little) so I guess we've tried to import it here to different UK cities with varying degrees of success.

Completely agree. We have friends who live in a town in the south of Germany near Lake Constance. We were there one December and went to the local Christmas market and it was amazing. Lots of local traders selling handmade wooden toys, beeswax candles, kirsch, marzipan everything, decorations - it was so lovely and we bought loads.

Went to the Edinburgh Christmas market a few times and it was complete shit. Mass produced stuff, the same tat that you see at craft fairs year in year out with the addition of a stand selling overpriced hotdogs.

Yes for Instagram. Just like pumpkin patches, they exist so people can take photos of themselves having the experience and post it for all to see

I love the idea of a Christmas market. As you say the 'historic' ones in Germany etc are probably a totally different experience in all ways (but not something we can do at the moment)
Ours initially was small with a few food stalls and some lovely gift ones selling 'different' things. Now it's a much of a muchness. Lots of food/sweets/drinking and very few gift stalls. It seems to be more about the drinking /socialising which is fine but not what we do.

We don't bother very often now but definitely would love to go abroad when we can.

Really? I barely take any photos of the pumpkin patch, it's just a fun activity to do with the kids!

I'm yet to be impressed by the Christmas markets here either.

I went to some in Austria a few years ago and they were indeed magical.

What was different about them?

I've been to a few in Europe - Vienna, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. I enjoyed them all but for the basic reason that they were in pretty European cities. The markets themselves get very crowded - expect lines for food or drink items and honestly I've see the identical tourist stuff for sale at each market no matter which country you're in!

I love Christmas and I'll always jump at the chance to visit a European Christmas market but only for the city sights, especially lit up for Christmas -the actual markets are always a let down.

I went to one in Italy last year. They had some great stalls and food was amazing and not so madly overpriced ( not a hotdog to be seen). A lot of handmade goods, but like everywhere else, there was tat.
I did get sucked into getting a Babbo Natale Christmas decoration, just because I adore the word..😅