To think that most christmas markets are having us over

[sunintheeast]

Not bah humbug I love christmas but was at a nice christmas market today.. mostly food.. some makers stalls but my God the price hike.. bought two wraps which were no shred (haha) of a lie like those starters on a chinese resteraunt.. but a single wonton wrap with a teaspoon of meat and a bit of relish.. FOR £24 QUID. I stupidly paid before seeing it and then felt daft and said thankyou.. literally two bites each... the place was heaving.. is it just me??.. £7 hot chocolate anyone ?? looked around..its all gone insane. There were a couple of reindeer looking sad in a pen but it just felt like it's all gone a bit mad. I like supporting local but ,.. anyone else feel the same ??

Yes, it expires in March by the look of it, we generally go in June for a week so will miss going there. I had never been before for the market and a winter break, glad we did as we won't be able to go again.

The experience of being ripped off? 🤣

Did the Edinburgh one yesterday. It was impossible to actually move. The prices were astronomical.

The artisan market I went to the other day was packed with stuff from Temu, at four times the price.

Which one is 'best' ? ie atmosphere, interesting stuff too look at?

My DD went with friends to the one in their university city and (because they'd got stiffed the year before) took their own mugs of baileys hot chocolate with them in one of those screw top cups!

Not specifically a Christmas market, but I was in Copenhagen last week to see Radiohead, which was cancelled very last minute so we did tourist stuff instead. We went in the Tivoli Gardens which is a year-round fun fair and garden park in the city centre and now running its Christmas version with fabulous lights and market stalls. It was about £23 just to enter, more for rides, and I wasn't convinced it would be worth it just to walk around but it was exactly as a poster described the fantasy of a market up thread "being outside, wrapped up, warm drink, festive music, atmosphere, happy people - lovely." It was busy but not overly so on a Tuesday, with lots of benches (some with cosy rugs!) and quiet corners and the Christmas fare was mainly quality Danish stuff. There were a few regular street markets around too which looked nice enough (but didn't wander through so not sure about content or quality). I didn't go to Copenhagen for a Christmas experience but got one anyway and would really recommend.

Edinburgh is hugely overcrowded & has a few almost aggressively pushy stallholders I find. Went a few times when kids smaller but its a big rip off. That said maybe I'm just scrooge because went to a tiny one yesterday (local village). 10 tented 'stalls' (tables with some fabric over). Gin (£50 a bottle), candles, dog bandanas, silver jewellery, all OK, a cookie stall (£4.5 each) & an artisan bread stall (single croissants £4.8 each). Nothing original or tempting at the price. So, Dd and I scooted around the local charity shops and bought two pairs of trousers (1 velvet, 1 new), a Christmas jumper, a new fair trade wooden box, Christmas decorations, 3 books, a new pottery mug, 2 velvet stockings, a build a bear outfit, a fair trade Xmas teatowel plus FT cards, wrap, tags & ribbons. We went to a local cafe & had two very fancy hot chocs for £8, & got a greggs 'too good to go' bag on the way home (4 baguettes, 4 boxed doughnuts - not 'artisan' at ALL but filling: we gave the box of doughnuts to a passing family with kids.
I spent £55 total, got lots of thi gs & had fun.
Bag, Humbug

I paid £5.50 for a “luxury” hot chocolate in Cardiff. Was okay but was just hot choc, cream and 1 marshmallow…..

I was told that each stallholder at one of the large stately home Christmas markets has to pay £9k. So that would explain the prices.

The city centre one nearest us is a nightmare to navigate. It’s rammed with influencers trying pretending to eat standing upright, always food requiring proper cutlery, from brown paper bowls, in a packed space while juggling their phone to get their Instagram shot or TikTok reel.
We were in Manchester recently and they had a hilarious display of absolutely massive , expensive, wooden animal sculptures and garden furniture. Who buys that on a whim from a street market?

If you don't want to go I wouldn't worry about letting local businesses down - most of the stalls aren't local and they're certainly not selling handmade items. As for "artisan" - get to fuck.

Church hall or school type fairs are more local oriented.

We have been to a good number ,we reckon they are not worth visiting. Our first one was in Berlin about 20 years ago and it sold stuff people can buy anywhere.

Of course they are. Ditto farmers markets.

Gin soaked sloes omg!! I thee out the ones I didn’t have enough gin for I’m kicking myself! They grow here by the thousand.

I've not tried them before. Should be interesting 🤗

I love that

I love that so funny

I went to the Bath one several years ago. It was so rammed that you couldn’t even get to the huts of overpriced tat, they were about 10 people deep!

It’s just not fun. So never again

Most of these markets r a rip.off they have to put the prices of "tat" up in some cases, to cover the cost od the stall. I think we have all been "had" at some point at these markets. We refuse to go now.

We went in to meet friends. Straight in the pub! The Minster beautiful as always and had an amazing meal in Nola. Back home on the late bus, sing song led by the driver. I think the Christmas market and its overpriced tat from China needs relocating.

100% .... we went to the local christmas market last week and fancied a sausage in a bun - the queue was massive so we wandered on and went into the local indoor market and the said sausage shop has a permanent stall in the market which had no queue, had seats and as it was under cover it was much warmer. The sausage in a bun inside was £4 - out at the Christmas Market it was £6. Exactly same sausage in a bun!

I’ve been consciously avoiding them for years. I visited my first many moons ago with my DDs and realised that it was just overpriced food carts and tat for sale. I figured it was just that one. Then I visited another one and realised that’s exactly what they are … they just look pretty and Christmassy 🫤

The Norwegian Christmas fair inside the Norwegian church in Rotherhithe was nice, not massive but spent a nice hour there bought lovely cake, coffee, few groceries and couple of Xmas decs.

We went to one last week, thinking I'd get a nice glass bauble for the tree. When I saw the price of £34 I changed my mind!
Meanwhile our DS is working in Germany, food at the nearby Christmas market is really nice and half the price of here. He's bringing me a bauble too.