It's the dreaded ' Christmas Market ' time !

[Rainbow321]

So I've been to a few ( UK only ) Christmas markets , and my opinion of them all is they are all crap !
The ones I've been to are York ( a few times over the years )
Chester , Harrogate , Edinburgh , Bath , & Lincoln & a few other towns local ones , all equal crap .
Are you with me on this or do you find them magical & wonderful and leaving you full of the Christmas spirit ?

Hopefully once the Manchester town hall refurb finishes the markets can return to st Anne's square and leave the rest of the city centre clear.
It'll still be the same overpriced shed shit, but easier to navigate around and avoid.
Given how crowded they are, clearly a lot of people see something I don't see in the markets.

And fudge! So much fudge!

Which ones are these?

Living in Edinburgh we've just got over the festival and then Edinburgh Christmas happens. The actual market has the same tat as all the others but I must admit the city does look lovely at night.

Ohhh this thread has made me feel really sad. I’ve never been to a Christmas market here. (Been to Prague in late November 20yrs ago). So we’ve planned to go to Manchester next weekend with the dcs. Making me feel like we’re going to be wasting a whole day 😭

I'm a local, at weekends it is hell on earth.
Weekdays are best.

@MiddleAgedDread thanks for the heads up. Sad it's the case though!

The one in Bournemouth is just the stuff you would find in the average cheap market. But shoved into sheds.
Good if you want to stock up on knock off vapes, big knickers and weird tie dye hats I guess.

Realistically there is a finite amount of crap that can be sold at these places so it’s all going to be ended up repeated.
We went to one in Bristol as dd is at uni there. It was crowded, couldn’t actually see what was being sold at most of the sheds we went past and those we could see into were not for us - crystals, wooden puzzles, cheese and customised glasses.
luckily we hadn’t gone specifically for the market and from what I saw I wouldn’t go back!

I go for the food and drink k. Don't buy the Christmassy tat like baubles.
But love the atmosphere and twinkly lights etc

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-14105205/christmas-market-vendors-fortune-tat.html

It's the same all over Facebook marketplace etc 🙄 often Temu called "handmade"

Birmingham one is a pickpockets paradise. We went Xmas shopping a few years ago and went into the Apple Store to get DS1 an iPad. It was lunchtime and the sales chap looked exasperated. He said since opening that morning they had already had approx 30 people in who had their iPhones stolen and were trying to locate through Apple.
Said it was like this every day.

Plus it stinks of drains

Agreed. Queues to get in are massive and you are crammed in like sheep. I don’t go anymore unless I am in the city on a random Wednesday morning when it’s empty but it is indeed, full of the same tat every year. Granny likes it and we have a hot chocolate.

I have in fact read a news clip this morning claiming that many of the UK ones are filled with stuff bought from shein and temu and then sold on at hugely inflated prices.

I went to one with DM
i was disappointed
i dont think she was

I never buy anything but food and drink but like a wander around.

Not surprised!

It's all mass bought Ali express things with a massive mark up I live near Birmingham and it's pretty I grant you but don't bother buying anything

My mom bought a child's toy when it first started and was fairly genuine products you pressed it and it lit up like a Catherine wheel literally sparks flew 😂

@soundsys
Ahhhh the fudge, I'd forgotten the fudge.
Does anyone actually buy it?
😉

The Manchester one is a case of been once never again. not helped by the fact that this year they publicised putting up car proof ram barriers and armed police patrolling, what are they expecting? Not exactly a good advert...

Cardiff is already ‘on the sea’ with a long history as a port. Bath is inland. 🤔

They've done the barriers before, it's because Manchester is a terrorist target (city centre was blown up by the IRA in the 90s).
Putting off a few people is less impact than not putting safeguards and risking a "vehicle ploughs through hundreds of festive shoppers" terrorist scenario.
Also the guards put off the pickpockets, which are a fixture of several markets.

I wonder if that’s an autocorrect or typo for Barry? Can’t see why Bath would be associated with Cardiff at all.

Every year there is a story in our local newspaper (about a Christmas market that is not local to the area) of someone complaining they spent a fortune on a tiny amount of pick and mix. Usually accompanied by a sad looking parent and child with a paper bag and about 6 sweets.

I'm not a fan of Christmas markets... I'd never pay the expensive prices for whats there. I love the idea of them but not the reality

The Belfast one is fab - lots of lovely gift ideas from independent retailers, huge array of food, and a great beer tent.

I think what's wrong with the city centre ones is that they can't limit numbers, so they're uncomfortably busy and you can't mooch along or chat to friends, while enjoying a few drinks. They just add to the overcrowding of cities in the run up to Christmas. While also ripping people off for overpriced milked wine and a hot dog!

Was in Cardiff last Saturday. Didn't go for the market but just to do some pre Christmas shopping and it was awful. Too busy to actually shop. Dd came home and did an online order, which completely negated the point of going.

I think they work if held outside of the city centre and with tickets sold to limit overcrowding.