Look, no one likes Christmas shopping. It’s too busy, there are too many toddlers flinging themselves on the floor in fury, and there are only so many times a woman (or a man) can hear “It’s Ccccccchrisssstmaaas” before they go postal. But, dear readers, it doesn’t have to be this way. Christmas shopping can be as artery warming as a fat-laden mince pie with lashings of brandy butter – if you use our top festive markets picks to guide you.
The Christmas Market at Leeds Corn Exchange has arrived, for seven weeks of fun. With additional food outlets, markets, tasting rooms and a bar plus free entry this is looking to be even better than last year.
The reason the Winter Arts Market at St. George’s Hall is top of our list is simple: location, location, location. The annual arts and crafts fest is held within the grand environs of St. George’s Hall, surely one of Liverpool’s finest buildings. The hall’s glorious carvings, sculpture and pipe organ form the backdrop to stalls featuring the work of 200 artists.
On the foodie side of things, tuck in to favourites such as Yorkshire pudding wraps, German sausages, dipped pretzels, siu mai and crêpes. And those after a festive tipple can choose between from a variety of festive themed bars including the iconic Windmill, Tepee tent and Barrel Bar, as well as the Alpine Lodge and its karaoke cable cars. For 2021 there is also the new addition of the Bavarian bar where visitors can try a selection of German beers or hot cider.
Millennium Square hosts Christkindelmarkt, the Leeds edition of the popular German-style Christmas markets. There’s a winter village with a giant inflatable igloo, a host of Christmas chalet-style huts with garden-themed interior décor, a daily programme of entertainment and a cracking selection of street food vendors.
One of our absolute favourite Yorkshire galleries hosts a wide range of arts and craft stalls each year. Ceramics, prints and homewares all feature, with the gallery’s diminutive but highly recommended shop close by for more of the same. The format, this year, is a series of Festive Mini-Markets that will take place in the venue’s auditorium over three weekends this winter. For each festive weekend they’ll host 18 makers, selling aromatics, ceramics, homewares, jewellery, prints, texiles, food, drink and more. There’ll also be family activities, performances and a festive offer in The Hepworth Wakefield café to keep the little ones entertained.
From enchanting lantern parades to epic LED installations, light festivals are a brilliant way celebrate the magic of the winter months.
Take me there
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