Manchester Christmas Markets

When it comes to Christmas markets, the Manchester one is one of the best and biggest, certainly in “our” area if not even the country. I missed it last year and didn’t want to skip it again, so I got my Mum involved, found us cheap train tickets and off we went!

| Bodyline L262 JSK | Axes Femme cutsew | Metamorphose
Dressy OTKs | Cutie Creator headbow | offbrand boots, boot
toppers and ear muffs | Bodyline L460 coat | DreamV bag |
BtSSB Parasol |

My goal for the day was to look festive, but still be comfortable, warm and not have to worry about anything getting ruined (you never know when someone’s had too much glühwein and might accidentally spill it on you), so I went for the old and trusted Bodyline. I wanted to wear red shoes, but unfortunately the weather forecast for Manchester was rains and snow, so I needed to wear something more practical at the expense of matching. Though I still felt like Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

What’s great about the Manchester Christmas Markets is that there literally are several scattered across various locations in the city centre. They sort of form a trail, although if you don’t have a map and don’t know the area too well you wouldn’t always know where to go for the next area. Luckily, the maps were available to download for free and there were a few people here and there offering free information, which made things a lot easier.

As you’d expect, everything looked Christmas card festive and there were loads of stalls selling pretty much everything, from food to decorations and potential gifts. Many sellers had stalls in several market locations, so if one was too crowded or you had left before deciding you actually wanted something chances were that you could still get it without having to go back.

Since we went on Saturday and got there around 2pm, we hit some of the busiest times going. I’m not a fan of crowded places, I find crowds incredibly annoying, although I still managed to enjoy the markets. For anyone wanting to visit, but who really cannot deal with crowds, the website offers some information on quieter times to visit. Very useful for individuals and families who, for whatever reason, need to avoid busy, loud places and times, I thought that was a nice way to be inclusive.

Although my favourite part has to be the mugs. The Christmas Markets are running a scheme where all stalls selling drinks have to do so in actual glasses and mugs. These incur an additional deposit cost of £1 per glass and £2.50 for mugs, but it was far more environmentally friendly and meant that the markets were mostly free of rubbish which otherwise would’ve been everywhere. Afterwards you could return your mugs and get the deposit back or keep them as a souvenir (although I think this applied only to the mugs, not to the glasses). I absolutely love the idea and between Mum and I we got both designs: black with a snowman, which was for alcoholic drinks, and white with Santa Claus for non-alcoholic beverages. They’ll be great to use during the Christmas season and a seriously nice souvenir for any lover of hot drinks!

Photo from the Christmas Markets website because our mugs
are in the dishwasher.

While I kind of want to go again at a quieter time, to have time to enjoy it without being annoyed at the crowds, we have visited everything and enjoyed the whole experience thoroughly enough to not really have the need to. I’m also stocked up on Spekulaas, which I love with all my heart (and stomach) and will do my best to make them last, so I genuinely should be doing other things to satisfy my need for festive cheer. There will be other markets to come and next weekend is the Winter ILD, so this should be enough. December looks as busy for me and as filled with Lolita as November has been, so while my introverted self cannot wait for the Christmas break to have some lazy rest, I am very excited for all that’s still to come.

Are you feeling the Christmas spirit yet? Have you been getting ready and in the mood? Any plans for ILD next Saturday? I’d love to hear all about it!