Birmingham Christmas markets

With Halloween and October over Christmas celebrations have already started (Don't get me started on how mad this is). A really fun way to get into the Christmas spirit is to head down to a Christmas market, and after spending a nice long weekend in Birmingham checking out the stalls, German sausage and a little bit of the nightlife I'm going to talk about my time in Brum.

Although it's a lot more quieter to visit the markets during the daylight, there's something truly magical about the way the twinkly Christmas lights shine during the cover of night. The Birmingham Christmas markets are sprawled over two streets, Victoria Square and New Street, filled with over 80+ craft, gift and food stalls. I visited the markets on opening day, and surprisingly it wasn't too busy, although that may be because I was visiting on 7th November lol. A lot of the stalls where a lot of the same stuff, a crazy amount of sausage stalls, lots of xmas decs and handmade beauties and I kind of felt like once I'd seen them I was content and didn't need to see the other side of the market, personally I would've enjoyed a little bit more variation, but that's just my personal opinion.

It's worth noting, even though it wasn't too busy, Victoria Square was certainly lively, especially once the live performances started. If larger, rowdy crowds aren't your thing it might be worth sticking to the stalls in New Street.

Views of the Christmas tree from Victoria Square

First stop for me was hot chocolate, a boozy hot chocolate to be specific, luckily for me there was at least about 15 different bar stalls dotted about. Heading to the first one in sight I purchased a 'Santa's Dream' hot chocolate, which is basically just an Amaretto hot chocolate (god tier xmas drink). Now this hot chocolate, literally bankrupted me, not even exaggerating! Just take a moment and think about how much you'd pay for a hot chocolate with a single shot of Amaretto..... £6.00, dear god I'm cringing just thinking about it! I promise I'm not trying to sound really tight and this may actually be really reasonable to most people and I'm just being a Scrooge (it's probably that). Just to rub more salt in the wound though, there was also a £3.00 deposit for the mug so was actually £9.00 and to be honest I wouldn't even be too mad at that price if the hot chocolate was a reasonable size, and you might not be able to tell from the picture, but it was freaking TINY. In the end I was way too lazy to return my mug to get my £3.00 back so just decided to keep the mug as a fun souvenir.

The cutest but most expensive hot chocolate you ever did see

Now it's good to mention, a lot of these stalls don't take card, so make sure you're equipped with cash. Luckily theres literally cash points at almost every corner so if you're not prepared like I was then no need to stress!

Another really fun boozy find, was actually an accidental find! Looking for somewhere to escape the dreaded rain we stumbled across the Snow House bar. This place is really cool and christmassy, if you ever wanted a bar that makes you feel like you've transported to a ski lodge in the Alpes, then this is the bar for you. It's based inside a sort of snow globe/dome and has indoor benches and the cutest outdoor lodges with seats. I treated myself to a toffee apple mulled cider and after dragging myself in the cold and rain, it was so needed. The prices here where far more reasonable, for my mulled cider I paid £4.50 and I think there was a £3.00 deposit for the mug, and this time I made sure to return it. 

Mulled cider in the Snow House Bar

There was a really fun atmosphere here, everyone was super friendly and happily sharing benches with strangers, the music was the perfect mix of old and new, pop and classic Christmas tunes. If you're looking for a different place to get a warm cider with a relaxed mood this is a really great place to check out. 

So that's just some of the stuff I got up to whilst in Birmingham, I had a really fun time there and can't wait to go back again one day in the future. I hope this inspires you to check out either the markets in Brum or your local xmas markets.

Lots of love always

SZRLAND

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