I think its very marmite-esque when it comes to Christmas shopping; you either love it or you hate it? Thanks to ‘Black Friday’ & ‘Cyber Monday’, here in England over recent years we seem to be adopting the American post-Thanksgiving tradition whereby retailers slash their prices for a limited weekend; causing mass chaos in stores, usually long dispatch times for online orders and a lesser quality customer service due to the high volume of shoppers. We’re constantly hearing about how smaller, independent retailers struggle to compete against their heftier opponents and as such, are often pushed out of business.
However, thanks to this time-old tradition (dating back to the 13th century), Christmas markets are still very much a ‘thing’, so much so, that people often choose to travel over the festive period to get a taste of what delights await at other markets & fairs across the world. They allow the smaller businesses to shine and often, many stalls are filled with handmade & crafted delights that could not be bought elsewhere. It allows us to appreciate our independent retailers and put the face of the creator to a product. There’s definitely a little sprinkle of extra Christmas magic in purchasing something from a festive market. Here in Suffolk, we have a great selection of Christmas markets & fairs, bringing together the best of what the county has to offer. Christmas fairs in Suffolk are typically smaller, intimate and creative, promoting lots of our best local businesses.
Ickworth Craft Fair at Christmas with the March Hare Collective Nov 16th – Nov 17th
Bury St Edmunds Craft & Gift Fair Nov 21st – Nov 24th
Helmingham Hall Illuminated Garden Trail & Market Nov 23rd – Dec 8th
Blythburgh Christmas Market Nov 24th
Felixstowe Christmas Craft Market Nov 30th
Christmas Fair at Clare Dec 1st
Heveningham Hall Christmas Market Dec 2nd
Christmas in Lavenham Dec 6th
Christmas Street Market at Wickham Market Dec 7th
Christmas Farmers’ Market; Trinity Park Dec 14th
Jimmy’s Farm Christmas Fayre Dec 7th – Dec 8th
Snape Maltings Christmas Farmers Market Dec 21st
