One of my most favourite Christmas activities is going into the city to tour the Christmas lights. I just love that extra bit of glitter added to the city, and I think it brings a little bit of joy to almost everyone - I certainly felt it when I was approaching Northumberland Street and saw the extreme Christmas light effort.
Christmas markets are a slightly different matter. At first glance, they give a very festive feeling, but sometimes, I feel like Christmas markets don’t quite meet my expectations. As someone from York, a city known for its bustling Christmas markets, I’m very well acquainted with expectation versus reality, and sometimes it is a little disappointing.
In my mind, a Christmas market should look just like what is built in York and Newcastle: a row of little wooden sheds, covered with tinsel and wreaths and baubles and lights. I expect there to be a surplus variety of local food stalls and craft stalls, some pop-up bars and cafés selling hot drinks and mince pies, some jewellery stalls and gift stalls and then some form of entertainment. I went to Newcastle’s market yesterday, and it had all that, but because they’re Christmas markets, the prices are extortionate. It’s been taken advantage of by commercialism and has become more profit-oriented than festive, so, what’s on offer is virtually unreachable. Additionally, over the past few years, especially in York, what’s being sold isn’t really that 'christmassy.'
...can anything really be overhyped at Christmas?
Christmas markets also tend to be so overhyped that too many people arrive at them. In York, you must swim through a sea of people just to see one stall. It’d take hours to see them all. The markets are still entertaining, and good to have a look around, so they deserve appraisal, but they are often overhyped.
What certainly isn’t overhyped, however, is Newcastle’s Fenwick window. The Fenwick festive window has been a tradition since 1971 – that’s 54 years’ worth of Christmas tradition - and this year is no exception!
I went to see it with my family, as had been the plan since I decided to go to Newcastle University, and it was brilliant. I absolutely loved the theme and the lighting and its décor. It is art, literature, and Christmas all at the same time.
Honestly, though, even if the Christmas markets are too busy, and will probably drain your bank account, can anything really be overhyped at Christmas?