[caption id="attachment_4354" align="alignright" width="300"] German Christmas Market in Leeds - Image © Mtaylor848 and shared under CC license[/caption]
Christmas markets originated in Germany, but over the past few years we have seen a revival throughout the UK so we no longer have to travel abroad to browse these traditional stalls. Lincoln was the first UK city to re-establish a Christmas market 30 years ago and many other towns and cities have followed their lead with traders and products coming from overseas to sell their wares.
Doorsan is based in West Yorkshire and we are lucky to be located between Leeds and Manchester. Both of these cities have large Christmas markets, which appear to be growing every year and Manchester has over 300 stalls spread throughout the city centre, while Leeds has over 40 chalet style stalls located in Millennium Square. We are also lucky to have a few specialist Christmas markets close to our door showroom in Bradford, including Saltaire, Shipley, Brighouse and Haworth where there are weekend events.
In the Doorsan office, we are split when choosing our favourite Christmas markets. For anyone that likes shopping, the large markets in Leeds and Manchester offer a wide range of products. Both have stalls selling all sorts of items from Christmas decoration and gift wrapping to clothing, gifts and food and drinks. In Manchester there are areas for representatives from different nationalities including German, French, Dutch and Hungarian traders. The atmosphere at these markets is really special and they are great for getting you in the Christmas spirit. I have been to the Manchester Christmas market as well as the Leeds one and I was really impressed with the number and variety of stalls. There are lots of unique things that you will not find in the high street stores. For the non-shoppers in the Doorsan office, they have agreed they may be tempted to try out the mulled wine and German beers as well as authentic German food.