How the deposit mug works
Pay $3 with your first hot drink, get it back at any drinks hut, or keep this year's design (sample).
Twenty-four evenings on Linden Square
The Linden Square Christmas Market (sample): forty wooden huts, a stage and a heated workshop hut, from Friday 27 November to Christmas Eve. Entry is free.
Every day
from 11:00
Fridays
to 22:00
Christmas Eve
to 14:00
1
Paper lanterns
Tue, 17:00
2
3
Brass band
Thu, 18:00
4
Late night
Fri, to 22:00
5
Gingerbread houses
Sat, 11:00
6
7
8
Beeswax candles
Tue, 17:30
9
10
11
Late night
Fri, to 22:00
12
Gingerbread houses
Sat, 11:00
13
Lucia procession
Sun, 17:00
14
15
Paper lanterns
Tue, 17:00
16
17
Carol singalong
Thu, 18:00
18
Late night
Fri, to 22:00
19
Beeswax candles
Sat, 11:00
20
Lantern walk
Sun, 16:30
21
22
23
Last late night
Wed, to 22:00
24
Christmas Eve
Thu, carols 12:30, huts close 14:00
Something on Book a place Market as usual. Programme (sample).
Opening night, Friday 27 November
The lights go on at six. Come early for a place on the Corn Exchange steps; the huts open an hour before.
17:00
Huts open
Hot drinks from the first hut by the fountain
17:30
Lantern parade gathers
On the Corn Exchange steps; bring a lantern or borrow one
17:45
Parade round the square
18:00
Lights on
The oldest stallholder throws the switch (sample)
18:15
Brass band on the stage
22:00
Huts close
Timetable (sample).
Workshops in the warm hut
Twelve places at each table, materials and a cup of hot apple punch included. Children under 12 come with an adult, who can join in or watch.
Tue 1 Dec and Tue 15 Dec, 17:00
Paper lanterns
Fold and glue a paper lantern with a tea-light holder, then carry it on the lantern walk. Age 6 and up with an adult.
$14
90 minutes, materials included
Sat 5 Dec and Sat 12 Dec, 11:00
Gingerbread houses
Build and ice a small gingerbread house to take home in a box. One house for up to two people.
$24
2 hours, materials included
Tue 8 Dec 17:30 and Sat 19 Dec 11:00
Beeswax candles
Roll three candles from sheets of local beeswax and wrap them as a gift. Age 8 and up.
$16
1 hour, materials included
Example prices, per place. Dates (sample).
Forty huts round the square
Food on the north side, drinks by the stage, makers along the old market hall. Every hut is run by its own stallholder (sample).
Hot food
Roasted chestnuts, potato pancakes, raclette and a soup hut that changes its pot every day.
Warm drinks
Mulled wine, hot apple punch and chocolate in a deposit mug: pay $3 for the mug, get it back when you return it.
Makers' huts
Wooden toys and nutcrackers, knitwear, glass, candles and prints, made by the people behind the counter.
Opening hours
Every day from Friday 27 November to Christmas Eve. Music on the stage from 17:00 most evenings.
In storms the market closes early; the line at the top of this site says so (sample).
Monday to Thursday
11:00–21:00
Friday
Late night with music until the end
11:00–22:00
Saturday
10:00–22:00
Sunday
10:00–20:00
Christmas Eve, Thursday 24 December
10:00–14:00
Free to walk in, easy to get round
No tickets and no queue to get in. You only pay for what you eat, drink or make.
- Wide paths between the huts for buggies and wheelchairs
- Step-free toilets and baby changing in the Corn Exchange
- Quiet hour on Tuesdays 11:00–12:00: no music, lights low
- A meeting point at the information hut if you lose each other
Market notes
Opening night: where to stand for the lights
The lights go on at 18:00 on Friday 27 November. Here is how to get a good view (sample).
Ten new huts this year
Glass, wool, candles and a soup hut: the newcomers along the old market hall (sample).
Getting to Linden Square
Linden Square, in front of the Corn Exchange
Springfield (sample)
- Tram lines 2 and 5 to Corn Exchange, two minutes' walk
- Park and ride from the ring road, every ten minutes until 22:30
- Bike racks on Mill Street and by the fountain
- Blue badge parking on Linden Row
Want a hut next year?
Applications for next season open on 1 March. Makers and food stalls from the region come first.