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Christmas market rip-offs

ended 20. November 2025

Christmas markets around the UK are now a big part of the annual calendar. Aside from the fact that they cause merry hell for locals who are locked out of their own towns by tourists buying wooden ties and other stuff they'll never use, those who run a stall or chalet are being charged an arm and a leg by councils and retail centres who see these festive shindigs as a proper cash cow. Have you ever run a christmas market stall? If so, how steep were the fees? Reasonable or a total rip-off? And did the money you made while catching a death cover it? If you've got any insights into what these markets charge, let us know. Deadline is tomorrow at 2pm.
 

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Editor
Kate Allen
Owner at Finest Stays
I don’t have any insider insight on stallholder fees, but I can say this with conviction: I hate Christmas markets with a passion. Those stalls must make money, otherwise they wouldn’t keep popping up like baubles on a tree.

The biggest rip-off? Mulled wine. It’s usually watered down like squash at a kids’ birthday party, yet somehow costs more than a decent glass in a proper pub.