What are the opening hours?

Monday 10am - 10pm Tuesday 10am - 10pm Wednesday 10am - 10pm Thursday 10am - 10pm Friday 10am - 10pm Saturday 10am - 10pm Sunday 10am - 10pm

Southampton Christmas Market

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Southampton Christmas Market

Southampton's wonderful array of small businesses, hoping to make your Christmas extra special.
(1423)

13/02/2026

With just 315 days left until Christmas, the 2026 build has begun!

07/01/2026

𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧, 𝗦𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗧𝗢𝗡'𝗦 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗜𝗠𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗦 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗡 🗑️

What an extended festive season we've had with you all! Truly memorable as you brought us some big achievements such as:

⭐ Less beer sales than ever before!
⭐ More online complaints than we've ever had
⭐ An increase in trade for Hubbly Bubbly V**e Shop
⭐ A rise in Google search traffic for 'Lisa 50p Southampton'

𝗦𝗢 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗪𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗

First and foremost (and this is meant genuinely), that the people that staff the stalls, and the people who spend all the time putting the market together and taking it down again, deserve a round of applause for the work they do. Through rain, wind, cold, and snotty nosed kids, they've stuck it out! 👏

It is also though of course clear that the people behind the curtain of the market, that make the big decisions and handle the money, probably need to look at the way they're doing all of this.

The simple fact is that the residents of almost every UK city complain about their Christmas Market. However there are plenty of cities that do it much better. They offer better quality food for the prices, they make stalls viable for local businesses to actually book, rather than them all being filled with unwanted tat, and half the cabins being empty, and they focus on the magic of a Christmas Market, rather than flogging a bit of food and making the city centre claustrophobic with very expensive fairground rides. If the current model is the only way that the market makes any profit, then judging by everyone's feedback on this page the whole approach itself maybe needs a rethink.

𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗣𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗘𝗫𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗦

For those who hilariously haven't worked it out yet, this is a parody page. It's been running since 2015, and continues to do so for nothing more than to give some of you a bit of a chuckle.

We all know everyone loves to moan, so why not all have a laugh together here? UK Christmas Markets will always be complained about and laughed about, whichever city they're in. In reality we love that efforts are made to ensure something happens at Christmas in Southampton, and we care about it being the best possible offering to the residents of Southampton, and to those visiting too. Some of you love this market and look forward to it each year, some of you can't stand it, but giving that honest feedback will hopefully be seen and taken on board by the organisers, and we all say these things because we care about this city.

We genuinely hope you've all enjoyed the festive season, and that none of our silly little posts triggered you too much (although it's pretty fun watching some of you get all worked up at times 😝), and we do genuinely extend a thanks to S&J Leisure for the fact they picked up the pieces when the previous provider had to pull out a few years back, and have continued to make sure there's an offering here in the city. We just all hope that it can improve and adapt over the years to best serve the City of Southampton

❤️

29/12/2025

As advertised, the market is still open right through until early January! We're sure you can make out the hive of activity taking place at our wonderful gift stalls pictured here.

Additionally, we're currently deconstructing Santa's Grotto as he's #!?ked off on his hollibobs, and will be constructing a Santa's gift return centre instead very soon

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas everyone! 🍊 We can't wait to welcome you all back to the UK's most beautiful Christmas Market tomorrow. We're here until well after New Year!

24/12/2025

Many people don't realise that Southampton was a vital part of the nativity story!

As we all know, Baby J. Josephson struggled with breathing issues after birth, and Mary had to call NHS 111 to work out what to do. They ended up sending out three kings, who were the equivalent of maternity doctors at the time.

Onto the part you were never taught though, it was actually the frankincense provided by the second king, that cured those breathing issues, and where did that frankincense come from? That's right, Cloud Nine gift shop in the Marlands! 😮

The item was sent down to the docks via dock gate 20, and shipped over to Bethlehem promptly, as the king had selected rush delivery option and paid an extra 7.99 for it. And today we can all be thankful he made that decision.

Apparently the couple never reimbursed the king for this, but he was happy to let it slide.

So in short, Southampton saved Christmas!

19/12/2025

Today's special guest stall 😍 We took in the feedback that you guys are looking for more local sellers, with a rider range of market items, so we truly delivered!

Make sure you visit Sam's Mobile Accessories, located outside Burger King, or wherever Sam decides to wheel off to

15/12/2025

Due to having wages to pay soon, we REALLY need you guys to come down and fill up these standing tables please 🙏

We would offer chairs, but that costs more, and we already have two members of staff asking for an advance before Christmas, which is putting Michelle in finance under added pressure and she's already having to deal with her dog being at the vets lately

13/12/2025

Big thanks to Charlene who went out to Southampton Christmas Market and made this beautiful collage of all the festive gifts she was able to pick up on her visit! 😍

I think we can safely say all the family will be happy unwrapping their gifts on the 25th!

08/12/2025

Phil in IT has just informed us that AI is all the rage now, so we jumped onto all the popular AI platforms to ask them this exact question! The answers surprised us!

ChatGPT:
"Southampton’s Christmas Market is basically a lively funfair wearing a Christmas hat. You get plenty of rides, loud bars and frankfurters, but not much in the way of cosy wooden chalets or proper artisan stalls. It’s fine if you’re already in the city and want a mulled wine while being blasted by pop music, but it’s not the sort of place anyone should travel for. Wi******er is twenty minutes away and shows it up every single year."

Gemini:
"It is not a Christmas market. It is a funfair in a trench coat. If you want a quaint, magical "German" experience, go to Wi******er. If you want to drink a two-pint stein of lager and scream on a spinning ride while staring at a Primark, this is the place for you."

Claude:
"Southampton Christmas Market is a functional but mediocre affair that turns Above Bar Street into an impassable bottleneck when the city has plenty of green space that could actually accommodate it properly. It's mostly generic food stalls flogging bratwurst and mulled wine with precious few interesting craft stalls (Wi******er does it significantly better), and the main draw is honestly the fairground rides, which tells you everything about the market itself. Run by a private events company with that corporate Christmas feel, it drags on from mid-November to early January. Fine if your kid wants to go on the ferris wheel and you fancy an overpriced mulled cider, but you'd get a better actual Christmas market experience driving elsewhere."

Grok:
"Southampton Christmas Market is a cramped, soggy parade of wooden huts flogging mulled wine that tastes like hot Ribena and regret, overpriced sausages in weird sauce, and tat nobody needs, all soundtracked by “Last Christmas” on repeat while you queue in the rain for a £9 crepe that collapses faster than your will to live. They’ve bolted on a 60 m Starflyer and a bungee thing for adrenaline, two bars with tarpaulin roofs for the inevitable downpour, and a laser show on the Bargate that’s basically PowerPoint with elves. It’s peak mid-tier British festive: not magical enough to write home about, not tragic enough to boycott, just the sort of place you’ll stumble round half-pissed because it’s there and you’re already wearing a coat. Go once, tick the box, wake up wondering why."

So there you have it! Proof that AI doesn't know what it's talking about, clearly clueless!

(Yes, these were the genuine replies they each gave)

01/12/2025

Our custom Southampton Advent Calendar has been opened today, and inside we found Wiggle the cat from A-K Grooming room 😍

What Southampton attractions, legends and little quirks do you think we'll find behind the other doors?

(P.S. You cannot buy these advent calendars at the market. You are limited to football team merchandise and weird bottles of glitter instead)

28/11/2025

Want to add some warmth and a little zinggg to your sausage? Why not take a tug on our Mustard Ni**le!? 🌭

Seriously, don't be shy, give it a good squeeze. It's the only way to get that golden goodness out! No cap, this mustard slaps fr. Bet.

Address

Above Bar Street
Southampton
SO147

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 10pm
Tuesday	10am - 10pm
Wednesday	10am - 10pm
Thursday	10am - 10pm
Friday	10am - 10pm
Saturday	10am - 10pm
Sunday	10am - 10pm

Website

http://www.southampton-christmas-festival.co.uk/

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