Christmas is one of the most magical times of the year. It’s a fantastic opportunity to spread cheer, gratitude, and generosity by giving back to your community.

What better way to fuel that festive cheer than setting up a stall at a Christmas market?

Christmas markets are a fabled European tradition that UK event creators have redefined and made their own. The UK is home to some of the globe’s most enchanting Christmas markets and provides unique experiences shoppers simply can’t find anywhere else.

As a retailer or an event creator, taking part in a Christmas market should be a no-brainer. More than a third of UK shoppers regularly flock to a Christmas market, and retail spending around the holidays is healthier in the UK than in most European countries. That means setting up shop at a Christmas market could be a great business move.

And if you need help getting started, we’ve got you covered.

Eventbrite is essentially your Christmas HQ. Every year, our community of event creators plan and promote thousands of Christmas markets — so we know a thing or two about putting on a festive event.

This guide will explain why you should set up a Christmas market stall, spell out 10 Christmas market stall ideas, and cover how much Christmas market stalls typically cost.

Table of Contents

Why should you set up Christmas market stalls?

Christmas market stall ideas to make you stand out from the crowd

UK Christmas markets you can’t miss

Ready to start planning and promoting your Christmas market stall?

Christmas market customers walk through pathway lined with stalls

Why should you set up Christmas market stalls?

If you’re a retailer, food and drinks vendor, or even a creator who offers a range of interactive experiences, joining a Christmas market is a great way to boost your brand visibility, explore new venues, and expand your reach to a wider audience.

Christmas is the season of giving — and that’s why 73% of Brits say they’re excited to give the perfect gift to loved ones on Christmas Day. Fortunately for retailers, consumer spending is still healthy in the UK. According to researchers at Kantar, 4.7 million UK shoppers say they’re planning to spend more on Christmas gifts than they did last year.

Translation: Christmas is the best time of year to hit sales, and leveraging the power of community Christmas events can boost your profits.

The UK has some of the most popular Christmas markets in the world, and for good reason. They create an immersive shopping experience that shoppers can’t get on the High Street. Christmas markets take community events to the next level by attracting shoppers from all over the world to our neighbourhoods.

With such a high level of footfall, Christmas markets are an incredible opportunity to set up a food and drinks stall, or something more interactive like a virtual reality (VR) experience. You can even use a Christmas market stall as an opportunity to pass out information and promote future events — giving you the opportunity to boost sales and create repeat customers.

Chalet-style Christmas market stall filled with Christmas decorations

What types of products are good for Christmas market stalls?

Whatever products and services you offer, chances are you can sell or promote them at a Christmas market stall.

Popular Christmas market stall ideas include a range of items like homemade decorations, knitwear, wooden toys, personalised advent calendars, and gingerbread houses. In terms of food and drinks creators, you’re always going to be popular selling mulled wine, hot chocolate, lebkuchen, cheese, or bratwurst.

Meanwhile, you’ll often see creators who specialise in experiences using markets to set up a Christmas tree maze, VR experience, animal petting, Santa’s grotto, holiday scavenger hunt, or small ice skating rink.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You don’t need to sell German Christmas cookies to find success at a Christmas market. In fact, selling less traditional market items may help your stall stand out from the crowd.

If you want a little inspiration from real event creators and their markets, check out Local Makers Market

It has all the staples of a traditional London Christmas market — from mulled wine and locally sourced clothing to ceramics, jewellery, handmade gifts, and lots of delicious cake stalls. But it also showcases less traditional Christmas gifts by local artists. They’ve got screen prints, embroidery, graphic tees, homemade pottery, houseplants — the list goes on.

Translation: You can sell anything at a Christmas market. You’ve just got to make sure you differentiate yourself and your products from the sea of competition out there.

Christmas market stall ideas to make you stand out from the crowd

If you’re going to brave the cold weather by setting up a market stall, you’ve got to do everything you can to stand out to potential customers. The competition is fierce, with incredible festive products and stall designs and delicious fresh food and beverage options.

Follow these pro tips to help make your Christmas stall pop.

Promote your Christmas stall ahead of the event

One of the best ways to attract customers to your market stall is by letting everybody know ahead of time that you’re going to be there.

One way to do that is to set up a custom event listing on Eventbrite, letting people know when and where your Christmas stall will be open. Your event page is then searchable on the world’s biggest events database — and it’s shareable, so you can promote your event page on social media or via email.

With Eventbrite’s marketing tools, you can even schedule social media posts, create targeted advertisements, and send automated emails to your contacts database.

Christmas stall signs shine above large crowd

Make your signage pop

Christmas markets are a feast for the senses. If you want to catch people’s attention, you need to ensure you’ve got loud signage that will stop them in their tracks.

Make sure you use a large, simple typeface that’s easy to read and understand and colours that align with your brand. A fantastic option is to include QR codes on your signage pointing to your website, social media channels, or even your Eventbrite creator page. This will encourage social engagement before, during, and after each sale.

Want to learn more? Check out our guide for pro tips on how to create event signs that’ll have people queuing at your stall. 

Get creative with your table space

Christmas market stalls present a great sales opportunity, but you don’t have a lot of table space to work with. So you need to exercise some visual merchandising skills to maximise shoppers’ interest:

For lessons on best practice, take a look at event creator Black Culture Market. The stalls at their annual East London Christmas market are brimming with unique posters, imagery, and products that instantly pull customers in to see more.

Christmas stall holder laughs with customers at table
Black Culture Market – Christmas Market / Black Culture Market / Brixton, London, UK

Promote future stalls and events on the day

It’s great to land a sale at a Christmas market. But by deploying some relationship building, you can transform a casual sale into a year-round customer.

Greet new customers at your stall and invite them to go to your Eventbrite creator page to find out when you’ll be at other markets and events. If you’ve already got future events lined up, sell those tickets at your stall. Encourage customers to search for your events on the Eventbrite app and buy them then and there.

You can even set up a data capture form on a tablet asking for people’s emails and add them to your mailing lists for future holiday marketing.

Ready to make your Christmas market stall a success?

Event Organiser at Christmas
Bird's eye view of Edinburgh Christmas Market at Princes Street Gardens

The UK is home to some of the globe’s top Christmas markets, so if you want to set up a stall at the best of the best, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Stall prices vary dramatically, from £100 for a small table to several thousand per day for large tents in prominent spots.

To help give you an idea, let’s take a look at some of the UK’s top markets and how much they charge.

Bath Christmas Market

In 2024, the Bath Christmas Market runs from 28 November until 15 December. It features a range of chalet-style stalls selling a variety of Christmas wares. 

Vendor stalls start from £150, but it’s important to note that applications for Bath’s market close early.

Edinburgh Christmas Market

Edinburgh Christmas Market has grown rapidly in recent years to become one of Europe’s biggest and most well-known markets. This year, it runs from 15 November until 4 January. 

Stall prices for this year haven’t been finalised yet, but you can contact the organisers and enquire through the Edinburgh Christmas website to find out how to join the market.

Chatsworth Christmas Market

This year, Derbyshire’s Chatsworth Christmas Market takes place from 9 November until 5 January. Featuring over 100 stalls and live music, you don’t want to miss it. If you’d like to set up a stall, prices aren’t disclosed online. You’ll have to enquire through their website.

Belfast Christmas Market

Belfast Christmas Market is set up against the backdrop of the historic Belfast City Hall, and it’s open from early in the morning until late into the evening. This year, it’s taking place from 16 November to 22 December. Vendor prices aren’t disclosed online, but if you go into the traders area and sign up you can make a stall enquiry.

Manchester Christmas Market

Manchester Christmas Market is running from 8 November to 22 December this year. In the past, vendors have said costs can run around £200 per day for stallholders, but prices aren’t disclosed online. If you’re keen to open a stall, you can register and ‌enquire to find out more.

Ready to start planning and promoting your Christmas market stall?

If you want to expand your reach, build your brand, and capitalise on the UK’s festive cheer, you should consider a Christmas market stall. But with all the competition out there, you’ve got to make sure you’re doing everything you can to stand out from the crowd.

That’s where Eventbrite can help. With Eventbrite, you can pre-promote your stalls, drive market customers to future events, and even sell tickets on the spot. 

Ready to get started?