Why mulled wine & Christmas markets will never be the same…

November 9, 2013

I may not get carried away with lavish and overly traditional festive goings-on, but when it comes to Christmas markets, I go weak at the knees and want them to last forever. They’re so enchanting, magical and atmospheric. I love mulled wine and European food… it’s my idea of heaven and I hope we can visit Berlin Christmas markets one year. My first experience of proper Christmas markets was when I lived in Manchester and, whilst Sheffield’s are good, they don’t quite compare. That said, I’ll never forget the year it snowed really bad a few weeks before Christmas, it was three years ago now, and me and Dan ventured up to an empty Sheffield city centre in calf-deep snow and had mulled wine in the midst of a minor blizzard at the markets. Despite not being able to feel my toes, it was pretty special.

Last year our visit to Manchester Christmas markets was kinda life changing. It was drizzly and cold, so I bought I new hat and we warmed ourselves up with mulled wine in between our visits to the various parts of the city. We drank, ate, laughed and lost ourselves in the festive spirit of it all. After a perfect evening we went for food in a bar called Gorilla, a song came on we both love and want to have as part of our wedding and Dan proposed. I said yes, we had champagne, shared a complimentary dessert and got the train home. Understated, romantic and perfect. When I think of our engagement I think of mulled wine, Christmas markets and laughing in the rain.