Christmas markets look magical online. Fairy lights, wooden huts, a mug of something warm and a child gazing up in wonder.

With kids, they can absolutely be that. They can also be a crush of strangers' elbows at buggy height, a forty-minute queue for the loo and a meltdown over a gingerbread heart. The difference is almost entirely planning. Here is what I tell families before they go.

 

Go at opening time, on a weekday

This is the single biggest thing. The same market at 11am on a Tuesday and 7pm on a Saturday are two completely different experiences.

Weekday mornings and early afternoons are calmer, the stallholders have time to chat, and the kids can actually see what is on the stalls. The lights are prettier after dark, of course, so if you want both, go early, head back for a rest, and pop out again for half an hour at dusk.

 

Carrier over buggy

If you have a little one, take a sling or carrier if you possibly can. Market aisles are narrow, often cobbled, and full of steps, kerbs and crowds. A buggy turns a stroll into an obstacle course, and you spend the whole time apologising to people's shins.

If you do need the buggy, make it the lightest, most foldable one you own.

 

 

Stay within walking distance

This is where a little extra on the hotel pays for itself. Tired children and trams do not mix, especially at 6pm in the cold.

Staying a short walk from the main market means you can go out in short bursts, come back for naps or a warm-up, and never have to drag everyone across a city at the end of the day. For families, the location of the hotel matters more than the hotel.

 

 

Dress for standing still

You are not hiking, you are standing about in the cold for long stretches. That is a different kind of cold.

 

Layers, proper hats and gloves, warm socks, and waterproof boots for the inevitable slush. Hand warmers in pockets are a small thing that makes a big difference to small hands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cash, snacks and a plan for the loo

Most stalls take cards now, but not all, and the small ones often prefer cash. Have some on you.

 

Bring your own snacks. Market food is part of the fun, but queueing for it with a hungry four-year-old is not.

And know where the nearest proper toilet is before anyone needs it. A café, a department store, your hotel. This is the bit nobody puts on Instagram.

 

 

Keep it short

The best market trips with kids are two or three nights, not a week. One market visit a day, something indoors and warm in between (a museum, a swim, a hot chocolate in a café that is not on the main square) and an early night.

 

That is how you come home with the magical photos and children who still like you.

 

 

The short version

Go early on a weekday. Carrier over buggy. Stay within walking distance. Dress for standing still. Bring cash, snacks and a loo plan. Pick a city with lots of smaller markets and keep the trip short.

 

Thinking about a Christmas market trip, this year or next? Send me a message, or comment MARKETS on my Instagram, and I'll send you my checklist. 

Get in touch at www.letsgo-travel.co.uk

 

*Jenny Willcock is a luxury family travel specialist and founder of Lets Go Travel. She travels regularly with her three children and books family holidays across Europe, the Middle East and beyond.