Enthusiasts of vintage and retro delights shall find this weekend particularly delightful should they venture to Manchester’s Christmas Markets before they shutter next week.
Seizing the opportunity to savour a warm beverage may unveil a nostalgic surprise, for the likelihood is high that it shall be presented in a vintage mug harkening back to Christmases of yore in Manchester. This occurrence follows the swift sell-out of this year’s mugs, rendering the relics of festive seasons past the coveted vessels of the moment.
25 years on and Manchester’s best-in-the-world Christmas Markets are proving even more popular than ever with last weekend seeing market bosses forced to start bringing out the vintage mugs from previous years, in order to meet phenomenal customer demand.
This is the second year in a row that demand for the highly prized and collectable Christmas mugs has outstripped supply – despite tens of thousands more mugs being ordered in this year than last.
Visitors to Manchester’s best-in-the-world Christmas Market have got through a staggering 170,000 of the much-loved specially produced mugs this year – that’s 30,000 more mugs than were produced for last year’s Christmas markets.
Designed by the city council’s in-house design studio, this year’s edition of the much-coveted mugs features festive Nutcracker designs with a distinctive and on-trend Scandi feel.
Despite ordering thousands more mugs this year in a bid to help make sure visitors to Manchester’s Christmas markets could get their hands on one of the special edition mugs whenever they chose to visit, it has been pretty much vintage mugs only on stalls across the market since last weekend.
Whilst there are still some of this year’s Gluhwein mugs in circulation, they’re few and far between and are set to sell out before the market ends next week.
“The love that is out there for Manchester’s Christmas Markets and for our iconic Christmas mugs is just off the scale right now. 25 years on and people still can’t get enough of them, it’s incredible.
“Whilst this year’s fabulous Nutcracker inspired mugs are now few and far between on the markets, we’ve been bringing out the vintage mugs from Christmases past since last weekend to re-stock the stalls that have run out of this year’s.
“And what a hit they’re proving to be with shoppers who are just loving the nostalgia of it all!Councillor Pat Karney, Christmas spokesperson for Manchester City Council
“So come on down and grab a bit of merry Manchester memorabilia while you still can – when the vintage stock goes it’s going to be jingle bells and recyclable paper cups all the way ’til the markets close.”
Manchester’s Christmas markets close on Thursday 21 December.
They are open daily until then at the following times:
All craft stalls 10 am – 8 pm
All bars and food stalls 11 am – 9 pm
The food and drink stalls in Cathedral Gardens alongside the skate rink will remain open until 31 December.
