>>Well, have a great weekend, rest, relax and get ready for Thanksgiving in the US and also Christmas everywhere.<<

You too

(My Thanksgiving dinner will be served on a BA 747 en route from LAX to LHR)

Well, Janisj, good to know you will enjoy Thanksgiving dinner on your London bound flight.

Well, me too, I will be reaching Amsterdam on Thursday and then on to Estonia. Returning via London, thus stopping there for about 2 days.

Hope the weather cooperates as it seems it will be cold and rainy most of the days. Maybe snowy in Estonia.
But Christmas time is always fun with a bit of white stuff. I just hope I will find some fun-filled, unique little things for the grand kids.
I am truly Thankful for my Fodor friends.
Have a safe and pleasant trip and enjoy the holiday season in beautiful London.

I've only ever consumed food and drink from the big, busy markets (mainly South Bank each year) but, yes, the stalls at these kinds of things appear to be run by companies that do this sort of thing - i.e. set up all the stalls, hire a lot of temporary cheap labour, provide the food, drinks, trinkets, etc. Probably no surprise but they are not crafts-people or real 'food people'.

The ones like South Bank are big booze oriented money machines that attract huge crowds (still nice to visit for a drink). But there are many different fairs all over the place and the ones with handmade things will tend to be smaller and more out of the way. Here's a great list of London Christmas markets - just scroll past the big ones listed first and you'll see some interesting ones with all kinds of different themes. OP may not have time but others may find useful.

https://www.timeout.com/london/shopp...airs-in-london

Mouse--THANKS again for your help. Keeping notes, so I will be prepared wherever I end up going.
It should be fun just to see the festive mood, the people and what the world is offering and others are buying in the spirit of giving for the holidays.
Have a great weekend and stay warm.

Thank you all! I've been exploring some of the links and now I am even more excited for this trip! What a great time to be visiting these two amazing cities. This may be the start of a new tradition for our family...Thanksgiving break in Europe!

Happy travels! I would hope that those who have benefitted from this thread will report back upon return.

I always love London...but I have a particular fondness for it at this time of year...it always puts a smile on my face and in the spirit of Christmas...helps that I also get to see my brothers and family

Other Christmas markets in London:-

Scandinavian Christmas markets, too late for this year (unless you go today) but good to remember for next. There is usually a market in the Swedish Church in Harcourt Street, London, Norwegian Christmas market in St Olav's Street London, the Danish Christmas Market in NW3 and a Finnish Christmas market at the Finnish Church SE16. There are also Santa Lucia concerts held in various churches incl St Pauls on 13th December (again too late for this year as they are sold out). All that seems to be left is the Julbord (Christmas buffet) at the Swedish Church on 18 December.

I'm going to visit Maltby Street market as a change from Borough Market

Maltby St Market

Kingston Market is mentioned in the timeout link given above but it is the faux German type, it is still fun and Christmassy if not very authentic. Location is nice though, with several pubs and chain restaurants along the River Thames. It is a bit similar but smaller in scale to the one on South Bank. Better off going to Hampton Court Palace for ice skating and then to the gift shop outside a few doors down from the Mute Swan pub or a gift shop in Bridge Road, Hampton Court Village.

If you're going to Maltby Street Market between Christmas and New Years; check if it is open. I was there 2 years ago, and it was mostly closed.

For souvenirs, in addition to the museum stores that have been mentioned, check out this on Carnaby Street;
https://www.webuilt-thiscity.com/

If you happen to be in Notting Hill, Ceramica Blue on Blenheim Crescent have some nice London-themed stuff. And if you're there anyway, pop into books-for-cooks next door. Lovely store.

I'm always happy to learn but I don't believe Christmas markets as a Christmas leisure pastime have any real or significant history in England or English culture and many either have a faux 'traditional' Germanic or Scandinavian theme. Or have no theme (e.g. stalls in a church basement or school) or a modern day theme (sustainability, etc).

Therefore, I don't think anyone should bother to seek out 'authentic' English Christmas markets as they are a relatively recent feature on our landscape. I think that most of the larger markets in the UK have some level of nordic or germanic theme and in the cities, we see more and more pop up tents or temporary buildings that sell booze in a faux ski chalet type environment.

Since this thread is largely about different types of Christmas markets, I thought it was worth making that point.

I'll maybe be the first to say that Christmas markets of any kind, whether in Germany or Alsace or Italy or anywhere else strike me as the beginning of a Pinterest-like obsession with glittery baubles, Glühwein, cheap Asian trinkets, and those insipid apple crisps. Completely faux but oh so appealing to the furriners. Kind of like a cruise ship buffet on land.

I think in any city in europe there are more authentic Christmas celebrations than these garish markets (I do agree some in Germany are authentic and worth visiting - elsewhere, not so much)

I was responding to a post about the 'authenticity' of different markets in England. So completely relevant point to make in response to that post.

kmowatt: you have mail . . .