Now that Halloween and Bonfire Night are over, I think it’s perfectly acceptable that the Christmas festivities begin! Christmas is my favourite time of year, so I like to start celebrating as early as possible. I always swear to myself that I will get organised and do all my Christmas shopping early, but it never seems to work out… I swear this year will be different!
There’s loads of things you can do in Birmingham to get into the Christmas spirit. The Frankfurt Christmas Market opened last weekend, and although it’s smaller than usual due to Covid restrictions, it’s still great fun. There’s about fifty stalls selling little presents, food and alcohol! It’s the largest authentic German Christmas market outside of Germany or Austria and they often have a band playing. It’s great for an evening out, just remember to wrap up warm. Outside the Library there’s ice skating, a bar and a ferris wheel that they’ve just opened too. That’s great fun and right next to Broad Street, so you can pop into Spoons and give their Christmas menu a try (my favourites are the pigs in blankets).
As I said above, I always say I’m going to be organised at Christmas but it never seems to work out… This year I’m going to try really hard though because I have enough to do, being in my final year and applying to graduate schemes, so I don’t need the stress of last minute shopping too. I’ve been reading some tips online and everywhere is telling me to create an Excel spreadsheet with everyone I need to buy for and what I’m getting, so I’m going to make it at the weekend!
In regards to actually carrying out your Christmas shopping, the Bullring is great and so is Merry Hill Shopping Centre, which is just on the outskirts of Birmingham. But be warned, the second December hits, these places get ridiculously busy and you’ll have to queue for everything, including escalators! So, if you’re going to leave your Christmas shopping late, I would try to do it all online.
There are going to be a lot of Christmas-themed blog posts up until the New Year because I absolutely love it! I hope you don’t mind!