Christmas in 2020 is going to look a little different...
With the recent announcement in the UK that we’ll be spending at least the next four weeks in the run up to Christmas in lockdown, it’s safe to say that the usual festive celebrations that we know and love are going to have to adapt.
I usually love to travel around Christmas time and have already lined up all the Christmas markets that I want to visit. If you’re anything like me, one of the things you look forward to the most during the festive season is visiting the Christmas markets, whether they be in your local town or city, or the famous markets across Germany, Austria and the rest of Europe.
There’s nothing quite like getting together with loved ones around the warm glow of the market stalls, sampling hearty food and mulled wine and swaying to a Christmas song or ten. Of course, with social distancing being key to stopping the spread of the dreaded C-word, it’s completely understandable that most Christmas markets this year have already been cancelled. So, with even staycations in the UK off the cards for the time being, I thought I’d put together a few ideas for enjoying Christmas in lockdown at home.
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How can we make the best of Christmas in lockdown?
Whilst Christmas in lockdown is a fairly depressing prospect for many of us, I’m determined to still make the most of the festive season at home! Whilst the regular Christmas market experience won’t be happening in 2020, I’ve put together a few creative ideas for how you can bring the magic of the European Christmas markets home.
In this post you’ll find 10 ways to enjoy the best bits of the Christmas markets, including the food, atmosphere and even a bit of shopping, from the comfort of your own home! Keep reading to find out how.
Enjoying Christmas in lockdown - European Christmas market food to make and try at home
As we all know, one of the best things about Christmas markets is the food! Sweet, savory, hot and hearty are all words that spring to mind when I think of the food at the Christmas markets I’ve visited over the years. There’s nothing quite like a freshly flame-grilled Frankfurter washed down with a stein of beer or a warming mug of mulled wine.
Thankfully there are plenty of ways to enjoy your favourite Christmas market flavours at home by adding a few extras to your grocery list and trying out some new recipes.
1. Slow cooker mulled wine
This one is perfect for a cozy weekend indoors! Making your own Glühwein at home is really easy, and if you’ve got a slow cooker hidden away somewhere in your kitchen, it’s the perfect way to have a good supply of mulled wine on the go all day! Having to spend Christmas in lockdown is as good a reason as any to indulge in some alcohol, but you can always swap out the wine for cranberry juice if you want a non alcoholic version.
What you’ll need:
- 2x bottles of red wine – if you want to make a large batch a box of wine like this one will go further!
- 100ml Cointreau
- The zest and juice from 2x oranges
- 120g brown or golden sugar
Spices:
- 2x cinnamon sticks
- 3x star anise
- 4x cloves
- orange slices to garnish
Equipment:
- A slow cooker (this cheap Crock Pot will do the job just fine!) or large saucepan if you are making on the hob
- Some nice festive mugs to serve in
How to make slow cooker mulled wine
This is a super easy recipe! Simply pop all the ingredients except for the orange slices into the slow cooker, give it a stir and set to heat on the ‘low’ setting for 1 to 2 hours.
Once all the spices have had time to blend, you can ladle the mulled wine into your best Christmas mugs (I’ve got some that I’ve collected from different Christmas markets that I’ll be using!).
Turn your slow cooker down to the ‘warm’ setting to keep your mulled wine warm throughout the evening!
How to make lazy mulled wine
If you don’t fancy stocking up on all the individual spices, you can make life even easier by getting these sachets of pre mixed mulled wine spices. Simply add them to your wine with some water and you’re good to go!
2. Baking homemade Lebkuchen
Lebkuchen are those delicious little spiced biscuits, a little bit like gingerbread, that you find in all of the German Christmas markets! They come in all shapes and sizes, but they most often take shape as hearts hand decorated with white icing or iced lettering across them.
Baking some homemade Lebkuchen is a fun way to get into the Christmas spirit with the whole family, or a great homemade gift to send to a friend or loved one that you are missing. Make your Lebkuchen hearts even more personal by icing a special message on them!
Recipes for Lebkuchen Gingerbread:
- This Lebkuchen recipe from BBC Food is simple and easy to follow.
- For authentic German flavour, try this recipe from The Daring Gourmet
Skip the baking
If you’re not into baking, you can pick up some readymade Lebkuchen from Amazon’s online grocery store. It’s worth checking the middle aisle in Aldi or Lidl too, as they often stock traditional treats like Lebkuchen around Christmastime.
3. Warm up with German sausages and a winter BBQ
Possibly the favourite go to food at any Christmas market – I am of course talking about sausages! There’s definitely something to be enjoyed about tucking into a piping hot Bratwurst or Frankfurter when you’re stood outside on a cold, dark December evening, but surely this isn’t something you could do at home?
Well, if you have a bit of back garden and a small BBQ or firepit, you might be in luck! Check the weather for a clear (rain free!) night and get the household together for a winter BBQ. Just remember to wrap up warm!
Christmas market themed BBQ essentials
- A small BBQ for cooking your sausages and grilling onions
- Some traditional German sausages e.g. bratwurst, Frankfurters etc. Check out the world foods aisle in your local supermarket as well as budget German chains, Aldi and Lidl.
- Some traditional accompaniments such as sliced onions for grilling, currywurst sauce, sauerkraut, mustard, ketchup and hot dog buns.
4. Get the beers in!
This is a pretty easy one, as beers from all over the world are pretty easy to come by in most supermarkets! To get into the Bavarian spirit, I’d recommend getting hold of some Hofbraü Original, which is the beer from Munich’s most famous beer hall Hofbräuhaus.
Don’t forget you stein to drink it from! Cheers!
Shop local to get your craft market fix
No visit to a Christmas market is complete without wandering around the winding rows of market stalls and marveling at the unique crafts and handmade gifts on display. I always like to pick something up either as a gift or as a travel memento.
Now more than ever, it’s so important that we shop local to support local businesses, artists and craftspeople. So how can we help support these small businesses without being able to go and physically buy their products at Christmas and craft markets?
5. Shop from local businesses online or even organise an online craft market!
The best way to support local business is definitely going to be through online sales and events for the next few weeks. Here are a few ideas on how you can support family, friends and local businesses:
Create a social media community event
If your local area has a community Facebook page (you can always set one up if yours doesn’t), why not organise an online craft fair evening through Facebook live? Local crafters can have a short slot each to show off their products, answer questions and take orders.
Start a Zoom craft market
If you want to take things a step further, you could set up a weekly online craft market through Zoom. Let crafters take a speaker spot for 5 – 10 mins each to promote their products. You could also make the sessions more interactive with craft demonstrations and Q&As over a nice mulled wine. Get creative with your background to give everything a more Christmassy feel!
Get involved with online craft hours
Throughout the week there are a number of different small business and craft hashtags that are used to promote services and products. If you are a crafter, take advantage of these times to promote your products, if you are looking for handmade gifts search these tags to find great gift ideas. Here’s a useful list of all the tags used nationwide and in local areas.
Make Christmas in lockdown special by decking the halls!
If ever there was a year to go OTT with the Christmas decorations, it’s 2020. Not being able to travel will mean that most of us will be spending a lot longer at home this year, so adding a bit of extra sparkle might just help things feel a little more cheerful. Here’s a few Christmas market inspired ways to up your Christmas at home game.
6. Solar powered fairy lights
One of the most inviting things about the European Christmas markets, for me, is that warm and cozy glow that seems to draw you into the stalls. Thankfully, you can easily recreate that warm glow at home with some carefully placed strings of fairy lights.
Whether you live in a house, apartment or even a minivan, fairy lights automatically make any place look warmer and more inviting, fact! For outdoor spaces solar powered fairy lights are a great option, as there’s no worrying about plugs or rain damage, just position them wherever you like. To get more of a Christmas market look spruce up any trees or plants with some baubles and then throw some fairy lights over.
If you don’t have an outdoor space, try using battery operated lights around your room. They work really well as lamps inside empty glass bottles, or you could make a blanket fort into a Christmas grotto for little ones and light it using fairy lights.
7. Warm up around a fire pit
Huddling next to your loved ones (or at least the ones you live with) with some marshmallows and some mulled wine can make for a perfect cozy night!
This Clas Ohlson fire basket is perfect for small outdoor spaces and doesn’t cost the earth at £23.99. Just add giant marshmallows and you are good to go. Remember to use it safely and responsibly of course!
8. Give a garden shed a Christmas market makeover
When you really boil it down to the basics, a Christmas market stall is essentially just a very nicely lit shed! If you’ve got a shed in your back garden that’s not reaching its full festive potential, why not spend an afternoon transforming it into your very own Christmas market stall? Throw on some fairy lights, tinsel and some holly leaves and you’ll soon have your very own festive shack.
Whilst this is obviously no replacement to the real thing, it’s a great one for families to do as the kids can help to decorate your ‘Christmas Market’ and once it’s done you can set up a fold out table nearby with some homemade goodies and decorations and pretend you’re at a real market.
Getting in the festive mood during lockdown
One of the most enjoyable things about Christmas markets is of course the atomsphere! Obviously, you won’t be able to recreate the same hustle and bustle at Christmas during lockdown for obvious reasons, but there are still parts of the atmosphere that you can enjoy from home.
9. Set the scene with an epic Christmas playlist
Alexa, play ‘All I Want for Christmas’…
It’s not Christmas unless you’ve heard the same Mariah Carey song 200 times in one week and there’s no reason why Christmas in lockdown needs to be any different.
Turn up your speakers, whack on a good old Christmas playlist and sway merrily over to your slow cooker full of mulled wine! This Spotify playlist is a great place to start.
10. Put on your best Christmas jumpers
I can’t speak for everybody, but I find that a Christmas market is the very best place to show of my ugliest, most garish Christmas jumpers.
Have a Christmas jumper day at home and challenge everyone in your house to find the most cringeworthy jumper possible! Better still, buy each other ugly Christmas jumpers to wear! It’s worth mentioning that loads of Christmas jumpers end up in landfills every year, so try eBay or Depop to locate a second hand jumper and do your bit for sustainability!
Alternatively, make the most of being at home and have a Christmas PJs day – fun, comfy and zero judgement!
I hope this post has given you all a few ideas for enjoying Christmas in lockdown a little more, and hopefully cures the Christmas market itch a little bit at least! I’d love to hear what plans you have for spending Christmas time at home over the next few weeks, so let me know in the comments.
In the meantime stay safe and well!
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