Christmas market

yoginindublin

Any reviews on the xmas market by St. Stephens green? Are there interesting things for sale?

Toto Wolfcastle

I haven't been yet but here are some of the things they have for sale there.

odyssey06

Come into it from Baggot Street end rather than Grafton Street if you can ... there's a queue at the Grafton Street end during busy times.

Most of the hot food and drinks stalls are at Grafton St end.

the groutch

just a heads up, AVOID THE PICK N' MIX SELLER.

he charges €3 per 100g, more than double the price of Sweet Factory in the Stephen's Green Centre, and doesn't have this price on display anywhere, so their plan is that you don't find out how stupidly overpriced it is til you got to pay, and then feel awkward about saying you don't want them.

con1982

The whole thing looked over priced. Not pleasant walking through. It's far too narrow, lots of buggies during the day. The same stalls repeat three times. Very little arts and crafts.

Soulless

the groutch

the whole food & drink setup had a very sports event catering feel to them, and there is no way those burgers were 8oz.

petronius

I notice there is some sort of Christmas market with stalls and a big tent being set up in St. Annes Park.

alias no.9

the groutch wrote: »

the whole food & drink setup had a very sports event catering feel to them, and there is no way those burgers were 8oz.

They were before the fat content was rendered down and water content evaporated off during cooking

Gongoozler

Was in yesterday for a bit. As someone else said, don't bother queuing, if you go to the top of Dawson St there's an entrance where no one is stopping you going in.

Can't say I'm too impressed by it really as, take away the Christmas decorations and you'll find the exact same stalls at any "market" in Dublin. This is what bugs me about Dublin, it's the same stalls same people just a different day and place. They really should've put more effort and thought into this. The only thing different is the mulled wine and cider and whiskey. It's the only thing Christmassy about it.

ProudDUB

What are the drinks served in? I'm not a fan of coughing up a fiver for hot whiskey that is served in a tiny paper or plastic cup. Not only is it a far smaller serving than you'd generally have made for you in a pub or restaurant, the paper and plastic cups don't keep it hot. You have to knock it back in 2 minutes, or it goes cold.

I love what they do at the Xmas market in Edinburgh. You are served your drink in a mug. You pay a 3 quid deposit with your first drink and you get the deposit back when you return your mug. It's lovely to walk around slowly sipping your drink, while your hands are warmed by the mug.

BowWow

petronius wrote: »

I notice there is some sort of Christmas market with stalls and a big tent being set up in St. Annes Park.

http://www.iomst.ie/event/christmas-kingdom-2014/

GLaDOS

Went in yesterday and wasn't overly impressed by it, half the stalls are hot dogs/Burgers/mulled wine/hot whiskey repeated a few times. Feels fairly cramped at the grafton street end as there is a stall either side so it's hard to have a decent look at the wares.

neckedit

just back from a wee visit......
really poor. Very narrow and a bit cramped. Can't for the life of me understand why it wasn't set up in the Green itself. Would of felt so much nicer and more spacious.

loyatemu

neckedit wrote: »

just back from a wee visit......
really poor. Very narrow and a bit cramped. Can't for the life of me understand why it wasn't set up in the Green itself. Would of felt so much nicer and more spacious.

doesn't the green close when it gets dark?

carlmango11

In my experience Dublin's Christmas markets are pretty crap. Thought it might have been different this year because it was a different location maybe different organisers or whatever. But no, same old s**t according to this thread

jimmii

ProudDUB wrote: »

What are the drinks served in? I'm not a fan of coughing up a fiver for hot whiskey that is served in a tiny paper or plastic cup. Not only is it a far smaller serving than you'd generally have made for you in a pub or restaurant, the paper and plastic cups don't keep it hot. You have to knock it back in 2 minutes, or it goes cold.

I love what they do at the Xmas market in Edinburgh. You are served your drink in a mug. You pay a 3 quid deposit with your first drink and you get the deposit back when you return your mug. It's lovely to walk around slowly sipping your drink, while your hands are warmed by the mug.

It's not a patch on Edinburgh we used to live there and it was great! The mug deposit thing was great I doubt they got many back it was a nice mug for that price we still use them! In Dublin it is a plastic flute the type that are 10 for €1.50 in eurogiant. We went today Burger was nice but its just not a great spot for it not enough for people to be walking in both directions and have people standing at stalls.

neckedit

loyatemu wrote:

doesn't the green close when it gets dark?

possibly. ...but I'm sure that could be changed.

Pete_Cavan

I walked by the SSG market when they were setting things up during the week, I feared then it was going to be too small. A proper market needs space for people to wander and mingle, you dont want to feel like you are just part of a queue waiting your turn to get to the next stall.

I thought straight away this was the wrong location but then I cant think of many more suitable locations with the required space in the city centre, it just highlights how deprived Dublin is of nice, pedestrian friendly open spaces. Smithfield Square, Goerges Dock and Grand Canal Square are all nice spaces but are too far from the core city centre so would not have the same Christmas atmosphere.

I have high hopes for the market in St Annes Park, it should have the required space and they seem to have a few other attractions (Vintage Amusements, Christmas Circus, Festive Train, etc.) which should help with the festive atmosphere.

How Soon Is Now

So just your typical over priced fast food and tacky crap on sale then ya?

Not that im surprised! We seem incapable of doing markets of any kind right over here.

Pete_Cavan

How Soon Is Now wrote: »

So just your typical over priced fast food and tacky crap on sale then ya?

Not that im surprised! We seem incapable of doing markets of any kind right over here.

In fairness, if it was all artisan food and hand crafted gifts, everyone would be here complaining that the market is just for hipsters.

How Soon Is Now

Pete_Cavan wrote: »

In fairness, if it was all artisan food and hand crafted gifts, everyone would be here complaining that the market is just for hipsters.

Either one would be crap to be honest :pac:.

Ah i was just hoping for something with a nice chrismassy feeling ya know. What it sounds like is your basic set up you would find at your average run of the mill rds/city west event.

cgcsb

The posts here are universally negative but I think I'll stick my head in and have a look for myself. Id advise others to do same. If there's one thing Irish people are good at its moaning about places we've never been or things we don't understand.

odyssey06

cgcsb wrote: »

The posts here are universally negative but I think I'll stick my head in and have a look for myself. Id advise others to do same. If there's one thing Irish people are good at its moaning about places we've never been or things we don't understand.

Many of the negative posts are from people who actually attended.
As for things we don't understand... well whoever organised the market doesn't understand how to make use of space or crowd control. There's a massive bottleneck at the Grafton Street end. The stalls should be laid out on a single row, instead of on both sides, taking the full length of that part of Stephens Green.

If you can get a bite to eat and something warm to drink, and a spot to get out of the 'rivers' of pedestrian traffic, could be good craic though.

neckedit

cgcsb wrote:

The posts here are universally negative but I think I'll stick my head in and have a look for myself. Id advise others to do same. If there's one thing Irish people are good at its moaning about places we've never been or things we don't understand.

I think people are being critical not moaning.........could be better is all. I'll head back in during the week......love sausages.

odyssey06

neckedit wrote: »

I'll head back in during the week......love sausages.

There's something special about a hot dog\wurst on a chilly evening... Usually I don't like bratwursts as too seasoned for my liking, but the one I had at the market was lovely. Not sure what type it was though... any pointers welcome.

GLaDOS

I did enjoy my hot punch with Brandy if it counts for anything

Gongoozler

Yeah the location just really doesn't work very well. First thing I thought of is why not inside the park. It'd be fantastic.

And I wasn't moaning about it blindly. I went there and I've been to markets in other European capitals and they actually are Christmas markets.

Will definitely check out St Anne's.

Birneybau

cgcsb wrote: »

The posts here are universally negative but I think I'll stick my head in and have a look for myself. Id advise others to do same. If there's one thing Irish people are good at its moaning about places we've never been or things we don't understand.

It's the lack of forethought that goes into organising almost EVERYTHING in this city that is the issue.

Deenie123

I thought there used to be amusements when it was in the IFSC... Is it just a couple of rows of stalls on the road this time?

neckedit

ScienceNerd wrote:

I did enjoy my hot punch with Brandy if it counts for anything 

nice...id a few of the hot Whiskeys. ....just to take the edge off. Go and enjoy it have a drink and a nibble.......leave feedback on the FB page. Maybe they'll heed some of the criticism and it will go on to bigger and better things

ProudDUB

jimmii wrote: »

It's not a patch on Edinburgh we used to live there and it was great! The mug deposit thing was great I doubt they got many back it was a nice mug for that price we still use them! In Dublin it is a plastic flute the type that are 10 for €1.50 in eurogiant.

Yeah, Edinburgh really is great. They have the right ideas alright. How long have they been doing it? They seem to have it really figured out. They have some really great gift & jewelry wares on offer too. I bought loads of Xmas pressies, when I was there last year. They were the kind of things you wouldn't see in normal shops & were far from being your usual craft market tat. I hope the Stephens Green one is the same, but I'm not holding my breath.

Agree that the Green itself really would be a better spot. String some lights in the trees, have some carolers in the bandstand, & it would be wonderfully atmospheric, with no Luas trams or traffic spoiling the mood. There is plenty of room for the chislers to run around. I'm sure the powers that be could figure out a way to keep it open late, if need be.

The buggies can be a real pain at events like this. They just don't gel with the set up where you have stalls packed together in narrow, confined spaces and people trying to see what each one has, but they can't as buggies are blocking the access to them. I've been to art & craft fairs in the US where buggies are banned. They have a buggy parking bay that is supervised. You park your buggy (for free) and you get a ticket. You don't get the buggy back without the ticket, so its very secure.

Once inside the market, you either carry your chisler or they walk. It works brilliantly & makes the market that much easier to navigate and walk around for everyone. The traders are thrilled too as it leads to increased sales, as people can actually get into see what they have. I've left food stalls at Bloom, as I just couldn't be arsed waiting for someone to move their buggy, so I can get in to see what the stall has. I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

There'd probably be riots if someone suggested something like that here. :o:o