Visiting Birmingham Christmas market with kids

When it comes to feeling festive, there’s nothing quite like a German Christmas market. But while my pre-Christmas budget wouldn’t stretch to a last-minute city break in Germany itself, I could manage the next best thing – a weekend break at the German Christmas market in Birmingham.

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One of the largest in the UK, the Frankfurt Christmas market in Birmingham (to give it its official name) is now in its 20th year. And I didn’t even have to worry about negotiating Birmingham’s city centre traffic or parking as my seven-year-old and I hopped onto a National Express coach for our Christmas city break.

Since my daughter was born, I’ve found myself driving more and more for our UK breaks, especially because train travel often works out so expensive – but travelling by coach is not only easier for a city break, but a lot cheaper and a greener option than taking the car.

It’s been a long time since I last travelled by coach but things have very definitely changed – leather seats, power sockets, even an onboard entertainment app called Vuer so you can watch films and TV as you travel.

Unfortunately, although the WiFi was on, there was no internet for our journey but the chance to sit back and read my book, and not have to be the one navigating the M42 (contender for my least favourite motorway) was a welcome change.

One thing that hasn’t changed is how cheap the tickets are – you can find them for £5 or less (plus a booking fee) and you can reserve seats on some services for £2, with more than 750 destinations available.

Even a relatively last-minute ticket from London to Birmingham at the same times we travelled costs £34.70 return including reservations and fees – in case you fancy popping up for a pre-Christmas weekend too.

Add in the fact that they provide booster seats for kids aged between around four to 11 (up to 150cm tall), there are toilets on board and you can take two medium sized suitcases for all their paraphernalia – though for once, I was packing light! – and it makes family travel very easy, not to mention getting my daughter’s approval for being environmentally friendly.

If you have younger kids, you can also bring your own child seat, although you’re responsible for fitting it yourself. If your kids do get motion sick, it’s also worth bringing travel wrist bands or tablets as you might for car journeys.

Then around 10 minutes walk from Digbeth Coach Station was the start of the 80 plus stalls making up Birmingham Christmas market, stretching up New Street towards Victoria Square.

As the forecast was well and truly drizzly on Saturday afternoon, we postponed our bratwursts and hot chocolate for the following morning and popped into the fish-filled shelter of Birmingham SeaLife Centre instead.

Having spotted well-camouflaged rays, marvelled at acrobatic seals and wandered through the 360 degree ocean tunnel past its self-proclaimed king, a green sea turtle called Molokai, we ambled back along the canals from Brindleyplace.

Check out my full review of the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham here

There are restaurants galore on the water here and nearby by the Cube, where we were staying in an AirBNB apartment – all a short walk from the centre.

Which meant that bright and early, we could discover the best of the Birmingham Christmas market with kids – a good decision, it turned out, as the crowds were definitely quieter straight after opening at 10am and it had finally stopped raining.

For more ideas of the best things to do in Birmingham with kids, check out this post

It did mean that I passed on the mulled wine and the hot chocolate with schnapps (although there were also non-alcoholic versions, served in rather quirky Christmassy mugs, as well as beer) but it certainly wasn’t too early to eye up the souvenirs.

Some traditional options, from model houses to tree decorations, sat alongside incense, glass wind chimes, soap, scarves, vintage printing blocks and an unexpected number of hedgehog figures and knick-knacks (are hedgehogs the next big trend?

My daughter, with her matching hedgehog T-shirt, thought that seemed totally reasonable).

And food plus more food: roasted chestnuts got the thumbs up from me, the thumbs down from her, although chocolate works for everyone – trying to choose exactly which ones she wanted from the huge variety took more thought.

There are pretzels too, churros, crepes and poffertjes, and all the sausage you can dream of – the 1/2 metre bratwurst looked distinctly ambitious so we stuck to a standard version, although there were also white bratwurst, spicy feuerwurst, currywurst and more to go with your chips.

Birmingham is twinned with Frankfurt, so many of the stallholders do come from the city or from elsewhere in Germany. In 2018 there was also a smaller Cathedral Christmas market by Birmingham Cathedral – inspired by the one we’ve visited and love at Winchester cathedral – but it’s didn’t return the year we visited.

Music formed the backdrop, from live singing of classic hits to the tinkling melodies of the carousel – and my astonished gasp as my daughter informed me that she was now too grown-up to go on it. Aged seven.

Neither of us were too grown up to skip the singing moose above another stall – who I later discovered was called Chris Moose (Chrismoose, geddit?) Multilingual, he was chatting away in both German and English, before breaking into song. That’s something I’ve never seen in any German Christmas market before!

And the perfect way to brighten up the grey days and busy weeks leading up to Christmas: festive, hassle-free – and a lot easier than a flight to Germany!

Need to know: Birmingham Christmas market with kids

The market runs from November 1 to December 24, 2024. Opening hours are from 10am/11am to 9/9.30pm depending on the day, with stalls along New Street and Victoria Square.

Weekends are the busiest time, while weekday evenings and lunchtimes also see a surge in visitors from nearby offices or stopping in on their way home.

If you’re visiting with a pushchair or toddlers, it’s best to avoid the crowds if you can – at 10.30 on Sunday, it was easy to wander through but by lunchtime, the streets were already noticeably busier.

There are plenty of sweet treats on offer to tempt kids as well, although be warned, it’s easy for the costs to mount up very quickly!

If you’re visiting for the weekend, as we were, and can’t leave bags at your accommodation, check out places like Bounce (get 10% off through my link using code MUMMY10) and Luggage Hero which have Birmingham locations to leave luggage securely while you’re exploring.

There are also lockers (costing £1) at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, around the corner in Chamberlain Square. The ones at the top of the stairs from the entrance will easily fit a couple of small bags, but there are also bigger ones on level 3 (go in via the Gas Hall entrance). 

For more things to do in Birmingham with kids, click here

The museum is free, so do save some time to wander round and explore there too – the Staffordshire Hoard displays are fabulous, and there are some hands-on options for kids, plus Ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts along with the artworks and small Mini Museum for under-fives.

There’s also a covered ice rink (with a clear roof) and Big Wheel in Centenary Square, another short walk away, while the Polar Express themed train ride will also be taking place from November 22 from Birmingham Moor Street.

Book tickets for National Express here as well as for more destination information, timetables, live updates, FAQs and a video look inside the coaches.

For more Christmas market inspiration, check out the best Christmas markets in London with kids as well as London’s festive ice rinks

PIN FOR LATER: BIRMINGHAM CHRISTMAS MARKET WITH KIDS

Disclosure: My trip was a paid collaboration with National Express – all opinions were my own, including the decision not to try a whole half metre bratwurst. This post contains affiliate links – any purchases you make are unaffected but I may receive a small commission. 

Images copyright MummyTravels

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