Last Friday marked the beginning of The Handmade Christmas Fair in Manchester. Being fond of festivities and crafts, I hoped on a train in heartbeat along with my dear friend Lucy.
There was so much to see, this time with the fair being under cover in the beautiful building that is Manchester Central. The first stall we stopped at was Lubylu and were captivated by the gorgeous scents of candles and melts. They smelt good enough to eat and I couldn't resist getting some Cranberry marmalade melts which now fill my house with a wonderful festive scent- even when they're not being melted!
Like September's Christmas fair there was a beautifully decorated press lounge, styled this time around by the talented Things By Laura. I sadly missed the workshops this time but I couldn't help but take a few snaps of the beautiful display.
A trip to the fair can't be complete without seeing Kirstie herself in action so Lucy and I headed to the super theatre to watch Kirstie and James Mackenzie make gingerbread parking christmas trees and cinder toffee!
I also got the chance to ask Kirstie what her famous Christmas bake was to which she replied:
"It's really difficult. I know I've got James up here and I'm being really flattering, but because of the amount of eggs in a Yorkshire pudding, it's really good for the kids! In north Devon they do a lot of surfing and a lot of walks, particularly at this time of year and it's a really really quick one because it doesn't have to sit and you don't have to mix it and it's 20-25 minutes in the oven so I often find if I do it really quickly, it's really quickly done. For Christmas, I'm one for having a big breakfast and then a later supper at 5 or 6 o'clock on Christmas Day."
I also fell in love with these hand carved wooden stamps and couldn't resist getting one (watch this space for a DIY coming soon.)
Finally we topped off the fair with a cupcake and found these beautifully festive cakes by One Sweet Day who is now taking deliveries online- happy days! The mulled wine and cranberry cupcakes were simply divine!
Both Lucy and I came away from the fair feeling very festive and pleased with our goodies. It was a bit of a trek for us to get up to Manchester but it was well worth the visit and we're both keen to get Christmas crafting!
Did you go to this years Handmade Christmas Fair?