Christmas Markets in the Sun

From now till Christmas you could shop till you dropped and never enter a shop!!

Its a legacy of living in this part of Spain (cant speak for other areas) that for those who cant find work but need an income settle on becoming a marketeer!! I have done it myself in the past and still do attend the odd one as I cant stop painting T Shirts and so they have to go somewhere.

It can be a lot of fun.  You get to know people from different areas some travelling the length of the Costa del Sol from Nerja down to Gibralter and many miles inland too.  Most people are really friendly and sometimes end up being your best customers depending on what you sell.

On a quiet or cold day the most popular marketeers tend to be those selling food - things like sausage rolls,  Cornish pasties and quiche are really alluring when you are bored and/or cold.  Then there are the scones, buns and chocolate fudge cakes  mmmmmm!!  When I did the markets regularly I had to be strict and take my fruit and rice cakes with me or I would have ended up eating all day.

However, as I rarely do markets now, since I have been running my Network Marketing Business, it was a treat last Saturday to indulge in a little snacking.  The heavens opened for a little market in the Benhavista Country Club.  When I say the heavens opened I mean they really opened.  I went with Michelle from Designs of Asia and we couldn't find the place.  Then we couldn't park anywhere near so we were running with heavy boxes of her candles and massive bags of cushions through torrential rain.  Not fun.  When the rain cleared from my eyes I noticed we were next to the cake and pasty stall - disaster!!!  The rain continued unabated for most of the day and the clientèle stayed exactly where I wished I was - namely home by the fire.  I had taken soup but the sausage rolls and mince pies waved at me each time I looked.  We succumbed big style - but it made the day go easier although it was a relief to leave and an even bigger relief to arrive home to a warm, dry house.

AmandArt at Swans Schools

Those kinds of days though are fairly extreme.  Yesterday for instance was at the other end of the scale.  Again down on the coast this time at Swan's School.  We were early for this one - amazingly enough - which is probably just as well as the hike from car to table was probably 4 times as long as Saturday's.  However, the day could not have been more different.  There was not a cloud in the sky - wall to wall blue with a lovely warm sun.  We were in a huge quadrangle type area surrounded by the school buildings and it was warm enough that after traipsing backwards and forwards to the car a few times (Michelle did manage to commandeer a supermarket trolley and a pupil from somewhere so we had assistance) people were stripping off layers of clothing.

All venues bring a different variety of people and spending doesn't seem to be high at any of them but the amount of people at Swan's School was very encouraging and the buzz was loud and convivial!  I thoroughly enjoyed my day despite spending more than I made!!

Our stall and general view

AmandaArt Handcrafted Christmas Crackers

There are also a number of exhibitions of varying sizes which I have done in the past.  I shared a stand with Posh Pets Spain a couple of years ago at the Over 50's Exhibition in Estepona.  That was a two day exhibition and we had a load of fun.  We took cava and nibbles ensuring that our stand was extremely popular and we did a roaring trade (not just in cava and nibbles either!).

For those of you on the Costa del Sol there is now a Facebook Page for Markets which some enterprising person set up - well done them!! It can be useful if you are a marketeer or if you are looking for one to go to!!  Another great source of local information is In Malaga Today and not just about markets either - its a great resource for all local information and news!

Don't forget you will get unique and handcrafted items at these markets.  Anyone can shop on the High Street or in that mainstay store that originates in Ireland (they can afford to do their own advertising!)  but how much nicer to go and browse - have a snack and quite often a mulled wine or whatever takes your fancy.  Often you can chat with the person who has made the item you are interested in and sometimes place an order so that the gift is completely unique.  For those items that you can buy elsewhere, the markets are normally much cheaper as stallholders only have to pay for their stall on the day not premises for 365 days with all the associated costs of staff, insurance, electricity etc.

Its fun, its cheaper, its individual and its very Costa del Sol!!