As someone who visited Germany around Christmas for the best part of 20 years, it’s hard to replicate the Christmas market magic quite like the Germans do it. We used to visit a place called Witten, near Essen, and adored it so much. Sadly, I haven’t returned since my aunt passed, but I hold such fond, magical memories of those trips.
Because of those experiences, I’ve always avoided Christmas markets in the UK – or at the very least had very low expectations. Historically, we’ve visited Waddesdon Manor, a National Trust property we absolutely adore, especially for their themed light show displays. We’ve been going since the girls were 6 months old and, granted, we missed a couple of years of the Christmas events along the way as we prioritised other experiences. That said, this Christmas event has remained largely the same over time.
This year, we decided to head back, excited to see what the market had to offer and, of course, to grab some yummy churros. Now, I’m going to be a bit of a neggy here. As members, it used to be free to take the bus up to the house and you’d get discounted entry to special events. Since the COVID days, the bus has become chargeable and has stayed that way. I do understand why, but seeing long queues of families with small children being charged, especially when it’s highly unlikely you’d even get a seat, felt a bit like a rip-off.
That said, now the girls are older, we actually enjoy the walk up to the grounds. It’s a pretty decent walk with a nice incline to get the glutes going. In previous years, the Christmas market was set out at the front of the house, running neatly down either side with clear pathways leading up to the main house. This time, it was at the back, and honestly, it lacked any real sense of order. It was difficult to navigate and properly browse the stalls.
The market merged into the food truck area, which again felt quite chaotic. Queues were shooting off in all directions and the whole setup felt overstimulating and disorganised. We kind of whizzed around the stalls, trying to take it all in, but it didn’t feel like a space where you could stop, browse, and enjoy the atmosphere. We did manage to get churros for the girls and vegan pizza from the food trucks, though.
The girls ate their churros as we walked around the light trail, which was pretty much the same as previous years, just positioned slightly differently in certain areas. The projected light show on the front of the house does change annually, and that was still lovely to see. All in all, we were there for about 50 minutes, including the walk up, before deciding to head off. We didn’t even bother with the stables this time.
The car park was incredibly busy and we ended up in the secondary overspill. Part of me was genuinely pleased to see so many people wanting to visit Waddesdon Manor, but another part felt disappointed. It really seemed like they were trying to cram in as many people as possible, with little thought to flow or layout. Missing the stables felt like a shame, but honestly, we were ready to get out of there ASAP.
We always try to make the most of any event and find the positives, but I think we’ve done our time here now. For 2026, we’ll be looking elsewhere, we’re always talking about Windsor or perhaps Germany, so fingers crossed for a more pleasurable experience for 2026.
One comment on “Waddesdon Christmas Market 2025”