Christmas 2011 events in Glasgow and Edinburgh

• Lauren Mayberry
• 15 November 2011

Our round-up of some of the best festive fodder including markets, fairs and carol concerts

Shopping

To find prezzies with an individual feel or just some tasty treats, head out to a Christmas fair near you. In Glasgow, there’s the St Enoch Square annual market (from 20 Nov) and Country Living Magazine’s Christmas Fair, with homemade food and drink from 200 exhibitors (SECC, 17–20 Nov, 10am, £9.50). Queen’s Park Church will have stalls and a festive tearoom at its community fair (26 Nov, 11.30am, 50p) whilst the nearby Church on the Hill offers a Winter Wine Fair in December (4 Dec, 2pm, £10).

Edinburgh will have its traditional German Christmas Market at the Mound Precinct (24 Nov–24 Dec). Castle Street hosts the Real Scottish Christmas Fair (3 Dec–8 Dec), and plugs fairtrade foods at the Ethical Christmas Fair (10 Dec–18 Dec). The Highland Village Christmas Market starts in East Princes Street Gardens on 24 Nov (until 4 Jan) and there’s also Christmas shopping fairs at St Columba's-by-the-Castle (26 Nov & 10 Dec, 10am), with Scottish designers showing off the best of their homewares. Noir! (10 Dec, 11am, £4–£5) is a stylish shopping fair at Summerhall showcasing budding and established designer fashion, plus spoken word, films, nibbles and art installations.

Making

The Royal Botanic Garden will be offering workshops on making Christmas wreaths and table decorations from conifers, holly, berries and moss that you could find in your own garden (26 Nov, 3.30pm, £36–£40). You can also learn to make New England Cranberry and embellished fabric and fruit wreaths at Lauriston Castle (14 & 15 Dec, 10.30am, £18). Malmaison’s Christmas Art & Crafts Fayre (Edinburgh, 4 Dec, free, 12pm) will also have demonstrations and food-tasting sessions.

Glasgow offers The Great Christmas Puppet Making Workshops at the Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre (17–18 Dec, times vary, £6.95) and there are crafty workshops available at The Country Living Magazine Christmas Fair (see above).

Giving

The Great Edinburgh Santa Run (11 Dec, 9am, £7.50–£12.50) will begin in West Princes Street Gardens (thesantarun.org.uk), with Glasgow’s charity Santa Dash at St Enoch Centre on the same day. Yorkhill Children’s Foundation Christmas Concert (Glasgow City Chambers, 2 Dec, 7.30pm, £5–£10) is now in its tenth year, offering music and dance entertainment to raise funds for the kids’ charity. Edinburgh Christmas Walk (Royal Botanic Garden, 4 Dec, £12, 11am) is a six-mile walk for charities, including Action on Hearing Loss, Scottish SPCA and Save the Children, whilst the Dogs Trust Glasgow Christmas Fair (Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre, Uddingston, 27 Nov, 12pm) is taking donations to help dogs in their care.

Playing

Carousel lovers should head for the fairground rides available at Glasgow’s George Square (from 20 Nov) and Edinburgh’s East Princes St Gardens (from 24 Nov).

For music, there is a series of festive concerts at City Halls and Glasgow Royal Concert Halls, from traditional orchestral pieces from the Scottish Chamber Orchestra to Christmas Classics (see glasgowconcerthalls.com/festive for full listings). A Victorian Christmas at Platform, Glasgow (3 &10 Dec, 1.30pm, £2.50) offers an hour of traditional carols, plus storytelling and mince pies. In Edinburgh, there are free carol concerts at the Royal Botanic Garden> (4 Dec, 1pm & 2.30pm), plus a carol service in Edinburgh Castle’s Great Hall (2 Dec, 1pm, 2pm & 3pm, £8.20–£14). Closer to the big day, the Usher Hall will have Carols by Candelight (20 Dec, 7.30pm, £14.50–£32.50).

Anti-Tradition

For an alternative to your traditional Christmas tunes, look into Kid Canaveral’s second annual Christmas Baubles event (Summerhall, Edinburgh, 17 Dec, 2pm, £15), with Slow Club, Josie Long, eagleowl and Martin John Henry all making appearances on the all-day show. And for slightly off-the-wall festive banter, check out Heavenly’s Smithsmas night in Glasgow (3 Dec, 8pm, £2). There will be a Santa Morrissey. Golly.