Festive, collectible, colourful mugs are a huge staple of the Manchester Christmas Markets – and with just over a fortnight to go, the designs for 2025 have been revealed.
This year, the Manchester Christmas Mugs are a true Mancunian affair, capturing several festive landmarks in the style of a colourful toy town.
That includes illustrations of the iconic windmill bar, a huge Christmas tree, and a neat row of Christmas Markets huts, complete with traders and (of course) a gigantic bratwurst statue.
There are two types as always (a large one for coffees and hot chocolates, and a smaller for gluhwein and hot toddys), portraying the markets both by day and by night.
Every year, as thousands of visitors flock to our city for the festive celebrations, the streets are filled with wooden sheds, glittering light installations, and festive cheer.
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And a big part of that is grabbing a hot chocolate or a mulled one, served in a colourful seasonal mug that’s designed by the council’s design studio.
Manchester City Council has today also revealed the price of a deposit for this year’s mugs, which you can either have back in full when you return your vessel, or sacrifice in order to take your mug home as a souvenir.
The mugs will be available at all 10 market locations from opening day on Friday 7 November, while stocks last (and they have sold out in the previous three years).
The design and price for the Manchester Christmas Markets mugs 2025 has been revealed. Credit: Manchester City Council
Councillor Pat Karney, Christmas spokesperson for Manchester City Council said: “Top marks once again to our fantastic designers for coming up with yet another brilliant design for our iconic Christmas mugs which we know people are going to absolutely love, this year depicting Manchester in all its twinkly pretty-as-a-picture festive glory at Christmas – it’s even snowing!
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“Over the years our Christmas mugs have become truly the stuff of legend and are very much sought after – including by Santa himself, who refuses to set off on his journey swooping through the night skies of Manchester on Christmas Eve until he’s eaten his mince pie and downed his hot chocolate in its souvenir Christmas mug that we leave out for him every year on the roof of Central Library. He must have quite the collection of mugs by now at home in the North Pole!
“Don’t be like Santa though and think you can leave it ’til Christmas Eve to get hold of a mug. Come down and join us well before then at our world-famous Christmas Markets and celebrate the festive season with us here in the best city in the world, in true Manchester style!”
Manchester’s Christmas Markets will open at ten locations across the city on Friday 7 November and close on Monday 22 December, except for A Taste of Christmas on Albert Square and the stalls at Cathedral Gardens which will remain open throughout the Christmas period until 4 January 2026.
Christmas in Manchester will also see the Skate Manchester Ice Rink in Cathedral Gardens open for Christmas skaters from Friday 7 November until Sunday 4 January, and the magical Manchester Christmas Parade which will take place on Sunday 7 December.
Government launches £442m drive to get rough sleepers off streets before Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has launched a £442m drive to get rough sleepers off the streets before Christmas.
Learning from ‘innovative’ approaches put into place during the pandemic, the Government has announced that new accommodation will be rolled out across England this winter, as well as offering practical help with housing, health, and other needs to support people to build a more stable life for themselves in the future.
The new commitment to offer everyone a route off the streets this Christmas, along with boosted funding, reflect Andy Burnham‘s national drive to make ‘real change’ and get everyone playing their part in ending rough sleeping.
Not only will these plans change the lives of rough sleepers, but it’s also said they will have huge benefits for the country as a whole.
Research from homelessness charity Crisis suggests that by preventing 40,000 people from becoming homeless for a year, taxpayers could save around £370 million.
The Government has launched a £442m drive to get rough sleepers off the streets before Christmas / Credit: Number 10 Press Office | Jon Tyson (via Unsplash)
As well provisions to get people off the streets, and the intensive ‘wraparound’ support, the newly allocated funding will also help local areas deliver more than 1,000 ‘settled’ homes over the next three years, it has been confirmed.
Areas facing the greatest pressures will receive the largest share of support.
Working alongside councils, Mayors will play a leading role in driving local action to end rough sleeping, and will be tasked with making decisions that are right for their communities to deliver help where it’s needed most.
The Prime Minister says he ‘won’t accept’ rough sleeping any longer. He commented: “No one should have to bed down in a doorway or outside a station, but we’ve seen it for so long that it feels like Westminster has started to accept it.
“That’s why my first instruction as Prime Minister was to end rough sleeping, and it’s why today we’re getting started with a national drive to get everyone in for Christmas. We did it in the pandemic, we can do it again. But it needs all of us.
“Government will put the money in, but I’m asking leaders in communities and sectors across society to play their part locally too.
“Let’s get people out the cold, and let’s bring back hope.”
Featured Image – Gary Knight (via Flickr)
Christmas
You can ALREADY book tickets for Greater Manchester’s beloved Santa steam trains this Christmas
Emily Sergeant
Greater Manchester’s beloved Santa steam train rides are back for more festive fun this Christmas, and tickets are already on sale… genuinely.
Sure, it’s literally the middle of August, and we’ve still got the rest of summer, and the small matter of a bank holiday weekend, Halloween, and Bonfire Night to get through first, but East Lancashire Railway (ELR) is already looking ahead to the most magical time of year.
The iconic heritage railway has announced that its hugely-popular ‘Santa Specials’ steam trains are back once again from late November.
The famous festive steam trains have become an essential part of Christmas for many families in the North West.
Santa Specials are your chance to hop on board an old-school steam train and travel through the magical Irwell Valley to make ‘enchanted memories’ that last a lifetime.
You can ALREADY book tickets for Greater Manchester’s beloved Santa steam trains this Christmas / Credit: Darren Robinson Photography (via ELR)
The truly special Christmas day out starts as you make your way through a winter wonderland at Bury Bolton Street Station, and first get to meet some old favourites and new characters – including the magical talking Christmas tree, Mrs Claus, and ELR’s very own Ice Princess – all before before having a singalong with a chorus of musical polar bears.
The festive fun then continues on the Santa Special steam trains themselves – with an 80-minute ‘enchanting voyage’ through the picturesque Greater Manchester countryside.
And, of course, you can expect a special visit from Santa while you’re on board.
After you’ve grabbed a selfie or two with the big man himself, the grown-ups can look forward to mince pies and festive tipples, while little Mancs can enjoy a soft drink, some chocolate, and take a festive-themed activity pack home with them.
Daisy Jackson -
21st October 2025 
