YOU can’t beat a good Christmas market. The air is crisp and cold, the sweet sounds of choirs merge with the smells of hot spiced wine and roasted chestnuts and you’re surrounded by hundreds of shoppers (and dozens of Santas) bustling by. The only problem you’ll have is that you can’t visit them all – unless you have a time machine.

Yorkshire has an abundance of magical Christmas markets, offering an array of craft and food stalls with seasonal gift ideas for everyone, from handcrafted toys, jewellery, decorations to traditional Christmas food – everything you need for the perfect celebration.

As well as this magical array of gift ideas, you’ll find plenty of festive fun, with music, entertainers, carousel rides, twinkling lights, carol singing and Santa’s Grottos galore.

You may think that Christmas markets were invented by the Victorians, but they have been loved by families since the late Middle Ages, and it’s a tradition that has been celebrated ever since. So why not get into the Christmas spirit with our pick of the best Christmas Markets across the county?

Christkindlmarkt in Leeds, which has already started, is one of the most established German Christmas markets in the UK, with traditional wooden stalls, festive greenery, Christmas carousel rides and twinkling colourful lights all creating a unique continental-style festive atmosphere in the heart of Leeds city centre. Set in the award-winning Millennium Square, Christkindelmarkt attracts hundred thousands of visitors to Leeds each.

Every year at Christmas time, Haworth is lit by twinkling fairy lights and festive shop windows, as each weekend in December the village hosts bands, choirs, carol singers and Father Christmas for visitors to enjoy with traders dressing in Victorian costume. The cobbled street is home to wonderful independent shops, tea rooms and public houses.

Harrogate’s four-day festive market will be filled with high-quality Yorkshire and Harrogate products. There will be more than 140 chalets, mini-marquees, traditional market stalls and outdoor gazebos selling everything from Yorkshire cheeses and chutneys to handmade gifts and Christmas decorations.

In Leyburn, Father Christmas usually arrives in great style and delivers presents to local children. Stalls and festive music add to the occasion to provide a lovely festive festival for all the family to enjoy. Market stalls for those Christmas gift ideas, refreshments and entertainment.

A wonderful festive weekend in the picturesque market town of Knaresborough offers quality stalls, shops and entertainment. This Christmas market always offers a full range of regional specialities, with locally produced fare from independent stallholders being very popular with visitors.

St Nicholas Fair, one of the UK’s favourite Christmas markets, is extending in 2014 from four days to more than three weeks for the first time in its 23-year history. This year, enjoy St Nicholas Fair/market for 25 days from Thursday, November 27, to Sunday, December 21. There’ll be lots to celebrate, including a rolling programme of different market stalls throughout the fair, and themed weeks of speciality stalls featuring food, sparkles and toys.

For three Saturdays, Grassington travels back in time for the Dickensian festival. Step back in time to when Dickens was alive. Street entertainment, buskers, shoe-shine boys, chestnut sellers, Santa’s grotto, pickpockets, living statues, traditional Christmas outdoor market, indoor craft fair plus lots more. The Gateway to the Dales brings you Skipton’s famous Yuletide Festival and market, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Together with the market and great food stalls, there will be a range of entertainment in the town centre throughout the day, both in the main High Street Arena and at locations across the town.

Beverley Festival of Christmas, which is arguably the largest festival of its kind in Yorkshire, includes a Christmas market with more than 100 festive stalls, a fairground, various musical groups and individuals performing a varied programme of music and dance, a display by Bernese Mountain dogs, a display of falconry, a re-enactment of a street battle by the Sealed Knot, marching and military bands.

Factfile

Christkindlmarkt, Leeds, November 14-December 20

Harrogate Christmas Market, November 27-30

St Nicholas Fayre, York, November 27-December 21

Leyburn Christmas Festival, December 6

Victorian Christmas Weekend, Main Street, Haworth, December 6-7

Knaresborough Christmas Market, December 6-7

Grassington Dickensian Christmas Festival, November 29, December 6 and 13

Skipton Yuletide Festival & Christmas Market, December 7 and 14

Beverley Festival of Christmas, December 14