Celebrate community and creativity at Inspire’s Christmas markets 2024

Across Nottinghamshire, Inspire’s libraries Christmas markets, bring handmade and locally-made to the forefront of the festive season and empowering local creatives in the process.

Shoppers can expect a whole host of sellers at the markets, with events and activities too that vary between venues. On Saturday 16 November, Sutton in Ashfield Library promises a day of fun for all the family with 15 varied stallholders selling everything from wreaths, to prints, jewellery and more. There will be a visit from Santa Claus himself at 11am, followed by hot drinks and a mince pie for just £1 between 11:30am and 12:30pm, and a performance from the delightful Rolls Royce Rollers choir at 12pm. At 1pm, J&L Homecrafts will be guiding children through some Christmas card making, before the day wraps up at 2pm.

On Saturday 23 November at Mansfield Central Library, the studio floor upstairs will be full as ever with stalls offering a variety of handcrafted items and baked goods. Between 11am and 1pm children can take part in a Christmas card craft where they will be entered into a prize draw. At 1pm, members from the library’s Sing With Friends group will take to the café stage to sing a selection of fan favourite carols. Across the county, Eastwood Library will also be in the festive spirit with their market, including stallholders Lydia Leaf (NearlyBlindArtist) and Eastwood Photographic Society each selling their own art and display pieces.

Kimberley Library will be hosting their market on the afternoon of Friday 29 November, followed by Worksop and Bingham libraries on Saturday 30. The latter will be bursting with beautiful jewellery, with AardVark Silver, Vibrant Leila and more all bringing their makes to the table. Hand-iced biscuits will be on offer, plus refreshments courtesy of the local Adventure Scouts and the delightful tones of Vale Voices community choir at 10:30am.

On Saturday 7 December, the hugely popular Santa’s Grotto returns to Arnold Library as part of their festive celebrations. Book your place now in the library to guarantee a slot, where all children will receive a gift from the man himself. On the day, there will also be a craft activity and bake sale – and of course lots of crafted items to browse in between!

On Saturday 14 December celebrations continue at Stapleford and Ravenshead libraries. Stapleford, having benefitted from their recent refurbishment project, are hosting their first market this year with a selection of makers bringing pottery, macrame, upcycled clothing, watercolour art and more. Visitors will also be able to enjoy Carols in the Library, presented by The Haven Community Church from 11am until 12pm. Join the team from 10am until 12pm too for Christmas card making, suitable for adults and children using their Big Shot die-cutter machine. Also hosting their first market are Ravenshead Library, featuring stallholders selling handmade notebooks, painted vases, and more.

For those makers-in-the-making that haven’t secured their place as stallholders, Inspire’s Adult Learning provision are offering festive courses to foster a love of handmade gifts this season. In the latter half of November, courses in making edible gifts begin in Beeston, Worksop and Retford libraries. Across four sessions, learners will be introduced to creative gift ideas such as orange chocolate Christmas puddings, iced novelty biscuits and chocolate bark which can be made at home and packaged up for loved ones. There are also Christmas macrame sessions kicking off at Ollerton and Stapleford libraries, Newark Buttermarket, Calverton Village Hall and online where learners will be shown basic macrame skills and walk away with some mini-Christmas decorations that can be used on trees, present wrapping or for gifting. For those more digitally-minded, courses in digital crafts will be taking place at Beeston and Kirkby in Ashfield libraries, as well as Inspire’s new High Pavement Learning Centre in Sutton in Ashfield. In just one session, tutors will be giving valuable lessons in basic Cricut design and providing materials to create festive Christmas cards.

Melissa Ames, a stallholder at Mansfield Central Library this year, first started her craft in April 2024 at an Adult Learning course in lino printing. The course lasted six weeks and gave her the skills and confidence in exploring the world of lino printing; the tutor supported her in learning basic techniques as well as combining the craft with collage and watercolour.

“I absolutely loved the course and it has ignited the creative spark that had long since gone dormant,” she says, “I find carving the lino almost meditative, and it’s so satisfying when a sign turns into a successful print!”. Since completing the course Melissa has also enrolled on a one-day gel plate printing course too. When asked about the upcoming Christmas market she says “I’ve had a great few months of creating Christmas cards and prints to sell at this year’s market. It’ll be my first foray into selling and I can’t wait!

Tempted yet? Whether it’s for those last finishing touches or just the beginning of your quest for gifts, Inspire libraries’ Christmas markets bring the best of your community right to your doorstep.

Markets will take place on select dates between Saturday 16 November and Saturday 14 December. Visit inspireculture.org.uk/markets for full information.