Who can trade in the Christmas market, who needs to apply for a stall, how to apply.
We want to give our traders as much notice and opportunity to book on to our Christmas Markets as possible.
The new Christmas application process will:
- give traders more time to make an informed decision when choosing Christmas at St Nick's trading dates, alongside other Christmas markets deadlines
- help us carry out Christmas administration quickly and efficiently
- let us use our time on organising other Christmas activities such as, music, performance and decorations during the festive period
Who can trade in the Christmas Market
You can trade in the Christmas market if you:
- have an approved Bristol Indies market application, and
- have traded at St Nick's Bristol Indies Market within the last 18 months, or
- traded during Christmas at St Nick's 2022
Who needs to apply for a stall
You'll need a new and approved Bristol Indies market application if:
- you have not traded with us for more than 18 months
- you didn't trade with us during Christmas 2022, if you only trade during the Christmas period
New traders can apply for our Indies Market until 31 October 2023.
Our Bristol Indies market applications will pause from 31 October 2023 until January 2024. We will not consider any requests for late Indies applications during the Christmas period.
How to book a stall
The bookings process for Christmas at St Nick's will be on the same Shopify bookings webpage as our other outdoor markets.
When bookings will be released
In 2023, we'll be releasing bookings from 1 August 2023.
Trading on peak trading days
During some of our previous Christmas markets, there was availability on most markets up until the day before. However, we cannot guarantee a pitch on peak trading days. Christmas peak trading days are Friday to Sunday.
We suggest you make:
- a provisional early booking for peak trading days
- additional bookings throughout the 4-month period for non-peak trading days
Book as soon as you can to avoid missing out.
Before you book
Before booking, you must:
- read and agree to our pdf Christmas at St Nick's terms and conditions (170 KB)
- have an insurance policy with a minimum indemnity of £5 million for Public Liability
Choosing your pitch
You will not be able to choose your pitch for the Christmas markets. The Markets team will allocate pitch locations to:
- spread similar products
- prevent gaps within the market along the Corn Street and Wine Street concourse
- make sure there's space for temporary event notices, entertainment and decorations
Any market pitch cancellations will be put back onto the Shopify booking webpage. We'll put a post on our Facebook Christmas trader group informing traders of any availability. You can book on a first come first served basis.
Paying for your stall
You must pay in advance to guarantee a stall. These will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
You need to pay via the Shopify platform webpage. The system for booking and paying for Christmas stalls is the same process as our Bristol Indies market.
We appreciate some traders may not want to pay for Christmas markets in August. Bookings will be available on the Shopify platform webpage until 12midday the day before each market. However, we cannot guarantee availability on peak trading days
We cannot confirm availability of each market day. Some popular market days could sell out very early on. Keep this in mind when making your decision.
Subletting your stall
You cannot sublet your stall.
You're allowed to ask someone else to staff your stall, as long as they're selling your products in your absence.
Cancelling your stall
Last minute cancellations and empty market pitches:
- have a negative impact on the market
- are difficult to fill with other available traders at short notice
If you need to cancel your stall, let us know as soon possible by emailing MarketsEstate@bristol.gov.uk. We can then re-release this booking for another trader.
If you're cancelling on the day, call the team on 07795 445728.
Refunds
As with all our outdoor markets at St Nick's, there will be no refunds for cancellation.
A commitment from traders and a no refund policy reduce the impact of no shows.
Severe weather market cancellation
It's very rare that we have to cancel the market. We continue to trade in wet weather and snow.
In the unlikely event of severe weather, we'll declare a 'Non-Market Day'.
We'll post to our Facebook group and contact traders via email as soon as possible.
If the market is cancelled due to extreme weather, we'll refund the pitch fee.
Contact us
If you have any questions, email marketsestate@bristol.gov.uk