Festive treats galore at Sheffield Christmas Market

The market, which has opened along Fargate, has grown from a handful of stalls to a winter wonderland of 50 log cabins, including Santa’s grotto and the Sleigh Bar.

Kelsey Leach and her mum Jeanette, who sell an array of Christmas decorations as well as running the neighbouring crepe stall, have been trading at the market for the last five years.

Kelsey, aged 28, said they are a ‘big Christmas family’ and ‘love the atmosphere’ at the market.

The ornaments start at £4 and their biggest seller is a glittery gingerbread couple ceramic hanging decoration, priced at £8.99.

There is also a family connection for D’anjannette Malpass. She runs the Gingerbread House Confections stall for her parents Pat and Alan, who cook the tempting assortment of sugary creations.

D’anjannette, unmissable in her illuminated Christmas pudding woolly hat, says their most popular treats are the Belgian chocolate muffins and ‘Malteaser’ brownies, each costing £3.50.

Helen Gilbert is a familiar face at the market, where she has watched over her menagerie of animals, lovingly crafted from the modelling clay Fimo, for the last decade.

“I love coming here. The people are really nice, and I have lots of regular customers who’ve become friends,” said the Sheffield Hallam University graduate, who grew up in Dronfield and now lives in Meersbrook.

She says the model penguins, which cost from £2.50 for a model to £10 for cufflinks, are flying off the shelf, but if you can’t find the beast you’re after she will create it.

Tomasz Halejak is a newcomer to the market, where he sells his wife Sonia’s range of homemade stained glass ornaments, from angel hanging decorations for £7 to the £25 Yorkshire roses.

Fayaz Yusufkhan, who was born in Kashmir, amid the Himalayan mountains, has been manning market stalls since he was nine and started his first business aged just 14.

This is the 32-year-old’s fifth year at the Christmas Market, where he sells jewellery, scarves and other gifts.

His best-sellers are scarves, ranging from £10 to £280 for one of the elaborately hand-embroidered pashminas, made by family friends living among the goats from which the wool is obtained.

Those after something a bit different might want to check out Jeff Wylie’s Framed Up stall, selling Lego characters decorated as film stars and mounted on backgrounds with famous quotes from the movie.