Christmas Market Madness Recap

When you ask most people how they know OutsideIn, the answer is often the same:
“Awk, we come every year to your Christmas market in Belfast and buy a hat.”

Our Christmas market cabin complete with its glowing ‘Oi’ sign and a million twinkling fairy lights has become part of the DNA of Christmas in Belfast. It’s easily our favourite time of year. Nothing beats watching people try on our hats or fleeces for the very first time, learning that while they’re keeping their own head or body warm, they’re also helping to keep someone else warm too. We especially love seeing familiar faces return year after year, and the joy that adding just one more hat to the collection brings!

Alongside Belfast, this year we ventured into two brand-new Christmas markets: Manchester and Harrogate. These new locations gave us the chance to finally meet some of you who’ve followed our journey for a long time but hadn’t been able to attend one of our events, and to introduce OutsideIn to many new faces hearing about us for the very first time.

Christmas markets are hectic, bustling, and full of energy. Each year brings fresh challenges and unforgettable moments, but above all, they are incredibly FUN. As they say, it truly is “the most wonderful time of the year.” 

So, here’s a festive rundown of what we got up to across the UK this Christmas.

Manchester 

First up, in early November, we headed to Manchester to set up our very first cabin at Manchester Christmas Market. Spanning five locations across the city, it’s the largest market we’ve ever been part of and we found ourselves right at the heart of it all in Piccadilly Gardens. 

Jessica, our Events Manager and the brilliant brain behind all things events at OutsideIn, had everything planned and scheduled. From the moment we stepped off the plane, we knew exactly what needed to be done.

Top tip if you ever plan on trading at a Christmas market: you’ll need a very detailed plan, and also be ready for a few curveballs along the way. Here are a few photos from our setup journey.

With just two days to build the cabin, we were well and truly on a mission. Lots of paint, nails, fairy lights, and a steady supply of snacks, we got there in the end. The best moment? Flicking on the ‘Oi’ light for the first time and having that surreal realisation that we were bringing our brand to an entirely new city.

Why Manchester, you might ask? For us, it’s about more than just showing up at the biggest markets. We always want to ensure the cities we visit truly need what we do. Manchester has a growing homeless population, and we were able to partner with an incredible local charity to make sure customer donations stayed right there in the community.

Say hello to Barnabus. Pictured below, they represent the heart of what we do, working alongside amazing charities that support people experiencing homelessness. Barnabus provides a wraparound approach to helping people off the streets and towards a second chance at life. This is always the part we love most: partnering with passionate, purpose-driven organisations, and thanks to your purchases, being able to give back locally. Localising our giving matters deeply to us, so when you see the ‘Oi’ sign in your city, you know local people are directly benefiting.

Manchester, you were brilliant. With some of the friendliest people we’ve ever met, it was a real privilege to be part of your city this winter.

Belfast 

Back to Belfast we went, the birthplace of OutsideIn. We can hardly believe this was our 8th year at this incredible market. One of the things we’ve loved most over the years is seeing just how many local independents have become part of it all, from fellow clothing brands to artists and food traders. This market truly champions local, and for us, it played a huge role in getting OutsideIn off the ground during those early trading years.

As our largest and busiest cabin, Belfast takes a little extra behind-the-scenes magic to bring to life. Five days, a lot of DIY, almost 40 lengths of garland (lovingly reused every year), thousands of fairy lights, hundreds of cable ties (top tip: you really can fix almost anything with a cable tie), and an unhealthy amount of caffeine later, we were ready just in time for opening. Creating a meaningful experience for every customer is so important to us. We want everyone who steps into our cabin to truly feel what the brand stands for: purpose, quality, and impact.

Five weeks of meeting thousands of you was nothing short of amazing. Some people were discovering OutsideIn for the very first time, while others have been supporting us for eight years and genuinely have a full wardrobe of our hats and fleeces. One story in particular really stayed with us. A customer told us she hadn’t purchased before but that she had been given our clothing a few years ago when she was experiencing homelessness. She shared how much it meant to her at the time, and that now, having moved off the streets, she wanted to support the brand so others could be helped too.

Stories like this are the reason we exist, a full-circle moment of helped to helping. They’re what drive us to keep doing what we do.

Thanks to your incredible support this year, in Belfast alone we were able to donate across four different Belfast-based homelessness charities, staying true to our mission of empowering customers to give back locally. Below are just some of the charities we had the privilege of meeting in person to deliver your donated products.

Belfast, as always, you were incredible! The welcome we receive every year when we return to the Christmas market in our home city is unreal, and it makes all the hard work of prepping and setting up so worthwhile. Seeing so many of you walking around the market, and the city, wearing our hats and fleeces never gets old. We’re already counting down to Christmas 2026.

Harrogate

As if launching two markets wasn’t wild enough, we packed up once more and headed to Harrogate for a full week to launch our third (and final) market! Fresh off the plane, we jumped straight into the car and drove through the frosty Yorkshire countryside, eventually arriving at our cabin in picture-perfect Harrogate. It genuinely looked like it had been lifted straight from a Christmas card.

We wasted no time getting to work, decking out our cabin with clothing rails, signage and plenty of garland. Before long, the space was filled with our colourful fleeces and cosy headwear, and we tackled the fairy lights with the focus and patience that only several hot chocolates can provide. After a small electricity hiccup (we may or may not have blown a fuse…), our cabin was glowing and ready to give the North Pole a run for its money.

December was well and truly in full swing, and everyone we met was already in top-tier Christmas spirit. We loved chatting with so many new faces and meeting customers curious about our brand and the purpose behind what we do. Our Harrogate market also helped us donate essential clothing to the incredible Lifeline Harrogate, a local charity, which made the whole week even more special.

A huge highlight for the team was meeting all the dogs wrapped up in tiny winter coats, proudly accompanying their owners on festive strolls around the markets. Honestly, they nearly stole the show.

Harrogate, you were magic, fairy lights, frosty mornings and all.

THANK YOU 

And that’s a wrap on our very chaotic, festive, cabin-filled fun across three winter markets this year. With over 6,000 products donated, including thermal beanies, thermal socks, t-shirts, and underwear (boxers and briefs), we want to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who came along and supported us this Christmas.

It truly is the most wonderful time of the year, not only because of the festive buzz, but because we get to meet all of you in person, as well as the incredible charities and the people they support.

As we head into 2026, we’re beyond excited to share more of what we have planned. If you want the inside scoop, make sure to keep an eye on our blog for all things OutsideIn.

Thank you & stay tuned!