Christmas markets are among Europe’s most delightful traditions during the festive season. From Paris to Cologne, these markets create the perfect festive atmosphere, and offer a great opportunity to find special gifts for friends and family.

There’s no end of inspiration to be found amongst the wooden chalets and twinkling lights, or in a warming glass of mulled wine! To help get you in the Christmas mood, we’ve come up with our top 5 Christmas markets gifts:

There’s nothing better than comfy knitwear in the winter months, whether it’s a woolly jumper or a pair of cosy socks. Christmas jumpers have started making regular appearances again, with no design too garish or multi-coloured. However, in Europe’s best Christmas markets you’re more likely to find gorgeous traditional designs and the finest wool and craftsmanship, perfect for a unique Christmas gift.

You could also visit a beautiful Christmas market to go along with your cosy knitwear, and discover some of Europe’s more intimate events away from the big cities, such as Wolfenbüttel near Hanover in Germany, with its picture-perfect town square.

One of the best things to find in Europe’s Christmas markets are decorations. From the traditional to the fanciful, you can pick up some beautifully unique festive decorations for your home. Germany basically invented Christmas as we know it in the UK, so it’s no coincidence you find the best decorations in German markets. You can find beautiful wooden ornaments – the best from around the Erzgebirge region – while the best glass ornaments come from Bavaria in the south.

There are beautiful carved tree ornaments, and towers of candles turning wooden windmills. It’s the perfect way to bring home some of the magic of the Christmas market and give your family and friends something they can bring out and enjoy every year.

Who doesn’t love getting edible presents? Christmas markets are the perfect place to find delicious treats and traditional fare, both to wrap up for presents and to enjoy while you’re browsing the stalls, of course. Every country and region has their own delicacies, from the traditional German sausage to gingerbread and gluhwein!

Chocolates are a classic Christmas treat, and for chocolates you can’t do better than visit one of Belgium’s Christmas markets. Brussels hosts one of the biggest, with 240 stalls set out on the stunning Grand Place, offering every kind of Christmas treats imaginable.

To the little angels in your life, Christmas is all about new toys, and Christmas markets are full with the quirky and traditional. You can bring a bit of old-fashioned charm to those gifts beneath the Christmas tree with handmade toys made with natural materials.

If the little ones are with you, a Christmas market like the one at Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen offers a magical experience with dozens of stalls selling toys and games. Wooden trains, hobby horses, spinning tops, and nutcracker dolls, there’s something for every child, or just for the young at heart.

Looking for something a bit different? Christmas markets are the ideal place to pick up a gift that’s something out of the ordinary. With so many different stalls selling everything you can think of, it’s easy to spot something you’ve never seen before.

How about a ‘smoky man’ from Germany, a traditional incense burner that looks, unsurprisingly, like an old man smoking a pipe. Or perhaps a figure of Sinterklaas, the original namesake of Santa Claus from the Netherlands. Whichever Christmas market you visit, you’re sure to find something interesting.