Bury St. Edmunds Christmas Fayre

Christmas markets and fairs (or "fayres" as they say in the UK!) are huge in Europe. I'm not sure why we don't do them more in the States because they are FANTASTIC. =) The 8th Annual Bury St. Edmunds' Christmas Fayre actually fell on Thanksgiving this year. We were so lucky because our two good friends Emily and Jon actually flew in Thanksgiving Day. It was our first Thanksgiving ever away from home, so it was nice to have friends here. They even brought stuffing all the way from the States to make it feel more like home! We had a lovely dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, roasted butternut squash, and of course croissants with honey. =)

Emily and I at Thanksgiving dinner in Bury St. Edmunds

The day after Thanksgiving, Emily, Jon and I took a tour of the Greene King Brewery, which is located right here in Bury. You can even buy Greene King ales all the way back in Orlando! Then we met up with Brian for some Christmas fun at the fayre. =)

If you've never been to one before, Christmas markets are a great mix of local vendors selling Christmas ornaments and decorations, as well as lots of other vendors where you can get great Christmas gifts. There are also a ton of food stands and places where you can get hot drinks, which comes in handy when it's so cold outside! Some of the markets, like Bury, even have carnival-type rides. There's really nothing like it to get you into the Christmas spirit, especially when you visit the "Weihnachtsmarkt" or Christmas markets in Germany. After a quick stop in Spain with Emily and Jon, we made our way over to Germany for those. More on that adventure soon! In the meantime, "Happy Christmas" as they say in the UK!