It's nearly Christmas here in NYC, in my humble opinion one of the most beautiful places at this time of year, with lights and trees and festive cocktails wherever you look. I still find the chirpy 'happy holidays' greeting a bit discombobulating, though I appreciate the attempt to be all inclusive…. Especially as a heathen who only celebrates Christmas for booze, presents, food and as a light in the dark, dark winter, but definitely not for the baby Jesus.

One of my favourite festive traditions is the Christmas market and the city hasn't been letting me down, with a positive overload of them. The first we visited was just around the corner from us in Park Slope, at the Brooklyn Lyceum on 4th Avenue. The building is a rather delapedated old public baths (which still boasts separate entrances for men and women), used as a sort of community centre by those in the area. The market was held in the main hall and offered all sorts of locally made and sourced goods.

A short stroll up the road brought us to Skylight One Hanson, formerly the Williamsburg Savings Bank – despite being in Fort Greene – where the Brooklyn Flea Markets (which i've talked about before) move in winter. The building itself is stunning, with the most beautiful ceiling I've seen outside of a church since Grand Central Station.

Again, there were a huge amount of stalls selling everything a hipster could want and though there weren't as many Christmas jumpers on display as I'd like, I did spot this one.

The market was hugely busy and my Mr was getting hungry, so we headed downstairs to find some food.

First a slow smoked Texas style brisket sandwich.

Then a Japanese spicy beef taco.

The blog has been a bit Brooklyn focused recently, so to prove I do still go into Manhattan regularly, here's some shots of the Union Square Christmas market.

Before I bid you farewell, did you know they don't celebrate Boxing Day here? Without Boxing Day, how are you supposed to recover from Christmas Day drinking? When are you supposed to eat all your leftovers and watch tv all day?! Oh, the humanity!

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