Two Christmas Treacle Markets in 2026: Sunday 29 November and Sunday 20 December, 10am to 3.30pm on Market Place, plus the Made in Macc market on 28 November.

Macclesfield does not have a chalet-style continental Christmas market. What it has is Treacle, and in 2026 it runs two festive editions rather than one.

Market Date Time Where
Christmas Treacle Market Sunday 29 November 10am to 3.30pm Market Place, SK11 6BA
Christmas Treacle Market Sunday 20 December 10am to 3.30pm Market Place, SK11 6BA
Made in Macclesfield makers market Saturday 28 November 10.45am to 4.15pm Macclesfield Town Hall

Both Treacle dates are published by the market itself on treaclemarket.co.uk, and Visit Macclesfield’s verified listing labels both of them “Christmas Treacle Market”.

Why there are two, and why December is not the last Sunday

Treacle normally runs on the last Sunday of every month. December is the exception. The last Sunday of December 2026 is the 27th, which is the dead zone between Christmas and new year, so the December market moves forward to Sunday 20 December, the last shopping Sunday before Christmas.

That makes 29 November the first festive one and 20 December the last-minute one. If you are buying presents rather than browsing, the 29th is the calmer of the two.

The market’s full 2026 calendar, from its own site, is 31 May, 28 June, 26 July, 30 August, 27 September, 25 October, 29 November and 20 December.

What Treacle actually is

Visit Macclesfield describes it as “still one of the largest Artisan Markets in the North West”, running on the historic cobbles of Market Place with over 140 stalls of artwork, antiques, books, vintage, food and drink, plus stalls run by local community groups. It celebrated its 15th year in July 2025. Entry is free.

Trader enquiries go through the form on treaclemarket.co.uk or info@treaclemarket.co.uk.

The Saturday before: two events, one weekend

The 29 November market is the second half of a full festive weekend, because Macclesfield’s big daytime Christmas event falls on the Saturday.

Step Into Christmas runs 11am to 5pm on Saturday 28 November in Market Place, free, organised by Macclesfield Town Council. There is no lights switch-on ceremony and no fireworks; the details are on our Macclesfield Christmas lights page.

Inside the Town Hall on the same day, the Made in Macclesfield makers market runs 10.45am to 4.15pm with free entry, timed to coincide with Step Into Christmas (Made in Macclesfield). Its own page still says “details coming soon” for the trader line-up.

So: makers market indoors on the Saturday, Treacle on the cobbles on the Sunday, same Market Place, same weekend.

Not yet dated for 2026

Two festive fixtures from recent years have no 2026 date published:

  • The Twilight Market. Macclesfield Town Council ran this on Thursday 11 December 2025, 2pm to 8pm: a heated tipi, street food, the Made in Macc market, live music and mulled wine around the town centre Christmas tree (town council listing). Nothing equivalent appears on the council’s 2026 calendar yet.
  • The Macclesfield Christmas Tree Festival at Christ Church, run with the Churches Conservation Trust. Its last published outing was 1 to 22 December 2023, open Thursday to Sunday, 5.30pm to 7.30pm on Thursdays and Fridays and 3.30pm to 6.30pm at weekends.

One page to distrust

Visit Macclesfield’s “Christmas Events In Macclesfield” hub is still headed Christmas Events 2025 and lists 2025 dates, including the Elmer Art Trail and the Advent Window Trail. Its individual listings for Treacle and Step Into Christmas have been updated to 2026; the hub page around them has not. Check the date on anything you find there before you plan around it.

Getting there

Market Place is pedestrianised and there is no parking on the square. Cheshire East’s town centre car parks charge 8am to 10pm seven days a week, so a Sunday Treacle Market is chargeable; the Town Hall’s larger area is free after 5pm on weekdays only. Tariffs, bay counts and RingGo codes are on our parking in Macclesfield page, and anything closed on the day will show on our roadworks and travel page.

Sources

Checked on 4 September 2026. We will update this page if a Twilight Market or a tree festival is announced for December.