How to Tell Which Year a Christmas Market Mug Is From

Q: What if the mug has no year on it?

Then it's detective work: Compare designs. Markets usually change the picture, the color or the shape every year. Look up the market in the catalogue and compare your mug with each year's photos. Check the bottom. A maker's stamp or a production code can narrow down the range of years. Ask where it came from. If you were given it, the giver may remember the trip.

How do you know which year a Christmas market mug is from?

Start with the printing. Most market mugs show the market name and city, and many print the year on the side, under the handle or on the bottom. If the year is there, that's your answer: note it down, because it's the detail people most often forget.

What if the mug has no year on it?

Then it's detective work:

Compare designs. Markets usually change the picture, the color or the shape every year. Look up the market in the catalogue and compare your mug with each year's photos.
Check the bottom. A maker's stamp or a production code can narrow down the range of years.
Ask where it came from. If you were given it, the giver may remember the trip.

Do markets use the same mug for several years?

Some do. A market might keep a design for two or three seasons, or use an undated "classic" mug alongside a dated one. A design with no year that appears in several years' photos is probably one of these. Recording the year you bought it is still useful.

How can you tell this year's mug from last year's at the market?

Look at the printed year first. If there isn't one, the stall staff will know whether the mug is new this season. New designs are usually revealed just before the markets open in late November, and collectors post photos of them as soon as they appear. This year's mugs in the catalogue show what's been added so far.

Why do some markets have more than one mug in the same year?

Big markets often have a main mug plus special ones: a boot, a children's mug, a mug for one stall or area of the market, or a limited edition. Each is a separate design in the catalogue, filed under the same market and year.

What if you can't find your mug in the catalogue?

Add it. Choose the market and year you believe it's from, its color and style, and upload clear photos (front, back and bottom). If someone else knows better, they can report a correction, and the design can be moved or merged.

Last checked: 2 November 2026