Shopping

Bijenkorf’s Christmas tree (Or: 2025 edition)

Here’s a look at Bijenkorf’s Christmas tree for 2025:

The Christmas area on the third floor also had bears which ever so slightly moved.

I do like the use of colored lights this year. A lot of places in the Netherlands only have soft white lights. The gold symbols on the tree are pictures of a teddy bear, Bijenkorf shopping bag, and Christmas present. The longer rectangle one is the symbol for the Bijenkorf in Amsterdam. You can also buy it as a Christmas ornament

That picture makes it seem like the store was fairly empty, but that was most definitely not the case. It was a bit of a madhouse, but the ornaments are a bit further in. This was near the beginning of the section, by the escalators.

In my last post I mentioned the Christmas tram. Unfortunately, it got into a (minor) accident the next day (omroepwest.nl), although it was back in service quickly. Accidents between trams and cars happens a lot. A bit more unexpected was the accident earlier this week when the switch which allows the tram to change tracks broke and shot through the floor of the tram, slightly injuring one of the passengers. A few pictures into the article you can see the damage to the floor. Crazy stuff.

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Takkie and Sepia at Hema (Or: Christmas gifts 2025)

Hema is going all in on the Takkie and Siepie gifts this year. Takkie is a dog and Siepie is a cat, and both are from Jip and Janneke, a series of children’s books (English Wikipedia).

This year they have Takkie mugs:

There’s also a Takkie toy:

I also took a picture of some of the stuffed animals.

Takkie has a red collar and Siepie does not have a collar.

You can find more Takkie and Siepie related items on Hema’s website, on their Takkie en Siepie page.

I’m a fan of Takkie with a scarf as well as the Christmas ornaments for both of them. Cute stuff!

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Christmas time (Or: Window decoration by Bijenkorf)

The holiday window decorations are now in place by Bijenkorf, a high-end department store here in The Hague. Here’s a look at one of the windows:

The window reads: “Ook 100 jaar geleden bezorgde de Bijenkorf al aan huis”, or “100 years ago, de Bijenkorf was already making home deliveries”.

I found a news article which mentioned that their Christmas departments opened on 11 September (!). It’s early, of course, but going to Bijenkorf to look at Christmas ornaments and other decorations is a tradition for a lot of families. It sort of reminds me of the mall scene in A Christmas Story, only there is no Santa!

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Orange craziness (Or: King’s Day merchandise at HEMA)

This year, King’s Day will be on Saturday, April 26. The holiday marks King Willem-Alexander’s birthday (April 27). Since it falls on a Sunday this year, it will be celebrated on Saturday instead.

You can already get appropriately orange apparel at HEMA:

This kid’s t-shirt is available for purchase online. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, HEMA has a few characters that are associated with their brand.

  • Jip and Janneke, a boy and girl from the book series of the same name (see also English Wikipedia). They have been associated with HEMA since 1993.
  • Takkie and Siepie, the dog and cat of Jip and Janneke respectively. Takkie is Jip’s daschhond and Siepie is Janneke’s cat.

They also have some of the more normal merchandise available for purchase:

The Hague will also be host to “The Life I Live” festival on Friday, April 25. The full schedule of artists will be posted on their website on April 15.

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Japanese curry at Wagamama (Followed by: A Japanese metal band)

On Saturday Marco, Roger and I went to the Mall of the Netherlands. We went later in the afternoon which meant the crowds were out in full force. (I know, we were part of the crowds too!) In the end we visited a lot of shops but didn’t buy anything.

Why were we at the mall, you ask? The movie theatre chain Kinepolis had a showing of Babymetal: Legend 43 – the movie, which Roger wanted to see. Babymetal is a Japanese metal band. The movie is an edited version of a concert Babymetal held in Okinawa at the end of their tour last year. The showing was pretty fun, although I am definitely not the right audience for a metal band. There were some interesting editing choices, including adding fake film distortion. But it was fun, as I said.

Before the movie, we stopped at Wagamama to get some dinner. As did everyone else in the mall. It was quite busy at the restaurants (of course). Wagamama didn’t have enough staff to handle the demand, although the staff that were there were definitely working hard.

This time I tried the Japanese curry. It was really nice, and exactly what I wanted. However, the version Marco made for me last month had an even richer, deeper umami flavor that this version didn’t quite capture. So he’ll be happy to know he needs to make that for me again…

As you can see above, the chicken is cut in half and the bed of rice is laid between it. The salad was also really nice; it paired really well with the heavier flavors.

Finally, here is the yuzu dessert Marco chose which I had a few bites of.

All in all a fun day!

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Christmas decorations (Or: Spotted at the Mall of the Netherlands)

Did you know the Mall of the Netherlands is quite busy in the week leading up to Christmas?

Of course you did. And so did I. But somehow I still went for a few hours, before I made a strategic retreat to the tram… aka, fleeing from the crowds.

Here’s a look at one of the Christmas decorations:

This decoration was outside of the America Today clothing store, which is a chain found in The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. (Those three countries also go by the term Benelux which amuses me whenever I see it. Read more at Wikipedia.)

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Singing in De Passage (Or: Christmas choir, 2024)

A few days ago I came across a Christmas choir performing in De Passage (a shopping area in The Hague’s city centre):

They were singing for Artsen Zonder Grenzen (the Dutch branch of Doctors Without Borders). And, as things go in this modern day, they even had a QR code as well where you could donate – see the paper at the bottom of the image.

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Walking route (Or: Royal shopping in The Hague)

I took this photo earlier this month:

It’s part of the “Royal shopping” walking route you can view online on The Hague’s public website (English | Dutch). This photo was taken near #6, ‘t Goude Hooft, the oldest inn in The Hague. The earliest reference to it was written in 1423.

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Store window (Or: Hamilton tobacco & gifts)

Here is a random photo this week, of a store window in De Passage:

This is a store window at Hamilton tobacco & gifts, a souvenir store that I can still remember visiting back when I was actually a tourist around 2009-2011 sometime. As you can see from the photo, they have a nice collection of Dutch memorabilia, Delft blauw pottery, Nijntje (or Miffy if you’re not from the Netherlands), etc.

Random news:

Artwork stolen from Scheveningen hotel; Man walked out with 50 kg statue in suitcase

Dunkin’ to stay in the Netherlands but some stores will shut

Andy Warhol artworks stolen in Dutch gallery heist

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Start of the holiday season (Or: Lights at De Passage)

De Passage (the covered shopping area in The Hague’s city centre) has started getting ready for the coming holiday season. It’s a bit early, but in the Netherlands the first holiday is Sinterklaas. That holiday is on 5 December, a full three weeks before Christmas.

It’s not much yet (there’s no Christmas tree yet), but it’s a start.

And in other news: Jeers for beers: mechanic chucks out artwork at Lisse museum from dutchnews.nl. The artwork was two handprinted beer cans left on display in an elevator, so the mistake definitely makes sense. The museum has gotten a lot of publicity due to it, so I am sure they are happy. (The not-beer cans were later found in the trash, so there was no harm done.)

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