Last week a colleague and I had some extra time on our hands after work so we decided to check out the Christmas section at Bijenkorf in The Hague. Here are some of the photos I took:
I always check out the Christmas section at Bijenkorf – they make some wonderful items. They come in different sizes and styles, so there is something for (almost) everyone.
It’s become a tradition – take a picture of the Christmas lights at Bijenkorf (a high-end department store – the name means beehive).
Here is 2019:
This year you have the addition of a digital advertisement board — which caused a bit of controversy when they were installed because of the noise and light pollution they caused. Things seemed to have died down since then, though.
Bijenkorf’s window displays are always a hit with the shopping crowd – each different than the last.
As usual, Bijenkorf (a local upscale department store) has beautiful Christmas displays.
Here is what the Christmas tree looks like this year:
For reference the tree starts around the 2nd floor (1st floor if you’re European) and is about four floors tall.
Lots of teddy bears on sale. His official name is ‘Bobbie’ and he has his own page. You might remember him from a previous blog post I did with the window displays – the group of bears was his family.
Bijenkorf always outdoes themselves with their holiday displays!
Check out this cute window display at Bijenkorf in The Hague:
The cutest part is definitely the teddy bears trying to open the fridge on the right (this part was motorized, so the fridge door did open and close).
I was looking through my photos from last month and realized that I hadn’t posted my photos of Bijenkorf yet!
Holiday lights (the same every year, but always pretty!)
Bijenkorf does different window decorations every year. A lot of businesses in The Hague take part in holiday window displays (see the TINK competition).
And this one:
This year the Christmas tree was rather simple, at least compared to previous years:
It was of course as tall as ever – the base started at the top of the ground floor, with the peak reaching to floor 5. As evidenced by the escalators at the left…
Check out the Coke and Diet Coke can ornaments in the upper right. I especially like the slightly ‘frosty’ look. Cute!
To celebrate the second day of Christmas in the Netherlands…
I was in Bijenkorf last week and noticed they put in their Christmas tree for the holidays. It’s so large (four floors high) that it is difficult to get a complete photograph of. But to give you an idea:
A look at the tree from below, standing on the ground floor
I love the blue theme!
And a look at the tree from above
Last year’s Christmas tree was a red and gold theme.
I am officially posting on my brand new computer! I picked it up on Wednesday night and it looks gorgeous. I have missed being able to easily make blog posts, and now it is even easier – turn on Bluetooth between my iPhone and MacBook, and I can transfer photos without any extra cables! Of course, the move to a Mac has been an interesting one, but that’s what I have Siri for, right? At least she knows where to find various settings…
(Speaking of which, it was very disconcerting to hear a male Siri! That was one of the first things I switched…)
I recently went into Bijenkorf (rather than just staring at their pretty Christmas trees outside) to have a look at their holiday section.
Very contemplative…
Below is a look at some of the Christmas trees on offer. This year (maybe for the first time since I moved here?, they did not have the large Christmas tree near the front of the store). In its place was a Piet hanging from the ceiling. I was not able to get a picture of it, unfortunately.
Say hello to the party tree!
Bijenkorf does like to colour-coordinate their Christmas trees!
A bit too pastel for my tastes, but I can see how others would like it.
Christmas items for purchase at Bijenkorf, The Hague
Until next time!
Last week I took some photos of the Christmas trees by the Bijenkorf (a department store). This week I was able to take a few photos of the lights along the Grote Markt street:
The new tear-shaped lights the city put in earlier this year look really nice!
Lights by the entrance:
And a look at the lights in the other direction, towards the movie theater and Primark:
Oh, and today a coworker brought in 12 oliebollen (sorta doughnut-y pastry that is usually made with raisins inside and covered in powdered sugar). They started selling those on November 1st… It is always something to look forward to!
Last week Bijenkorf (an upscale department store) put up their Christmas decorations. See for yourself:
They also put the lights up outside of the building (here is a photo from 2013).
In other news – I finally ordered a new computer! As you can see from this photo of a library book, I am switching from PC to Mac.
If you ignore that one semester in college using a Mac and QuarkXPress for a student job, it will be my first time using a Mac. And yes, it might be geeky but the book has been helpful explaining the differences in keys and in the dock at the bottom of the screen where all the program icons can be found.
Although I have a few more weeks to wait, the computer can’t come soon enough. I wanted to write this blog post on my netbook, but Chrome errored when I tried to open it. I restarted my computer but it has been stuck on a blue screen which says “getting Windows ready – don’t turn off your computer”. For a half hour. Heh…
Update: it came back after 45 minutes, although Chrome is still erroring. Oh well! That is a problem for another day.
Today I briefly visited Bijenkorf, a department store, to take a picture of the tree they always have. This isn’t any tree… it stands 4 floors tall, with the base actually above the ground floor (so you could peek under the tree, technically). This was this year’s design:
And a close up of the design (the gold items are large, round boxes):
I must admit it does not really feel like Christmas eve. I think it has to do with the fact that I even worked today. Just a half day, though. I am not completely insane.
Fijne kerstdagen!
