So incredibly excited for Christmas?

Christmas and traditions go together like milk and honey, like Viktor and Rolf. There’s no celebration where you long for togetherness, traditions, and cherishing the moment as much as at Christmas. While you might often travel and party exuberantly in the summer, at Christmas, being together, eating, and lighting a candle is often enough. Yet traditions cannot always remain the same: they find a new form. Every year, we used to go with my father-in-law to the Christmas circus in Carré, then have a glass of wine and eat the best bitterballen in Amsterdam at the Amstel Hotel. And take a family photo in front of the tree, too. But my father-in-law is no longer with us, and my nephews and nieces are grown up and have their own friends and activities, so that calls for a new form.

Also with an eye on the world, it is important that we make conscious choices during the holidays. Perhaps things can be more sustainable and responsible. Just a few tips I gathered.

– Take a long walk
It leads to the best conversations and makes coming home even cozier. Because you’ve been outside, you quickly find it warm at home and the heating can easily be set to 19 degrees. Or maybe even 18.5.

– Cuddle together
Definitely good and nice, but if you celebrate Christmas at your sister-in-law's, you can keep the heating low and turn off the lights at your place.

– Play a question game while sitting on the floor
Usually, we sit at the table, but sitting on the floor gives you a completely different feeling. And if you do that on the underfloor heating, it’s wonderfully comfortable too. Did you know that underfloor heating is much more sustainable and effective than a radiator?

– Dress code: the ugly Christmas sweater
Ask guests to wear an (ugly) Christmas sweater when they come for dinner. It’s funny and cozy, and the heating can be set much lower than when your guests arrive in party attire (which is usually a bit less covering).

– Give each other warm winter socks
Maybe you even knitted them yourself. That’s such a lovely fresh winter tradition.

– If you want to take a bath, go together
Two showers are roughly equivalent to one bath. So if you really want to take a bath, at least go with two or put a few kids in if you have them. I loved bathing with my three daughters at the same time; it was the sweetest thing and it was also an unconscious choice, how delightful.

– Don’t shower longer than two Christmas songs
I find it hard to beat standing under a warm shower, so I really need a timer. To get more into the Christmas spirit, I turn on Sky Radio and I’m not allowed to stay under the shower for longer than two songs.

– Wrap gifts yourself
It gives a much more unique twist to the whole ritual of pampering each other. I often buy very basic wrapping paper and then make a bow with string around the package. At the ends of the string, I thread a few small Christmas baubles and slide a twig that I cut from the Christmas tree under the string.

Have warm holidays. Just as cozy as before, but just a little bit in a 2023 outfit.
On Essent.nl you will find even more inspiration for a conscious and cozy Christmas.