Honesty in Advertising

The handwritten text reads “Dear Housemates, the handbasin where you wash your hands in, is used by me to piss in.”
And it’s advertising chocolate.
It’s a campaign linked to Sinterklaas, which is coming up on December 5, and it invites you to send a “Tony’s Chocolonely” chocolate letter with an honest poem. This combines two traditions [...]

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Christmas shopping

It’s February, the tree has been down for about 6 weeks but this sign is still up on a billboard on Museumplein.
It’s one of my pet peeves – outdated advertisements. It can’t be that hard to manage.

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So that was Christmas!

Everyone’s thrown out their Christmas trees, it always makes me a little sad to see the wasted trees around the city.

More “finished” Christmas trees, put out for Monday’s rubbish collection but not picked up.

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It’s beginning to look like Christmas

Now that we’re past the Sinterklaas it’s time for the Christmas decorations. There are lights all over town, and trees up in all the shopping centre – Magna Plaza boasts of having the largest, oddly it’s suspended over a piano.
I prefer the smaller ones like this one, fully lit and outside a cafe.

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Sinterklaas Celebration

I saw Sint last week, standing around a carpark being interviewed. It seemed somehow so wrong.
Sint, or Sinterklaas, arrived a couple of weeks ago and on Wednesday will be delivering candy and gifts to good children across the country. Naughty children will be put in a sack carried by his helper Zwarte Piet and taken [...]

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Flying Trees

There’s a date that Christmas trees go on sale, and there’s a date that Christmas trees get thrown out. In this case the tree was literally thrown out – of a fourth storey window.

I was walking along the Keizergracht, I saw a woman in the middle of the street with a broom. She was looking [...]

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Christmas = Chocolate

One of the best things about Christmas is Chocolate. One of the best things about this year’s Christmas was these chocolates from New Zealand. Inspired by the beach, and remember Christmas is in the middle of summer there, there are fish, seashells, starfish and pebbles. Beautiful and delicious.
I half expect to find a mermaid in [...]

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Prettige Kerstdagen

Christmas trees went on sale on 7 December, there are tree sellers all around the city – the one is outside Westerkerk by the Anne Frank House. I still haven’t bought one, instead mine’s a 50cm high fake one with the world’s most pathetic lights on it. Cute Pink Fairy on the top though.

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Rommel Piet!!!

We distorted a Dutch tradition and pretty much trashed our office. We threw streamers and glitter over the desks and sprinkled the key boards with candy and pepernoten.We also wrote a poem on the white board to explain
We had to come early this year
It’s just too busy and Sint fears
We won’t have time to visit [...]

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Merry Christmas Prinsengracht

Tomorrow, 5 December, is the Dutch Sinterklaas. All over the country families will gather and gifts will be given in the name of Sinterklaas. The tradition includes ’surprises’ hiding your gift inside something, and creating a teasing poem. For the last few years I’ve had Sinterklass party at my house for Dutch and non-Dutch friends. [...]

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