We’ve been counting down the
days and tomorrow Christmas is finally here! Will you be enjoying a lavish
dinner, unwrapping gifts by the Christmas tree or relaxing on your sofa
watching a Christmas film and drinking hot chocolate? Whatever your Christmas plans are: enjoy the time you get to spend with
your loves ones. Yes, it sounds very cliché, but in the end that’s what matters
the most. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas 
Here are some Christmas tips
from our TopVintage team that will spark a little extra joy! 
Désirée 
''My favourite tip? The gift of time! In other words, spending time with your
nearest and dearest; taking the time for a real conversation with someone you
don’t speak to often enough, spending quality time with your partner, playing
a board game with your kid(s) or going for a lovely walk in the woods with your
dog. It’s also fun to start your own Christmas tradition or continue a family
tradition. For example, one of the traditions in my family is that my mum
always bakes Christmas stollen. It’s quite time-consuming to bake your own, but
it tastes so good! Shop-bought just can’t compete. But whatever activities you
decide to do, just make sure you keep it fun and stress-free!''
Corine
‘’What I love the most
is buying the best gifts for the kids and my husband. Each gift is beautifully
wrapped and decorated with ribbons and matching washi tape! LOVE IT! Unfortunately,
the kids would usually storm into the room, start ripping their presents open
like wild animals while shouting and screaming and it would all be over in less
than half an hour. So, last year my husband and I decided that it was time to
play Santa’s dice game!
#Make a list of 6 dice rules, one action for each number you can roll. Every
family can make up their own rules of course.
#Lay the table with some tasty treats and
drinks and put on some wonderful Christmas songs (check out Zoï’s tip).
#Make sure that everyone has roughly the same
number of gifts with their name on it.
#Now roll the dice and take the rolled action:
1. Grab a gift
that has your name on it and unwrap it when somebody else also rolls 1
2. Shout: ‘’Santa rocks’’
3. Grab a gift for somebody else
4.Put on your favourite Christmas song and make everyone else dance along
5. Grab a gift that has your name on it and unwrap it when somebody else also
rolls 5.
6. Grab a gift that has your name on it and unwrap it straight away. CELEBRATE!
This way the unwrapping fun is guaranteed to last much longer!”
Anouk
‘’On December 24th, we
always listen to the song ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ while we’re driving
to my parents for Christmas Eve. My mum always prepares a delicious chicken
cocktail, a tradition that I grew up. And so is my grandmother’s Christmas
dessert, which mainly consists of whipped cream and fruit. 
. Of course the festive
season just wouldn’t be complete without watching some classic Christmas films.
My all-time favourite Christmas film is The Grinch, I just have to watch it every year. But Christmas with the Kranks,
National Lampoon’s vacation and
Home Alone also rank among
the best Christmas films!’’
Fleur
This is a recipe that my
dad has prepared for many special occasions over the years and it's (in)famous
among family and friends. Prepare yourself for a true calorie bomb. But believe
me, this dessert is worth hitting the gym for… in January, of course. ;-)
(Death by) chocolate mousse
Serves 4
175 g dark chocolate
1 tablespoon Tia Maria or other coffee liqueur
2 tablespoons water
75 g soft butter
75 g brown sugar
4 eggs
pinch of salt
Garnish:
2 dl whipping cream
1 bag (8 g) of vanilla sugar
12 chocolate mocha beans or chocolate chips (optional)
Melt the chocolate, broken into small pieces, with the Tia Maria and the water over
a bain-marie until smooth. Combine sugar and butter in a different bowl and
using an electric hand mixer beat the butter and the sugar for about 5 minutes
until the mixture becomes smooth and peaks form. Separate the eggs. Add the egg
yolks to the butter mixture one by one. Add the melted chocolate and whisk for
another 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, using clean whisks, beat the egg whites with a pinch of
salt until peaks form. Stir a quarter of the egg white mixture into the chocolate
mixture so it becomes a little smoother and then gently fold in the rest of the
egg whites until the egg whites are fully incorporated in the chocolate
mixture. Then spoon the mixture into your glasses and smooth the top. Refrigerate
for at least 4 hours, but preferably leave overnight, to set. To decorate:
Whisk the cream with the vanilla sugar and top the chocolate mousse with the
whipped cream. And if you would like a little more chocolate, you can of course
garnish your mousse with chocolate mocha beans, chocolate shavings, etc.''
Sandra
''As I get older, there
is one thing I’ve learned… the presents, the clothes, the food, etc. are really
not that important. The most important thing is being with the people you love,
enjoying each other’s company and that everyone’s in good health. That really
is all that matters. Especially now, in the middle of the corona pandemic, you
realise just how important being healthy is and you wish and hope that you have
many more years with your loved ones!''
Bernice
''To me Christmas really is the most cosy and fun time of the year and I
like to keep it that way. Of course, we all like to indulge in delicious food
over the festive period, preferably homemade. That’s why I always choose to
serve tasty, yet simple and easy dishes. I especially like dishes that can be
easily prepared in advance and that I can then store in the freezer or fridge.
On Christmas Eve we traditionally have vol-au-vents filled with chicken ragout.
I usually prepare the ragout weeks in advance when I have a bit of time on my
hands and then store it in the freezer.
What do you need?
0.5 packet of butter, 60 grams plain flour, 125 ml of cream or cooking cream, 1
onion (finely diced), 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, 5 chicken breasts (from the
soup), 2 punnets of mushrooms, chicken stock (2x), curry powder, salt and
pepper.
First make a
large pan of chicken stock (just use stock cubes) and then slowly boil the
chicken breasts in the stock until done. Drain the chicken and leave to cool.
You can chop the chicken into cubes but I prefer to shred the chicken by hand. While
you’re doing this, you can already prepare another batch of stock.
Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the onions. Then add the
mushrooms and cook until soft. Add some pepper and curry powder, the parsley
and flour. I don’t add salt just yet since the stock itself is quite salty.
Stir well and once the flour is absorbed by the butter, start adding the stock
bit by bit and finish with the cream. This way you end up with a thick roux
that already has the mushrooms in it. You can make the sauce as thick you like
it. Once the sauce is done, simply add the chicken and season to taste. Enjoy!''
Zoi
''All we
want for Christmas is this Spotify list of Christmas classics
that we made! Christmas is my favourite time of the year and this Spotify list is an absolute December
essential. Have you already made a list of your favourite Christmas songs? There
is no better way to get you into the festive mood. I also enjoy going for a
nice walk during the holidays. Especially if there is plenty of snow and it’s
really cold outside. Be sure to take a flask of mulled wine to keep you warm!''
Sanne
‘’The festive season is
all about spending time together, delicious food and of course… presents! Unfortunately,
this is not a given for everyone. That’s why I really only have one Christmas
tip: do something nice for someone else, just because you can and because
people are in need of acts of kindness now more than ever. Ask around if there
are any non-profits/charities in your area that you can donate money or time
to; start your own fundraiser or put together a parcel of things that you don’t
need or no longer use. Around Christmas I always put together a gift parcel and
then use a Facebook raffle to give the parcel to people who can really use it. Last year this small gesture got a little out
of hand and we weren’t just able to bring a little joy to one family, but to
dozens of families!”
Sietske
“Every year in November I get a large advent hamper from my mum containing
24 (little) gifts that she has collected throughout the year. Starting December
1st I get to open one of these gift every day until Christmas. And like a real
advent calendar all the gifts are numbered. That’s why I put up my Christmas
tree during the last weekend of November, so I can lay out all the gifts
underneath the tree. That looks super festive and cosy! The only downside… as
we get closer to Christmas, the number of gifts underneath the tree decreases
instead of increases.” 
Demery
''For me the Christmas
season is all about gratitude. Gratitude for all the wonderful things, great
and small, of the past year because luckily there plenty of those too! That’s
why my best Christmas tip is to not forget about all those things; sit back,
relax and take some time to take it all in! So don’t let yourself get carried
away by the Christmas rush and cooking and decorating stress, but simply enjoy
spending time with your nearest and dearest.''
Chantal
''On Christmas Eve we traditionally gather with the family for a 3-course
meal and after the main course, we all sit around the Christmas tree to unwrap
gifts. After dinner we have some more wine accompanied by a cheese platter and
some other tasty snacks. And we always end the night with a fun Christmas
movie: The Grinch being the all-time favourite. Boxing Day we celebrate with a dinner with friends! A wonderful tradition that
is a great addition to all the family fun. One of my fun tips is playing board
games together, for example after Christmas dinner. We usually play Uno and
30 Seconds. A real fun way to spend time together''
Mrs Boss Angelique’s Christmas wish
''Christmas is almost
here! And every year I’m like… it can’t be Christmas again already?! We’re
living in weird and uncertain times, but it’s also a time when new
opportunities beckon. We are each in our own way faced with what’s going on in
the world right now. And I think it’s just lovely to see how everyone finds a
way to carry on. Seeing all of your messages and photos makes me so happy:
let’s hang onto that! Keep looking for that connection with each other, it’s so
easy to lose sight of what really matters. We all need love and in a world
where so much has changed in so little time, there are still some things that
will never change. Keep spreading your love and light, Merry Christmas!”
