Christmas in the Netherlands

The December festivities are upon us and we hope you are as excited as we are. The Undutchables offices are alight with Christmas trees and lights. If you live in the Netherlands you will have noticed that the Christmas decoration extravaganza only really gets going after the 5^th of December. This is due to the fact that most Dutch people celebrate Sinterklaas on that day. After Sinterklaas has passed people start to gear up for Christmas. Christmas trees tend to be bought after the 5^th and the sweet treats in the bakeries switch from chocolate letters to Christmas loaves filled with marzipan.

While numerous countries tend to have ham and turkey for Christmas the Dutch have what they call gourmetten. This is not done by all Dutch families but the majority will dust off their gourmet set at Christmas and get ready for some mini frying pan fun. Basically it entails everyone getting a mini pan and using it to cook miniature meats and vegetables on a heated plate on the dining table. With regards to dessert, whereas fruit cakes and mince pies are the norm in the UK and Ireland, the Dutch tend to like pastries with marzipan in it. The Christmas spread often involves at least one bread type pastry with a marzipan filling and dusted with powdered sugar.

We would love to hear what is traditionally prepared for Christmas in your homes and home countries as there is such a diversity in Christmas cuisine all over the world. Please feel free to share your Christmas traditions.

As we work with so many internationals throughout the year we expect some of you will be heading back home for Christmas to spend it with your families and loved ones. On behalf of the Undutchables team we wish you a very safe, warm and happy Christmas time!