‘Almost all our Christmas decorations exude nostalgia, entirely in the style of the farm’

December 15, 2022 Luisa Rey

Image: Gwen Dorpmanns Studio and Private

Gwen (46) is together with Rob (47) and mother of Dirkje (10) and Saartje (13). They live in Limburg, where Christmas dinner is the highlight of their holidays.

“As soon as I drive into the street of our small farm from 1815, I think: wonderful, I’m home again. There’s something cozy about the farm, especially when it’s full of lights in the dark winter months – Rob’s hobby. It once started with the front facade, but now the side, the ridge and the garden house are also full. He would prefer to decorate the whole village. I was able to prevent luminous deer and sleds, because it must remain attractive.

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Nostalgia

The interior decoration is my job. Almost everything I hang breathes nostalgia, entirely in the style of the farmhouse. For example, my old skates hang on the front door, in the tree of those paper angels you used to stick in your poetry album, and the old Christmas baubles of Rob’s great-grandmother adorn the chandelier. Unfortunately, one of them was killed last year during the sewing lessons I give to children. No drama, but sad.

Our Christmas stuff is unique, so I can’t just go to the garden center for a new one. In any case, we hardly ever go there during the Christmas period. We live close to the border, so it’s often bursting with the eastern neighbors who come a little too enthusiastically for Christmas shopping – well, I’ve already seen it.

Christmas dinner

The funny thing is that I don’t mind the hysteria in the supermarkets just before Christmas. Those full shopping aisles and carts actually give me energy. I know exactly what we need and where everything is. Rob comes along and sometimes our daughters too, as a family outing. They also love Christmas and help put together dinner. We don’t put ourselves at the level of star chef, but we always try one challenging dish, such as a dessert with hops mousse.

This year we face an extra challenge, because I recently started eating mainly vegetarian. That’s going well for me, but I’m curious if I can resist the temptation of pork cheeks – my guilty pleasure – can resist.

“From Christmas Eve to Christmas Day: every day is a party”

We celebrate it on Christmas Day with my parents and in-laws, but actually it’s a party every day. On Christmas Eve we eat at my parents-in-law’s and Boxing Day we are traditionally with the whole family, a club of fifty people. As if that wasn’t enough, we also get together on the third day of Christmas, for my nephew’s birthday. Fortunately, instead of Christmas snacks, there are Limburg pies on the table.”

This article appears in Kek Mama 12-2022, available in stores from November 29.