I believe in coming home for Christmas

by Marlies Dekkers
The cold wind, dry air, freezing temperatures, dark nights… it is winter! While others grumble about the upcoming snow, I’m singing Christmas songs and make my home a winter wonderland.

December is definitely my favourite month of the year and that’s easy to explain: it brings me Christmas! For me this celebration is not only about those few days (in the Netherlands we celebrate 2 days of Christmas) but also about the weeks in advance. I think my Christmas tree is always the first in the country. Decorating the tree is a ritual which I’m longing for from the first fall day. I have an entire basement filled with Christmas decoration. My daughter and I get everything in the living room, I make us a cup of home-made hot chocolate, put on Christmas songs and let’s get the decorating party started! It takes us days to turn the entire house into a fairytale Christmas home. My regular florist comes over to bring some fresh cut greenery. Every year I fall in love with my home again and if I could I wouldn’t leave the house this month.

Not only do I like to decorating ritual, at least as important is the happy feeling when coming home every day. I have a pretty hectic life, where searching for the right work/relaxing balance needs to be on my mind daily. Taking care for myself is priority, but isn’t taking care of your home part of taking care of yourself? How can you be totally relaxed in your own environment if it doesn’t give you the right feeling? Do you rather be somewhere else? Ask yourself if your home needs more attention. Making my home summer-ready in the next season with bright colours and fresh flowers is just as important as the Christmas ritual. But, I could have been born as Mrs.Claus, this is my season and I’m enjoying every minute of it!

Most loved
fall|winter 20 preview

Marlies Says

fall|winter 20 preview

by marlies|dekkers

In January, I presented my newest FW20 collection during a show full of dance and entertainment in Rotterdam. All my work as a feminist designer is inspired by muses, powerful female icons from past and present. And for FW20, my muse will be crime writer Agatha Christie. A few months from now, you will get to discover the collections, and see how they tell stories like Agatha’s thrilling books do..

Running for your life

MD Friends

Running for your life

by marlies|dekkers

Dr. Bram Bakker is a psychiatrist, a writer, a runner and a provocateur. With his many bestselling books and columns – and yes, even his own theatre show – he urges us to think outside the box when it comes to our mental health. Not crazy about popping pills? Bram shared some interesting alternatives with me, from throwing out our phones to running ‘till we puke’.

Peas & peppers instead of pills

MD Friends

Peas & peppers instead of pills

by marlies|dekkers

General practitioner Tamara de Weijer believes that we would feel a lot better if we hit the produce stand before we visited the pharmacy. “On a massive scale, we have been putting the wrong kind of fuel in our bodies.”

Singles Day – You’ve Got this!

Marlies Says

Singles Day – You’ve Got this!

by marlies|dekkers

All the single ladies, listen up! With single women rapidly becoming the majority, it is high time to stop feeling singled out. This Singles Day, let’s celebrate our freedom and independence by sharing all those solo milestones that make us go: ‘You’ve got this!’.