The holidays are the time of the year when time moves really really slowly. It’s lovely to spend some days with your friends and family if you can. Maybe you are even back in your hometown. But you basically spend your days eating, watching telly and waiting for the next meal (unless you are the unlucky one who prepares all the meals, then you are stuck in the kitchen for days).
To avoid falling into a hole of boredom I feel like playing games this year. Any game will do – no matter if it’s a complicated board game, a simple game of cards, scrabble or just a huge puzzle. I’m actually really into Monopoly, but I will also be ok with UNO. Anything so we can avoid watching the Helene Fischer show on ARD…
But what if you don’t have any of those games at home? Well, we have a solution for that! We thought up a few games for you that you can simply print out at home on a regular A4 sheet. Now let the games begin…
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by Frank | Misc.
illustration: Berk Karaoglu.
With this cursed year coming to a close, Berlin descends into one of the most magical times of the year: the holidays. Normally complete with Glühwein, freezing cold, and Christmas markets, this winter is going to feel far from normal (except the freezing cold). Although the holidays may be a bit different this year, it’s still the season to give back to the people you love and the city we all love. We’ve compiled this gifting guide featuring small businesses from Berlin if you’re looking for an alternative to Amazon. All the businesses listed in the following guides are small, ethical, locally owned, and sure to make your loved ones (and their owners) smile.
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by Adri | Christmas Present
Collecting small anecdotes of transitory moments.
One last energetic jump—right before departure, I make it into the narrow U1 car.
BEEP BEEP BEEP.
Doors closing; I take a seat on the purple patterned bench,
letting my gaze wander: around me, commuters in disguise––fellow passengers hide their faces behind oversized scarves and collars, almost a dozen figures, in front of nostalgic wood paneling in chestnut brown.
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by Andy | Stories
Ok, here comes a fun one! Yasmin and I had a funny afternoon yesterday wrapping presents “Berlin-style”. We already gave you a guide of cool Berlin Christmas presents and we thought now is the time to wrap them accordingly. We picked a couple of iconic and very Berlin-specific wrapping styles that will be easy for you to recreate and it will definitely make your presents under the tree the coolest ones! So brace yourself, here comes our guide how to wrap your presents Berlin-style.
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by Frank | Design
Ad.
Christmas season is upon us, and for many, it is connected with the necessity to assort a collection of suitable gifts for a number of people. If your schedule is so tight you can barely make it to any of the alternative Christmas markets we’ve listed here, there’s another option with more regular opening hours: the concept shopping mall Bikini Berlin with their many awesome stores and a unique gift-wrapping station, ready to welcome you right until December 24th!
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by Michalina | Charlottenburg, Christmas, Shops
Ah, December in the city. Have you spent winter in Berlin before? No? Well, then here’s a list of my Top 5 things not to miss during my favorite time of the year – because all of a sudden, everything’s magically different.
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by Guest Author | Stories
Without even realizing it, another year as almost flown by. Once again, Christmas is already upon us and besides the bitterness of not having achieved all the unrealistic goals we have established for us during the year, we have to face “the final year challenge”: searching and buying the perfect Christmas presents. Most of us consider it as a demanding task (because come on, let’s say the truth: most of us do not enjoy spending time searching for the perfect gift to buy in crowded shopping malls). However, we all have that old friend who really cares about receiving Christmas gifts and we all know that our mum is expecting a little present this year as well. Whether we like it or not, we are all going to Christmas shopping.
But what makes this treasure hunt difficult are always the same issues: “I do not know what to buy!”, “I am not feeling inspired”, “last year I bought my girlfriend a pair of secondhand gloves, I need something original this year!”. Don’t panic: we are here for you! We prepared an awesome gift list to help you find the most fantastic presents and souvenirs for your beloved ones, family members or Berlin fans and friends. Have a look, you will surely find something interesting and cool. Why are we sure that you are going to make a good impression? Because our present suggestions all have the cool Berlin style.
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by Giulio | Products
[Sponsored]
I am a huge fan of creatively wrapped Christmas presents as I have previously proven with our Christmas wrapping guide. Of course, I was super excited to hear about the new Christmas special by Bikini Berlin that is all about artfully decorated presents. Following their tradition of previous seasons, they have once again installed a beautiful big wrapping station in the middle of the concept shopping mall where you can have your presents wrapped or get crafty and wrap them yourselves.
But it wouldn’t be Bikini Berlin if this would be some ordinary type of wrapping station. Once again they invited a local artist to not only design the special edition wrapping papers but also create an entire photo set that transforms the designs from the papers into a big colorful world to step into and take pictures in.
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by Frank | Art, Charlottenburg, Shops
Gendarmenmarkt, photo: Michael Setzpfandt
December is upon us, degrees are dropping down and Berlin winter has come. Even if we haven’t had any snow yet, we can feel it in the air: it’s almost Christmas markets season!
Even when it comes to Christmas events, Berlin has style and originality. If you were thinking that Christmas markets in this city are just about drinking smoking hot glühwein, eating “ich-liebe-dich”- gingerbread hearts or thousand different chocolate delicacies, you are wrong. The Berlin Christmas events have so much more to offer! To help you experience the Berlin Christmas season, we have created a 2018 Christmas Markets’ guide of the best and unconventional markets to visit in December. Berlin’s just as versatile as you might have expected – you’ll find a few traditional markets, some really design-oriented events, and even a Christmas film festival. Have a look! Finding the perfect Christmas gift it is not going to be demanding and boring anymore.
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by Giulio | Events, Market
For many families, decorating the christmas tree together belongs to one of many long cherished traditions, that one is looking forward to every christmas. Grandmas old ornaments are retrieved from the cellar, freed from dust and checked for cracks before they end up back on the christmas tree. Prior to this everyone needs to decide on the colour and in the end, like every year, eyeing the crumbling decoration, you notice once more: we should really get new ornaments for next year.
Those who want to revive old traditions and add some new unique pieces to your christmas ornament collection, will be happy to have found Edition Noël. Behind this label, seven ambitious and talented designers joined forces to create something special next to their daily work: handmade christmas ornaments. Their collection includes 300 Sets with 6 delicate, individual ornaments each. In the process, every designer let their individual creative focus flow into each ornament they made. The designers have backgrounds in illustration-, fashion-, jewelry-, textile- and product design, giving the ornaments a different style, one by one.
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by Franziska | Design, Products
