Sacha’s house is a magical Christmas window display: ‘I come up with the design, my father does the carpentry’

While everyone is on the beach in the summer, Sacha Kalkman is already preparing for Christmas. He is building the Christmas village at Intratuin Zoetermeer and after Halloween he will start building his own Christmas house in Oosterheem. Together with his father, he clears out the entire living room and begins his magical monster job. “I sometimes work until half past three in the morning.”

Every year Sacha comes up with a different theme for the Christmas decorations in his house. This year it is Theater of the velvet bird. Upon entering you immediately step into a fairy tale with wonderful figures, a beautifully decorated Christmas tree, pine scent and piano music.

Carpentry and building

Above the kitchen is a loft that Sacha uses as a mini theater. Right on the edge above the kitchen, he and his father manage to build a beautiful decor every year. For this they use paper mache, wood, various colors of paint and Christmas decorations from the attic. “I come up with a theme every year and my father carpenters and builds on it in the living room and the garden,” says Sacha.

Grandma’s Christmas baubles

Since childhood, Sacha has collected exclusive Christmas decorations together with his mother. In the Christmas tree he hangs glass baubles, bird cages, velvet bows, porcelain dolls and much more. “Every item has a memory attached to it,” says Sacha. “Old glass Christmas baubles remind me of my grandmother. Disney characters take me back to my visits to Disneyland Paris. In the evening I only have to look at the Christmas tree and then I enjoy it to the fullest. I don’t watch television at this time.”

Life-size nutcracker

Real eye-catchers in the living room are the wooden nutcracker and the owl on the dining table. “I love handmade decorations with custom-made clothing. My wish list includes two life-size nutcrackers. But they cost a few thousand euros each.”

In addition to the living room, Sacha also gives his bedroom a Christmas atmosphere. Every morning he wakes up in a world full of lights, reindeer, glitter and fairytale characters. “I keep the curtains closed so that the Christmas atmosphere remains during the day.”

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Opening party

His friends also help him decorate his house. “I can’t make it on my own,” says Sacha. “It takes a lot of time to get it that way. I work very long days and sometimes work into the night. It’s actually too much work to do in a short time.”

Not only Sacha, but also his friends and colleagues are happy when his Christmas house is ready. After all the work, every year he invites the people around him to an opening party. “Everyone is looking forward to seeing what I have created next.”

Christmas windows of the Bijenkorf

Sacha also uses his sense of style, atmosphere and warmth independent stylist. Barber shops, hotels and a garden center near Rome ask him to decorate the shop stylishly. “In Italy, the Christmas decorations are real over the top. The Italians generally invest a lot of money in this. I absolutely love that, because I can have fun with beautiful things. You used to often see the same style in the shop windows of the Bijenkorf. I was always amazed there.”

Ready for Christmas

In the meantime, Sacha is already busy thinking up the theme for next year. “Because of my work, I have been working on Christmas stuff since the summer,” says Sacha. After the stressful construction time in his own home, he is actually done with it at Christmas. “After Christmas, all things go to the attic and we take the wrapped furniture, vases and plants down from upstairs. My father is usually happy when the living room looks normal again.”

Watch the videos below of Sacha’s Christmas house, in daylight and in the evening: