In Willem’s thrift store it seems like Christmas all year round. Between all the cups and second-hand clothing you can go there to replenish the stock of Christmas baubles. Even Willem himself does not want to leave the party behind, even in the middle of spring. He wears a Christmas sweater all year round. “It gets a lot of crazy looks.”
Willem quietly gives all kinds of stuff a place on the shelves of thrift store De Tierelantijn. Customers are amazed in mid-spring when he greets them in his favorite green Christmas sweater.
“When I was little I wanted to be Santa Claus, but I miss a good beard.”
“In December, our foundation is always well served,” he begins. De Tierelantijn helps people living in poverty. In December the store receives a lot of extra help, but in other months the donations decrease. “That while we know that these people also need help on all other days.”
And so he makes a statement to keep that Christmas feeling all year long. “Caring for each other and peace on earth should actually be all year round,” says Willem, who has been wearing a Christmas sweater every day since September 2021.
“I actually wanted to be Santa Claus when I was little,” he says. “I thought it would be nice to make people happy. But I miss a good beard,” he laughs. “I hope to be able to help in this way.”
“I often get laughed at for my Christmas sweater.”
Not everyone understands his message right away. Especially when they see Willem walking in his sweater in warm weather, he gets strange looks. “I often get laughed at when people see me in my Christmas sweater.” If he then explains what he is doing it for, he can still count on understanding. “If you do start the conversation, they think it’s good what I’m doing. There’s even a colleague who now also wears Christmas sweaters when she works in the store,” he says cheerfully.
Now that it’s getting warmer, it’s really getting less fun, a sweater like that, he admits. That’s why he recently bought only Christmas T-shirts.
