It looks like we’re facing a cold winter, so what better way to fill your evenings than by putting together the 32,256 pieces of this enormous jigsaw puzzle? Clear the table(s), as the masterpiece (depicting a Keith Haring painting) measures 544 x 192cm (€299)
Buy it at:
Puzzle Passion
Paradise for puzzle lovers! This shop is packed with big
and small, 3D and double-sided puzzles. Be sure to ask
owner Christian for tips on how to put the pieces together,
he’s been puzzling for as long as he can remember
(Belliardstraat 143, Brussels, www.puzzle-passion.be)
Surprise someone with a gift that gets their creative juices flowing, or at the very least gives them an excuse to play with crayons. London illustrator Marion Deuchars’ latest book is an interactive art project inviting readers to do everything from finger painting to making their own Andy Warhol Campbell’s Soup can design (€20)
Buy it at:
’t Stad Leest
Located in the heart of
Antwerp’s historic district,
’t Stad Leest (“The City Reads”) carries an impressive
assortment of coffee-table books, a broad range of
children’s genres and all the latest fiction and non-fiction
in both Dutch and English (Steenhouwersvest 16, Antwerp,
www.tstadleest.be)
Retro is hot, Pacman and Elmo are even hotter. So suit up and surprise society with these flashy belts (€20)
Buy it at:
Leeloo
What started with electro, new beat, acid and house
changed into fashion with a quirky yet stylish range.
Leeloo is thriving among young people and sells both new
brands and vintage (St-Jakobsstraat 19, Bruges, www.leeloo.be)
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a macaroon is just “a small cookie composed chiefly of egg whites, sugar and ground almonds or coconut”. But oh boy, are these macaroons more than just “a cookie”. The vibrant colours make you happy, and so do the flavours: mango, passion fruit, kiwi and more (€various)
Buy it at:
Patisserie Academie
Walk past the open window of Tom van Loock’s atelier
and you will most definitely be seduced by that white
chocolate passion fruit or mango creation. Or the three
textures of chocolate in a single piece of pie. This patisserie
is your taste buds’ best friend – at democratic prices, too
(Academiestraat 4, Bruges, www.patisserieacademie.be)
The On the Move weighing scales have the right dose of irony to counter those good yet unrealistic resolutions made on New Year’s Eve. Flanders’ biggest schlager king Eddy Wally inspired the makers of the Oh my God scales (€25)
Buy it at:
Gifts at Home
Gun-shaped toilet brushes, purses in the form of chickens
and frogs: This place delivers your gadgets. Very funny
furniture downstairs as well; most items are designed by
the Flemish brand On the Move (Eiermarkt 4, Bruges;
www.gifts-at-home.be)
You don’t need to be a chess grand master to enjoy having this stylish set of salt and pepper grinders on your table. Just imagine the fun when paired with a checked tablecloth. Made of 100% natural rubber wood, this design gadget by London-based Spinning Hat is a perfect play (€59)
Buy it at:
YOUR
If there ever were such thing as a trendy one-stop-for-all shopping destination, YOUR is it. From fun
gadgets, design books, fragrances and accessories to
an impressive collection of contemporary fashion and
even its own hairdresser, this two-storey concept store
has it all (Kloosterstraat 90, Antwerp, your-antwerp.com)
Ever heard of coffee from Thailand? Or the Ethiopian bean produced by one of the very few women in the industry? Delicious (€5-10)
Buy it at:
Délisa Délices & Saveurs
Eighty years ago this was a (probably the first) English tea
house in Bruges, run by a British lady. Today, the owner
of the new Délisa serves coffees, teas, hot chocolates and
cakes. If you tell them what coffee you like, they will give
you exactly what you need (Jan van Eyckplein 7a, Bruges,
www.delisa.be)
Yes, Christmas decoration tends to be a bit kitschy, speaking of which, have you seen Baobab’s limited-edition Christmas candles? They carry the names of Santa’s reindeer (Rudolph, Prancer and Blitzen), smell of mistletoe and cloves ... and come in a furry jar (€49)
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Baobab flagship store
Belgian candle and
home fragrance brand
Baobab opened its very first shop last
month. Inspired by travels to Africa and Asia, you’ll find
candles in all sizes and colours, with delicate scents such as
“Chinese ink” or “African morning dew” (Zavelstraat 15,
Brussels, www.baobabcollection.com)
Hands up if your bottle of olive oil from Greece or pottery from Venezuela got broken in your luggage. That’s because airport handlers toss and crush your bags without a care in the world. But TravelTeq cares: They’ve made this sturdy suitcase to protect your precious cargo. But wait. It also has a built-in sound system and converts into a chair (€495)
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Graanmarkt
This chic spot in Antwerp somehow escapes the holiday
rush, offering a contemplative gift-buying experience,
preceded by lunch in its beautiful restaurant. The shop is
handmade- and designer-oriented, with women’s wear,
ceramics and home decor (Graanmarkt 13, Antwerp, www.graanmarkt13.be)
This exquisite shaving set is by Mühle, leader in shaving culture for more than six decades. Its classic safety razor and brush made of silver-tip badger hair is guaranteed to take the male grooming ritual to new heights (€191)
Buy it at:
De Messenwinkel
This local gem is
chock-a-block with
all things classy
and sharp. Once
a string business
passed down over five generations, the charming shop is
now a coutellerie specialising in kitchen knives, pocket
knives and everything to do with shaving (Mechelseplein 7,
Antwerp, www.messenwinkel.eu)
Praised by Vogue as the best cleanser in the world, this could be the key to flawless skin in 2012. Apply the lotion to wet skin, and massage it off with the special Eve Lom cloth (€42 for 50ml, cloth included)
Buy it at:
Senteurs
d’Ailleurs
One of Europe’s
biggest high-end
perfume and
cosmetics stores,
the Brussels
shop recently
moved and got
a substantial
makeover.
Use the black
entrance for niche perfume brands, or the white one for
luxurious lotions and potions (Stefaniaplein 1A, Brussels,
www.senteursdailleurs.be)
Don’t even try to argue: One can never have too many bags. That’s why they’re a safe gift, and this year’s jazzy new pink and green colours from Kipling will leave the recipient dreaming of sunnier days. The Sumida comes in three sizes, with an expandable zip for cramming in plenty of beach towels and tourist guides (€60-€85)
Buy it at: Kipling The brand launched 24 years ago by three Antwerp women just keeps on giving. Well-made and affordable, these bags – from coin purses to suitcases – are sold in shops everywhere, but the brand stores are the best for browsing (Aalst, Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Mechelen, www.kipling.com)
For a lover of both fashion and music, indulge in a set of luxury designer headphones by recently launched Swedish brand Molami. Their headphones combine superb audio with avant-garde design in materials such as stingray, napa leather and 18-carat-gold (€300)
Buy it at:
Renaissance
There’s no store
in fashion capital Antwerp with a higher profile than
Renaissance. This cosmopolitan haven is one-part high-end
multi-brand store and one-part fine dining, fittingly
located next to the Fashion Museum (Nationalestraat
28-32, Antwerp, renaissance-antwerp.com)
It can be intimidating to buy clothes as gifts, but jackets are easier because they can be a bit oversized. This adorable fake fur could be worn over a little black dress on New Year’s Eve or with jeans at the movies on a Sunday afternoon (€159)
Buy it at:
Bellerose
This Flemish label is worn across the world for good
reason. The clothes are just cool enough to not look like
you’re trying too hard. Definitely visit the menswear
section for distinctive shirts and ties that defy the norm
(Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent, Knokke, Leuven, www.bellerose.be)
Sometimes kids have toys that adults secretly wish they could use, and this is one of them. The Twilight comes in the shape of a ladybird or turtle that projects a starry night sky from its back on to the ceiling at bedtime. The projections have different colours, and there’s an auto-shut off, too (€49.95)
Buy it at:
Krokodil
This chain of shops across Flanders is an irresistible place
to shop for kids, from babies to pre-teens. It’s packed
to the rafters with toys and games of all sorts. While
Krokodil gets that we live in the 21st century, it also gets
that kids are still kids. Note: Each store’s stock can vary.
The Twilight can be found only in Turnhout (Bruges,
Houthalen, Leuven, Lier, Lommel, Schilde, Sint-Niklaas,
Turnhout, www.krokodil.be)
A more creative way to give chocolates is this box of pretty pyramids used to make hot chocolate. They melt smoothly and come in coffee and caramel flavours, too (€14)
Buy it at:
Leonidas
Call us old fashioned, but we still like this brand, which
a Greek-American launched in Brussels nearly 100 years
ago. It’s perhaps less trendy than it once was, but the
pralines are still good, and their gift boxes are still super
fun – both to give and to get (across Brussels and Flanders,
www.leonidas.be)
Have you ever noticed how tea drinkers can get very defensive about the obsession around coffee? We recommend you treat your favourite tea-tippler to something special, like this tipping cup by Magisso. Put the tea and water in to steep, then tip it to the left to drink. It’s cute and functional – just like your tea drinker, no doubt (€19.95)
Buy it at:
Studio 59
This pretty shop carries the best in kitchen and household
products, from sleek chrome toasters and trays to
colourful plastic lemon squeezers. Good for cute, less-expensive
items for friends and pricey impressive items
for the person who actually cooks for you (Boomstraat 59,
Bornem, www.desmaakraad.be)
This lovely little hardback by Gerdy Seegers explores about 120 Netherlandish proverbs depicted in Bruegel’s famous painting, making an intriguing gift for Dutch learners with an interest in art. Whether they will get much chance to use phrases like “dat hangt als een kakhuis boven de gracht” is another matter (€9.90)
Buy it at:
Royal Museum of Fine Arts
As well as the usual catalogues and cards, this museum
shop is great for books such as this that explore art
at a tangent or dig into artists’ lives. The extensive
stock includes titles in English, Dutch and French
(Regentsschapstraat 3, Brussels, www.fine-arts-museum.be)
These “caves”, which come in a multitude of colours, are great hideaways for kids and can be moved outside when the weather is warmer. They’re made by the ultra-fun Danish designer house bObles, which also produces crazy-shaped pint-sized furniture and brightly coloured floor mats (€139)
Buy it at:
Kikker & Ko
This huge, marvellous kids’ shop in the Berchem district
of Antwerp is low on logos and high on creativity, stocking
a never-ending supply of inventive games, puzzles, books,
school supplies and little worlds to construct (Gitschotellei
139, Antwerp, www.kikkerenko.be)
Flanders Today is a 
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