The best hot chocolate | from €3.75 | Meneer de Boer & The Happiness Café 

There's nothing better in wintery weather than hot chocolate (with extra whipped cream). But where can you find a really good hot chocolate in Eindhoven? Check out Meneer de Boer. Every time winter rolls around, the folks here get creative with hot chocolate. From the original Dutch Chocomel drink to a white chocolate milk with marshmallows. Come on in and see what the day's menu has to offer. Or walk on a couple of streets until you reach The Happiness Café. Here, they serve their own Happy Hot Chocolate. It's based on oat milk, with 35 percent cacao and (vegan) whipped cream. 

Gift wrapping service | Free | Heuvelgalerie | through December 24 

Are you getting ready for Secret Santa with your friends, but feel daunted by the other gifts you still have to wrap? Or maybe you want to make that gift for your grandma extra special? Don't panic. Specially for these emergencies, there is now a gift wrapping service in the Heuvelgalerie. Here, until the end of Sunday December 24th, you can get all your gifts wrapped for free. 

Watching Christmas classics | from €7.25 | Lab-1 

December wouldn't be complete without a Christmas movie, would it? And so at Lab-1 during the holiday season, you can come along and watch various classics. Movies like The Night Before Christmas and The Muppets Christmas Carol. Start the festivities with a pre-movie drink in their lively café and if you happen to come along on a Thursday or Sunday, you can even take part in the regular games evening. From Jenga to arcade games, or feel free to bring along your own games. 

Winter Garden | Free | City Garden Eindhoven | through February 4 

Specially for the chilly months, City Garden has transformed itself into the Winter Garden. Come along and join the fun. There's skating, you can amble through the winter market, or you can eat all you like at the food stalls. There's no charge at all to enter the Winter Garden, but you'll need to pay to use the ice rink, and book in advance. An hour's skating will cost you €8.50, unless you choose the silent disco skate on Friday evenings. That will set you back €12.50. 

Christmas winter circus | €25 | Parktheater | December 23-31 

This year the Christmas winter circus makes its 51st appearance. Every year, the most amazing acts from all over the world come to the Parktheater in Eindhoven to take part in this event, the Kerstwintercircus. As the Parktheater's own billing says: “Spectacle guaranteed.” Be sure to arrive in good time! You could have a bite to eat in theater restaurant BIJ13 or check out the various stalls in the foyer. From December 23 through 31 it's showtime twice a day, and during the final show on December 31st, the Audience Award will be presented to the public's favorite circus act. 

Lumina Park | from €14.50 | Evoluon | through January 7 

Every day from 17.00 hrs, you'll find the breathtaking Lumina Park in the grounds of the Evoluon. Through January 7th the park is hosting more than 150 artworks made of LED lights. From the DeLorean car from Back to the Future to ancient Rome. Are you also looking to fill the daytime hours? Why not combine Lumina Park with a visit earlier in the day to one of the exhibitions in the Evoluon. Two exhibitions currently on show are RetroFuture and Spacefarming, both by Next Nature.