The annual Home Exhibition in February 2014

Head to the ‘Huishoudbeurs’ for all your home and leisure needs.

The mother of all fairs returns for its yearly unveil of the latest must haves for your home, for you, and more. Nine days of fashion, beauty, food and entertainment are organised at Amsterdam RAI. Book ahead for discounted entry. Date for the diary: 15 – 23 February 2014

This is definitely one for those who love to take care of their home and themselves; called the Huishoudbeurs in Dutch, the Home Exhibition is a hugely popular yearly event which takes place at Amsterdam RAI from 15 – 23 February 2014. Around a quarter of a million visitors attend this mega event each year to browse the hundreds of stalls, take part in workshops, purchase great items with special price offers and see the latest products.

Visited by mainly women the fair is a fabulous event for like-minded people that enjoy styling and grooming their home, cooking and other home related leisure activities. Or you may even be in the business and you want to see if it is the place to exhibit your company or products in the future. Whatever the reason of your visit the exhibition has various components that offer fun for all: Fashion & Beauty, Festival Fantastique, Home Sweet Home, Fashion Shop ‘Till You Drop, Family Fun, Home Shop ‘Till You Drop and Food & Drinks.

This popular exhibition started in 1950 as a place to sell various home wares to Dutch house wives. Today it is a huge modern event packed with fashion, beauty, food, drink and entertainment. There are a number of workshops running on each day including ‘create your own soap pendulum’, ‘shadow painting’, ‘nostalgic sachets’ and ‘decorating cookies with Taartshoppie’. An extra cost of €5 applies for each workshop. Don’t be surprised to see many of the visitors dragging shopping trolley bags on wheels and even travel bags, and in all honesty it’s not a bad idea either. There are over 350 exhibitors and so a lot of ground to cover and as you walk around many of the exhibitors will give out free samples, marketing material or discount vouchers and you need a place to store those. And since exhibitors are running special offers for all visitors it is unlikely that you will turn down a good bargain. You can easily spend a whole day at the exhibition and when you want to also give your legs a rest then there are a number of places to set down at and enjoy a cold or warm refreshment.

On the last day of the fair this year is also the 9th model convention where want-to-be models aged 13 – 30 strut their stuff on the catwalk in front of national and international scouts in the hope of becoming the next big thing. If you want that little more from your day out at the Home Exhibition then you can go for the VIP Indulgence Package which is currently on sale at €59 (originally €199). The benefits include VIP entrance, coffee or tea with homemade cakes, glass of bubbly, a massage, paraffin hand treatment, have your pictures taken by a professional photographer, a health check-up and a goodie bag.

An extra bonus of attending the Huishoudbeurs is that your ticket also allows you entrance into the Nine Months Exhibition (Negen Maanden Beurs) which is also running at the RAI centre from 19 to 23 February. This is the one stop place for all baby related products.

Entrance Fee:
On the door: €19.50; Online during the fair: €16.50; Presale: €14.95; Evening ticket (after 17:00): €10.50; Children: age 5 – 12 €5.50, age 4 and under FREE

Venue:
Amsterdam RAI

Opening Times:
Daily from 11:00 to 18:00. Thursday 20 February and Friday 21 February from 11:00 to 22:00.

Getting there:
Tram stop Europaplein, train stop Amsterdam RAI, exit 9 from the A10 ring road. Paid for parking available.