Christmas is only one week away - how has that come around so quickly!? As families across the Netherlands start touching up the final details for the Christmas holidays, there’s one question on everybody’s minds: will we get a white Christmas this year? 

Will the Netherlands wake up to snow on Christmas morning?

The days are getting shorter, and there’s been a noticeable chill in the air over the past few weeks as temperatures have dropped a little. But, in spite of the colder temperatures, the Netherlands is yet to experience traditional winter weather, with some parts of the country still reaching temperatures of up to 10 or 11 degrees in the afternoons. 

Good news is you should be able to expect slightly more wintery conditions in the run-up to Christmas, as temperatures drop to around 6 degrees on Christmas Day. If you’re lucky, freezing temperatures overnight could mean that you wake up to some frost on Christmas and Boxing Day. 

As for the bad news, meteorologists are expecting the chances of rain to pick up next week, and the likelihood of the Netherlands getting a wet Christmas instead of a white Christmas is pretty high - sorry guys!

No white Christmas - but a white New Years Eve?

If you’re an optimist and are clinging to the hope of a white Christmas - well, there’s always a chance, no matter how small. Raymond Klaassen from the weather site Weerplaza says the probability of the Netherlands getting snow in time for Christmas day are around (if not a little below) 5 percent. 

And what about the chances of getting snow before the end of the year? Let’s put it this way, the Netherlands is more likely to have a white New Year's Eve than a white Christmas, as a surge of cold air heads to the country between December 27 and December 30. So keep those fingers crossed, because you might see some snow before the kids go back to school!