Family Weekend 2025

Lex van der Heijden

On Saturday and Sunday, May 24–25, 2025, we organized our second International Family Weekend. A total of approximately 40 people attended from Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria. Unfortunately, some participants were only able to stay for Saturday or had to leave early on Sunday.

This year, we arranged activities at various locations, starting at 11:00 AM on Saturday with a welcome reception. Although the weather turned a bit rainy later in the day, the children were undeterred and continued playing outside. They immediately connected and started playing together, which gave the parents ample opportunity to get acquainted and catch up.

The weekend began at Proeftuin Hoenderloo, where we were welcomed with delicious fresh apple pie. We had our own private conservatory with a view of the play area, where the children could enjoy trampolining, riding large pedal go-karts, swinging, and more. After the welcome, participants could take a covered wagon tour and received an explanation about the surroundings. We organized one tour in Dutch and one in English.

Afterwards, an excellent lunch was served.

In the afternoon, it was time for an 18-hole game of mini-golf. Although the weather was a bit rainy, it did not dampen the atmosphere.

Then it was time for the BBQ, which was run by several of the participants. The dinner, like the rest of the day, was excellently arranged.

After dinner, we headed to StayOkay to spend the night and enjoy breakfast together the next morning.

The next event took place at the Veluwezoom Visitor Centre. Veluwezoom National Park is a must-visit for nature lovers. The area is vast – the park itself spans over 5,200 hectares and is part of the larger Veluwe region – and full of variety. It features forests, heathlands, sand drifts, and, to the east of Arnhem, grand country estates. Here we were guided — both in Dutch and English — by forest rangers who shared their knowledge and showed us around during a walk through the area.

After the walk, we enjoyed lunch together, and with that, our second International Family Weekend came to an end.

Reactions

We had a wonderful time during the Family Weekend and were deeply impressed by the beautiful location you chose for the event.

The bad weather didn’t matter at all — we had an incredible amount of fun together regardless. Whether it was the wagon ride, the delicious and plentiful food, or the mini-golf — everything was truly fantastic from start to finish, and we are very grateful for this weekend!

We especially enjoyed the horse-drawn carriage ride — it was both fun and informative. Playing mini-golf in the rain turned out to be quite enjoyable too. The food was delicious, and it was such a nice touch that Luna and her friend were allowed to make their own mini pizzas. It was great to see everyone again and to meet some of the new members.

We found the program to be beautifully varied. On the first day, the wagon ride took us through a stunning landscape while the children had fun playing outside — they didn’t care about the rain at all — and it gave us adults the chance to talk in peace. The second day included a guided forest walk with explanations from a ranger — very interesting! As usual, the food and drinks were excellently arranged. We’re already looking forward to the 2026 Family Weekend!