Royal Copenhagen Christmas Tables 2025

Danish architect (MAA) and paper artist. She works in the space between design, architecture and art, with a particular focus on paper as a material. Educated at the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen and The Bartlett School of Architecture in London. Since 2011, she has run her own studio, exploring the inherent potential of materials as a way to challenge and renew the language of form.

“For me, Christmas is about calm and consideration – about letting in the light and making room for differences, always on the children’s terms. I lean into a familiar tradition where adults and children form deep bonds. Where we celebrate each other, the light, and the positive in life,” says Amanda Betz, who celebrates Christmas with her husband and two children – joined by a circle of people with varied traditions, united by one common thread: the adults give only one gift. According to Amanda, this means you put extra care into delighting that one chosen person.

The joy of creating something small with intention, of being attentive and valuing tradition, is not only a hallmark of Amanda’s Christmas but also of her artistic work. She consistently explores cultural context and meaning – particularly in her work with paper, where she draws on both history and the material’s aesthetic possibilities.

The table is set with Green Fluted Plain porcelain, in elegant dialogue with Amanda’s fine filigree napkins inspired by Queen Juliane Marie’s lace sleeves. The Queen was one of Royal Copenhagen’s founders in 1775, and the napkins stand as Amanda’s artistic tribute on the occasion of the porcelain factory’s 250th anniversary.

Amanda’s Christmas Table is a poetic reflection of what the season means to her. She reuses her Memento Mori altar table, originally created for the Church of Elias in Vesterbro. The table features symbolic tiles in a celadon green glaze – a piece that shows Amanda’s ability to work beyond paper. Here, clay tells a moving story of light and shadow, life cycles and nature – a poetic narrative framed by a folded linen cloth and encircled by delicate paper room dividers.

Martine is a sculptor educated at the Glasgow School of Art. She has spent most of her adult life living abroad. Her practice centers on sculpture as a surrogate, as votive – and on the idea of giving physical form to what has been lost. She works exclusively with materials and objects that have already served an original purpose. Each piece carries many stories before Martine begins to tell her own. 

“Christmas is all about traditions and the cosy anticipation leading up to the day itself. It’s when the children’s excitement is at its peak, and I get to indulge my desire to spoil the ones I love,” says Helle Mardahl, who alternates between celebrating Christmas with family in England and Denmark. The two countries have very different scripts for the season, which is perhaps why, for Helle, the lead-up to Christmas holds greater meaning than Christmas Eve or Christmas Day itself.

Her preparations are a colourful mix of tradition and playful invention. The decorations change every year, and the result is allowed to be a little unconventional – even a bit whimsical – as long as it’s magical and visually intriguing. That same sense of wonder defines Helle’s Christmas Table.

Known for her poetic yet unsettling animal figures made from reused materials, she chose the monkey because its body is always in motion – a symbol of anticipation captured in form. The monkeys take their place among stacks of White Fluted porcelain, with the table setting subtly accented by hand-picked Blue Fluted elements.

Martine’s installation is an abstract interpretation of a child’s anticipation of Christmas. Framed by a circle of dark blue curtain and reused textiles, a long table emerges.

Glass artist known for her colourful and organically shaped glass universe. Educated in fashion design at Central Saint Martins in London in 2001, she ran her own fashion label for several years and was also recognised as a multimedia visual artist. In 2017, she founded Helle Mardahl Studio and began producing glass objects under her own name. Today, her whimsical world comes to life in her “candy store” on Bredgade in Copenhagen. 

“Christmas is all about traditions and the cosy anticipation leading up to the day itself. It’s when the children’s excitement is at its peak, and I get to indulge my desire to spoil the ones I love,” says Helle Mardahl, who alternates between celebrating Christmas with family in England and Denmark. The two countries have very different scripts for the season, which is perhaps why, for Helle, the lead-up to Christmas holds greater meaning than Christmas Eve or Christmas Day itself.

Her preparations are a colourful mix of tradition and playful invention. The decorations change every year, and the result is allowed to be a little unconventional – even a bit whimsical – as long as it’s magical and visually intriguing. That same sense of wonder defines Helle’s Christmas Table. 

The idea has been to create a fantastical setting filled with the familiar and the unexpected – as a reflection of the spirit of Christmas. Above the table, vibrant clusters of Helle’s glass lamps float like jewels in the air, while glass and porcelain reach out from the walls, surrounding guests in a world of sensory impressions and joyful abundance.

Olga is a self-taught jewellery artist. She studied Fine Art at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam and holds a BA in Archaeology from the University of Copenhagen. She established her own jewellery studio in 2013. Known for her distinctive style and technique, she primarily creates one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by nature, classical Greek and Roman artefacts, and a deep understanding of archaeology. 

“Christmas, to me, carries a certain melancholy. It’s a time for reflection – a reminder of life’s cycles and its transience,” says Olga Bonne, who uses the holiday to turn inward, look ahead to brighter days, and nurture her longing for the first snowdrops. At Christmas, Olga tries to hold onto the most cherished memories – especially those of summer: images of flowers, butterflies, bees, and grass bending gently in the wind. These memories are carried to the table, where she invites some of her historical heroines to dine with her.

In tribute to eight remarkable women and to nature itself, Olga has set the table with a heavy burnt umber linen cloth and a specially painted Flora Danica service, where each woman is represented by a personal flower. The guests are brought together across time and space, united by a shared reverence for nature. Among them are Virginia Woolf, Georgia O’Keeffe, Hildegard von Bingen, Karen Blixen, Louise Bourgeois, Beatrix Potter, Maria Sibylla Merian and Pythia, the Oracle of Delphi.

Around Olga’s circular table, her own silver cutlery winds like cocoons around each plate. Matching silver napkin rings, shaped as fluttering moths accompanied by beetles, caterpillars and butterflies, evoke a memory of idyllic summer days. A silver snake lies hidden in the setting. Every detail holds a reference to the women represented. The soundscape has been created by Mads Bergland, drawing on Hildegard von Bingen’s De Spirito Sancto, interwoven with the authentic voices of several of the table’s guests.