Desiree Christmas Cups with H. C. Andersen Fairy Tales
Desiree Christmas Cups are blue-white porcelain cups with motifs from H. C. Andersen's fairy tales, stories, and life. The series was issued from 1982 to 2001 and is today popular among both collectors and those who appreciate classic Danish porcelain.
The cups are available both with and without saucers, and many choose them as coffee cups, tea cups, or as a personal cup with a special year or fairy tale motif. The motif on the Christmas cup is closely linked to Desiree's Christmas plate from the same year. The cup shows a section of the plate's motif on one side, while the other side is decorated with H. C. Andersen's silhouette, the characteristic tall hat, and the year of the cup.
Therefore, many also know the series as H. C. Andersen Christmas Cups, H. C. Andersen Christmas mugs, or Desiree Christmas mugs.
Fairy tale motifs in blue-white porcelain
All Desiree Christmas Cups have motifs related to H. C. Andersen's fairy tales, stories, or life. Among the motifs are inspirations from Twelve by the Mail, The Nightingale, The Bell, Thumbelina, Godfather’s Picture Book and What the Old Man Does Is Always Right..
The blue-white decoration gives the cups a classic expression that pairs well with other Danish porcelain. At the same time, each cup tells its own little story, making the series perfect as both a collector's item and as everyday porcelain.
How can Desiree Christmas Cups be used today?
Desiree Christmas Cups are popular as collector's items, but they are definitely not only meant for the display cabinet. The sturdy porcelain cups can easily be used daily, and many choose them precisely because they have both a beautiful motif, a comfortable size, and a practical function.
The cups fit well in the hand, are pleasant to drink from, and work perfectly both with and without saucers. Therefore, they can be used as coffee cups, tea cups, and small mugs for everyday use. Since they are decorated with underglaze, they withstand dishwasher, and the classic blue-white color scheme makes them easy to combine with both Desiree plates and other coffee and dinnerware.
For coffee, tea, and cozy servings
A Desiree Christmas cup is a real cup, made for drinking coffee or tea. It has a timeless look that also fits well on a modern table. The blue-white decoration gives the cup character without making it difficult to combine with other porcelain.
The cups pair especially well with Desiree's Christmas plates and Mother's Day plates, where colors, motifs, and design language naturally harmonize. But also several of the blue dinnerware from Royal Copenhagen and Bing & Groendahl are beautiful in combination with the cups, for example Royal Copenhagen Blue Flower, Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted, and Bing & Groendahl Empire coffee- and dinnerware.
Therefore, Desiree cups work for the coffee table, Sunday coffee, Christmas small servings, and as a regular coffee cup or tea cup in everyday life.
Desiree Christmas Cups as decorative cups in interior design
When Desiree Christmas Cups are not in use, they can be displayed as small decorative porcelain pieces. They look nice in a display cabinet, on a mirror tray, on a shelf, or together with other blue-white collector's items.
The cups also have a good size for a tealight, a mini bouquet, a single flower, or some seasonal decoration and can therefore be used as part of table decoration for both everyday and festive occasions, regardless of the season.
Because Desiree cups have decoration on both sides, they can be turned depending on whether you want to show the fairy tale motif or the year and H. C. Andersen's silhouette. This makes them easy to use as a personal part of the interior design.
Give Desiree Christmas Cups new life in a stand
Desiree Christmas Cups can get a completely new expression when used as the top part in a stand together with plates and dishes. It is a nice way to reuse classic porcelain and create something personal that can be used on the table and displayed as decoration.
A cake stand with Desiree Christmas Cups and plates can be used for cookies, chocolates, confectionery, flowers, or as decorative table decoration. The blue-white motifs give the stand a storytelling expression where both fairy tales, years, and Danish porcelain tradition become part of the whole.
If the cup is fixed at the top of a stand, a hole must be drilled in the cup. Therefore, it is afterwards best suited for dry servings and decorative use — but in return, the cup gets a new function and new life in the home.
Artists, fairy tales and Danish porcelain tradition
The Desiree annual cups are more than blue-white porcelain cups. They are small stories in porcelain, where H. C. Andersen's fairy tales, Danish artists and classic Danish porcelain tradition meet.
The motifs are created based on H. C. Andersen's fairy tales, stories and places related to his life. Several of the motifs are drawn by well-known Danish artists and illustrators, including Mads Stage, Svend Otto S. and Lis Torboel. This gives the series a special narrative expression, where each motif has its own mood and story.
Precisely because of this, a Desiree annual cup is not just a coffee cup or tea cup, but also a small fairy tale cup connected to Danish cultural history.
H. C. Andersen fairy tales on Desiree cups
H. C. Andersen is one of Denmark's most famous authors, and his fairy tales are loved far beyond the country's borders. Stories such as Thumbelina, The Nightingale, The Bell, and What the Father Does Is Always Right are part of the Danish cultural heritage, and several of them appear as motifs on Desiree's annual cups.
The beauty of the series is that each cup contains a small excerpt of a larger story. Some motifs show a specific scene from a fairy tale, while others relate to H. C. Andersen's life, travels, or the atmosphere we associate with his stories.
For many, it is precisely this combination of fairy tales, year numbers, and blue-white porcelain that makes the Desiree cups particularly charming. They can be used daily, but they also carry a story.
Desiree annual cups as gift ideas and collector's cups
A Desiree annual cup is a personal gift idea that can be chosen by year, fairy tale motif, and expression. Many choose a cup from a birth year, wedding year, anniversary year, or another year with special significance.
Others choose the cup by motif — perhaps a well-known H. C. Andersen fairy tale they are particularly fond of, a certain mood, or a cup that fits an existing collection of Desiree, H. C. Andersen porcelain, or other blue-white collector's items.
Because the cup can be used as a coffee cup, tea cup, small mug, collector's cup, and decorative porcelain cup, it is a gift that will not just be put away. It can have a natural place in the home and be used again and again.
Wide selection of Desiree annual cups at DPH
At DPH - Danish Porcelain House, we have a large selection of Desiree annual cups in stock. When Desiree closed, we bought the remaining stock of Desiree annual cups, so we especially have many cups without saucers.
This means that you can often find Desiree cups at an attractive price if you do not necessarily seek a complete set with saucer. All the cups work well without a saucer and can be used as regular coffee cups, tea cups, or small mugs daily.
The selection changes continuously, but we often have many different years at home. Therefore, there are good opportunities to find a specific Desiree annual cup, an H. C. Andersen cup with a special motif, or a blue-white porcelain cup that fits both the collection, gift table, or daily cup of coffee.
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