In a pre-Christmas atmosphere, the TchiboCard community came together virtually, right on time, one week before Christmas. For the quarterly event, 50 winners are selected from all applications and receive a lovingly assembled goodie bag with products from the world of coffee and non-food items, fitting for the event.

Due to the high demand and the large number of applications, we wanted to give all community members the opportunity to celebrate the event with us this time. The livestream, offered for the first time, made this possible: together, we puzzled, mixed, baked and laughed – an evening that impressively demonstrated how much closeness, participation and community can also be created digitally.

The event was organised and implemented by the Tchibo Community Team, who put together a varied programme with great attention to detail. From the technical implementation and the schedule to puzzles, recipes and the packages sent out in advance to the community, everything was perfectly coordinated.

The participants were welcomed by Tanja from the Community Team, who was visibly delighted to see such a large group. Coffee sommelier Indre and her daughter Stella guided the community through the evening, moderating the individual programme items and accompanying them step by step through recipes, quizzes and creative activities.

Much of the content revolved around popular Christmas films and matching culinary ideas. In the first quiz, the community quickly guessed the classic Three Hazelnuts for Cinderella. Inspired by this, a wintery coffee drink with white chocolate, milk foam and espresso was created together. Both the hot chocolate and the milk foam were prepared using the Tchibo induction milk frother, which is just as good at making cold and warm milk foam as it is at heating chocolate – a really practical tool!

The other film classics were also interpreted with great flair. A cold brew cocktail was mixed to accompany The Grinch, prepared with the rarity of the year, Kenta from Papua New Guinea, which provided an invigorating contrast with its special flavours.

The film Home Alone was a little sweeter: the small Tchibo waffle iron was used to make coffee star waffles, with the star motif baked directly into the waffle – a real eye-catcher.

The finale was a festive cocktail to go with Love Actually. Aperol, cranberry juice and Prosecco were not only combined in terms of taste, but also visually staged: thanks to special preparation in the freezer, a small "Christmas tree" was created in the glass with the help of a sprig of rosemary – a surprising wow effect that made everyone's eyes light up as they toasted together.

Ingo from Non-Food Product Management was also there to give the community an insight into his work. He talked about trend scouting, idea development and how initial ideas are turned into marketable products – from flashing Christmas hats to special gift ideas. The community greatly appreciated this direct exchange.

As always, a special highlight was the big community baking challenge: the gingerbread kits sent out beforehand were used to create imaginative gingerbread houses and entire little villages. Chimneys, roof tiles, fir trees, figures and even Tchibo branches – each creation was unique. The results were displayed one after the other, causing amazement, enthusiasm and lots of smiling faces.

At the end of the evening, everyone raised their glasses to toast the occasion with a festive coffee cocktail that was not only delicious but also visually appealing. It was a wonderful moment to look back together and bring the evening to a close.

The Christmas event was a great example of how good planning, dedicated teams and an active community can create special experiences – even beyond the screen.

Guest authors: Marie Linn Lohmann and Lillieth Wilkens