Sinterklaas Surprises

It's almost December 5th and that's the day the people of The Netherlands celebrate Sinterklaas. It really is a children's fest. Sinterklaas is an old Saint that brings presents, together with his helpers. He has a horse that can walk over rooftops and his helpers can slide down the chimney. In the weeks before December 5th children set their shoes before the chimney and at  night the helpers (all named Pete, but you have Rhyme Pete, Dance Pete, Wrap Pete and Chief Pete, to name a few examples) put little presents in it. 

On the 5th of December Sinterklaas celebrates his birthday. That day all children are awaiting the evening, because that's the moment Pete can knock at the door any moment and leave a bag full of presents.

For the children that are still at elementary school, but don't believe in Sinterklaas anymore there's a alternative Sinterklaas celebration (around the age of 7, 8 you can't make them believe any single thing anymore, unfortunately; where is the time I could say the store was already closed when my children were whining for ice cream). All kids write their name on a piece of paper, that are all put in a box. All kids have to draw a paper out of the box and make a 'surprise' for the kid that wrote down its name on it. A surprise has to be something crafted around a present, that comes together with a rhyme. Most of the time the rhyme makes fun of the one who receives the present.

This year my youngest daughter has to make a surprise, too, although she still believes firmly Sinterklaas is a real figure. She asks questions about him, but when she sees him, he's totally real for her. Anyway, I had to help with two surprises.

The first I made with my oldest daughter. We bought chocolate, party poppers and marzipan and hid it in a Fortnite Lama pinata. 

The second one I made with my youngest. We bought chocolate and a dinosaur egg to put in a Steve from Minecraft figure.