Sinterklaas Feest is kicking off Christmas in the Tulpe household tomorrow!!

[tulpe]

DCs were stupidly excited as we put their shoes by the fire this evening (along with carrots for Schimmel - Sinterklaas' horse - and een biertje for Sint :o ) and we sang some Sint songs (have realised this year quite how embarrassed DS1 - 10yo - is about this aspect!). In the morning they will wake to find sweeties and pepernoten (spice biscuits) in their shoes.

So we do this every day for the next 5 days (each day getting something a little bigger than the day before) and then on 5th December we wait until evening and there will be a knock at the door. DCs will open door to find either a sackful of presents or an empty sack!

It's weird because the Advent calendars get somewhat by-passed for the first 5 days of December and the DCs confuse the rest of the kids at school by telling them Sint is stopping by that evening!!

oh that is so brilliant - who's traditions are they? (as in what nationality)

I do like the way Sinterklaas sounds. The word, I mean. And the tradition sounds great - why shoes though?

It's the Dutch tradition (DH is dutch). In the Netherlands they then would have a gift of Christmas Eve after a lovely meal and then nothing on Christmas Day. We combine the two traditions (English and Dutch) so DCs write a letter to both SK and FC and then they divide gifts between them :)

I was making chocolate covered kruidnoten this evening, yummy.

that is brilliant - I love it... Sinterklaas definitely has a finer ring to it than Father Christmas

hassledge - no idea why shoes and not stockings :)

Lewisfan - tis a lovely tradition. Also DCs have to give as well as receive so they typically either donate gifts to other children in our town who are less well off (via a specific charity) or give their pocket money.

Louii - yum indeed! Do you have a recipe for kruidnoten? The only ones I can find talk about the special spice blend but obviously in UK you can't find that. I am assuming it is a cinnamon/nutmeg/allspice kind of mix? Would love to make my own. Sadly MiL passed away 8 years ago and so we were never really able to share these traditions together for me to learn the real dutch way (as opposed to DH's memories :) )

I get my kruidnoten/pepernoten from either Holland at Home or Typical Dutch Stuff, together with schruimtjes (candy), chocolate letters (the initial of each family members name), almond staaf (yuk but DH likes it) and Sint & Schwaarte Piet chocolate figures.

Kruidnoten recipe

100 GRAM SELF RAISING FLOUR
50 GRAM BUTTER
50 GRAM SOFT BROWN SUGAR
2 TBSP MILK
1 TBSP MIXED SPICE

Mix all the ingredients well to a dough and form about 100 balls. Put these on a greased baking tray and bake 12 minutes at 170 degrees.

They are sooooo yummy.

I wait till they cool then dip in melted choc then leave to set.

Sint Niklaas is currently at my ds1 school, he will be super excited when he gets home in a bit. We will have to set his shoe too. I may have to drag myself to Hema and get the appropriate nibbles.

Sinterklass even - far too much to remember along with his merry helpers Zwarte Piet
.

Louii - thank you so much :) Shall be baking on Saturday once my kitchen is completed.

Shiny DCs would be very jealous to know SK is at your DS's school. We have only been to NL once at this time of year and it was great for the DCs to see it all in action (although the Pieten were somewhat scary as far as DS1 was concerned.......he kept tugging at my sleeve and telling me that DS2 didn't like them and that we should leave :o )

Just about to start a round of singing here now :)

Hitulpe we're in Belgium -Antwerp, but dp is Dutch and we lived in NL for a year, I have to say I fing the Pieten unsettling I was left with my mouth hanging open in shock the first time I saw them .

Hi everyone, we're in Belgium, and I suggested to my girls last night that they put a shoe out for the Sint - they refused saying he was back in Spain, as it was too cold in Belgium!

Minus 7 here at present. Let's hope the Sint will be back by sunday and his horse can get up the snowy hill

We should get a Sinterklaas emoticon!

LOLing at it being too cold in Belgium for Sint! Tell DDs not to worry about it being too cold for him - he will have had a nice warming glass of calvados at our house in the UK first!

Belgo - yes we need a little red mitre as an emoticon! Or perhaps a little Piet.....although that may cause a bit of fuss on MN - god knows people get into enough arguments about their existence anyway. I do understand why but it is just a children's celebration.

They are pretty weird looking creatures tho - made doubly scary by the way they bark dutch at each other!!

I am off to DD's school this morning for their Sinterklass extravangza. Her class are doing a song which involves a rest and a pair of sunglasses. It is being sung in Dutch which she can't understand but is word perfect at.
They are going to have secret Santa presents given out by the Sint himself. DD was very cross that her recipient is a girl she can't stand. They have to compose a poem. DD's initial one was very unflattering.

Back from the extravaganza. Twas fab. DD looked beautiful but I wish she'd taken her salopettes of before the performance rather than in the middle of it.
I had a bit of a turn when one of the staff asked the children if they'd got their shoes filled with chocs. I thought it was on Dec 5/6. I was right, silly mare got confused.
Even though DD knows that FC/SK/Santa is made up she's keen to do the shoe thing. I've been to Hema already.

Kreecher your dd sounds fab

Can you post the unflattering poem she wrote?

anyone have a recipe for taai taai? or speculaas?

Oh I love pepernoten. Oma always used to bring them with her when she came for my birthday (5th).

And what's the soft salty gingerbread type thing called? It was always baked in the shape of a lady.

Won't post the poem, it was really unflattering. She is looking forward to putting her shoe out tonight for some treats. I got a bag of little chocs from Hema and she hasn't stumbled across them yet.
We were putting the tree up yesterday, but didn't get round to it so today's the day. We will be making some deco's for it too.
the weather is so foul (rain today) and I don't want her just vegging in front of the telly.
We made some fudge yesterday, it is still runny.

I buy my pepernoten online. Making oliebollen tomorrow too,
My stepfather is dutch and I am a nanny for german children but now they get pepernoten and chocolate letters at christmas and know all about schwarte pete.
I do so love mixing traditions!

Zwarte Piet - stupid spell check.