In Holland, Sinterklaas is a children's holiday. Parents write poems and prepare specially-wrapped surprises (pronounced the Dutch way, sur-PREE-suhs) for the good little children, who have spent weeks anticipating St. Nicholas's arrival. One of J's favorite childhood surprises was a large facsimile of an American half-dollar coin made out of cardboard, given to him on the last Sinterklaas before his family moved to the United States. He still has it, more than 30 years later.
There weren't any children in our extended family when we started celebrating Sinterklaas twenty years ago, so adults have always been fully engaged in our festivities. We draw and distribute names to the participants in mid-November and everyone spends the next few weeks choosing an inexpensive gift and preparing a surprise and a short poem. It has taken a couple of tries for some of the newbies to grasp the concept, but nowadays we are impressed by the general level of creativity. Here are a few examples -- a highly detailed miniature desk for Sam, and a ham-radio antenna for Dad:
Here's a photo of all of this year's surprises, waiting by the hearth:
We take turns reading our poems and opening our gifts. These days the young ones -- with their short attention spans -- get to open their surprises first. It would be cruel to make them wait.
Our little friend Clara attended the party for the first time this year. Isn't she adorable? Next year she will be tearing up tissue paper with the big kids.
Of course it wouldn't be Sinterklaas without a wonderful variety of food on the table. More on that later.
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