Sinter Klaus

Last night we celebrated a Netherlands Christmas. This is actually celebrated on Dec. 5th but we celebrated over a month late due to a SLOW postal service. Merel's mom had sent some fun things for the family and kids so that we could celebrate their Christmas too. She sent funny little santa's helper costumes and make up for the girls. I guess their faces are black from all the work they do and the soot in the fire place. Ains loved dressing up and dancing to the Netherlands music. (Almost as much as she liked watching her reflection in the TV as she danced).

We even put our shoes by the front door and then Sinter Klaus (I wonder if I'm even spelling that right) knocked on the door and left little treats in all of our shoes. I must say that Holland candy is a bit different than American candy. There were little ginger bread ball type things that were a treat the elves gave out. And there were also packages of Teddy Graham like crackers mixed with something like a huge conversation heart. Kind of a weird mix. There were also chocolates made in the shape of letters to match your first initial. It was a lot of fun to do/learn something from a different country. Maybe we'll have to pick a new country to learn about every year!