I was really touched that Laura remembered to help me celebrate Sinterklaus with Emma. Sinterklaus is like the Dutch equivalent of Santa Claus, but his story is rather different to the one we know. St. Nicholas is a tall man, dressed in a red bishop's outfit with a golden crook. He travels with his companion Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). They travel together on a ship from Spain, and arrive in the Netherlands on 5th December. He leaves treats for the children if they are good (chocolate letters, marzipan shapes etc). If they are naughty, Zwarte Piet leaves a piece of coal.
When I got up in the morning, Laura had put a chocolate letter for Emma in one of her shoes. It was so sweet! I was even more touched when I found she had done the same for me and Brett! :-) Emma spent ages rolling around on the floor with her chocolate letter (still in its box!)
It may be a Dutch tradition, but I really want to carry on celebrating Sinterklaus with Emma in future years, as a reminder of where she was born. It is a good excuse to travel back to the Netherlands each year to pick up some chocolate letters!
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