The celebrations started early in December and continued all month for us! First, is St. Nicolas day on December 6th. He visits kids all over Belgium if they leave our their shoes for him. (See side bar for more information on St. Nicolas). He also visited the kids’ schools. Very fun! Nicholas received a skateboard and Lindsey a Shelley Barbie complete with 3 small cats. In the shoes were Kinder chocolate Kinder surprise eggs (a new favorite), Speculoos biscuits (gingerbread cookies) in the shape of St. Nicolas, and clementines.
If that wasn’t enough fun for the morning, we went to the American Women’s Club Christmas party where Lindsey won the BINGO game and an IKEA gingerbread house that we haven’t decorated yet. Santa made a special appearance at the party and brought presents for the kids.
The following weekend we took the kids to the Christmas market in Brussels. It is very common for many European towns to have Christmas markets where food, jewelry, scarves, artwork, and other goods are sold in outdoor booths. We have already decided next year to head to Germany and Brugge for their markets. The Brussels market boasted two carousels and an ice skating rink, but sadly it was so crowded (and cold) we didn’t make it that far down. Perhaps next year we’ll go on a weekday!
On a side note, Paul also got his Christmas present early -- a new digital camera. You’ll see lots of his handiwork from here on out. :)
