Yaaaaar... Here be Pirates!
March 1, 2006 at 3:23 PM
by Ashleigh
For the foreigner as yet uninitiated into Dutch society, the celebration of the first birthday at school can come as somewhat of a shock. The Dutch are really big on celebrating birthdays in school.
Part of this, and the bit that causes the most anguish for moms (and dads) is the 'traktatie' or party favour that the kids take to school. The average person may assume that a party bag filled with sweeties is the way to go, but its certainly not! Especially if your kid wants to appear to be 'vet cool' to his friends and classmates!
If you do a google search you'll find hundreds of companies offering 'kinder traktatie' delivery services throughout the Netherlands. Of course, you can just go with a party bag, but the more creative the better!
Last year I made little boats out of card with a pencil engraved 'Hoera - Sebastian - 5 Jaar' as the mast of the sailboat. This year I took the easy option and ordered a do-it-yourself kit for these little pirate bundles complete with flag with the skull and cross-bones glued onto black card. The back of the pirate flag reads 'Groetjes van Sebastian - 6 Jaar'. Each little bundle, made of hessian, holds two gold chocolate coins.
I bought the kits from Treats4U who offered excellent service and delivered everything by post. We just spent 2 hours cutting out, sticking, writing, glueing and tying. Fun!
The basket that they're in will be decorated wth bunting (flags) and a big bow on the handle before we take it to his class on Friday. He also takes a cake for all the teachers to have at their break as well as a little gift for each of the teachers in his class.
We have a busy schedule on Friday - first we do this whole birthday thing at school, then in the afternoon I get to be in charge of seven little monsters at an indoor playground. On Saturday we have all our friends over in the afternoon for more tea and cake and festivities. Phew! I think I'll need a holiday after that!
Comments
Ash, I have to thank you for this timely warning. I didn't know a simple 'mandarijntje' isn't considered vet cool. I definitely have to remember that link you provided for the (more or less) kant en klare treats...
Adorable pirate booty!!! My son had a pirate themed party for his 4th birthday ~ he's STILL into pirate stuff. For that party, I had the kids decorate little treasure chests; they wore pirate garb and went on a pirate ship obstacle course outside but I sure wish I had those favor bags - they are precious! The kids will surely love them. Agrrrrrrrrr :)
It does sound like a lot of work, but the kids will so love it. It's a great idea, who doesn't love pirates? :) Good luck with all the festivities! :D
Oh my! That sounds like stress all round - especially as kids get older and cool things get harder to pin down! But better than no celebration at all. And the pirate bags look great!
Ash, those pirates are fabulous - the kids will love them!!! Thanks for a little more insight on life in Holland. :D
Have to admit, the kids birthdays sound like a lot of hard work, but oh so worth it - I think it's a wonderful idea to make a big deal of it at school - those pirate bags look awesome! :D
Wow, and I thought the States were on top of the birthday celebrations. Clearly, the Dutch know how to party!
Sounds lovely for the kids, if labor intensive for the parents. But hey, isn't ALL of life like that.
March 1, 2006 3:50 PM