Celebrating Sinterklaas abroad: Dutch traditions, language and ideas for families in 2026

If you live in the Netherlands, it is almost impossible not to notice that Sinterklaas is coming. Shops fill with pepernoten, children sing Sinterklaas songs at school, and the latest Sinterklaasjournaal episode becomes a topic of conversation in classrooms and playgrounds.

When you live abroad, it can feel very different.

Perhaps your family has lived outside the Netherlands for years and Sinterklaas is something you mostly celebrate at home. Maybe you celebrate together with other Dutch families. Or perhaps your child is growing up with several languages and cultures, and you are wondering how much this typically Dutch tradition still fits into your family life.

There is no single right way to celebrate Sinterklaas abroad.

You can make it a big celebration with shoe-setting, presents and Pakjesavond, but it can also be much simpler. Reading a Dutch Sinterklaas book together, baking kruidnoten or singing one familiar song can already bring a little bit of Dutch language and culture into your home.

And especially when the Netherlands is far away, those small traditions can be surprisingly meaningful.

Celebrating Sinterklaas when you live abroad

In the Netherlands, much of the Sinterklaas atmosphere is created automatically by the world around you. Children encounter it at school, in shops, on television and in conversations with friends.

When you live abroad, you often have to create that atmosphere yourself.

That can take some figuring out, especially if your child attends a local or international school and their friends have no idea who Sinterklaas is. At the same time, living abroad gives you the freedom to choose the traditions that genuinely suit your own family.

Perhaps your children put out their shoes once, and you celebrate Pakjesavond on 5 December. Maybe you follow the Sinterklaasjournaal throughout November. Perhaps you celebrate together with Dutch friends. Or maybe Sinterklaas at your home simply means kruidnoten, a Dutch story and a parcel from grandparents in the Netherlands.

It does not have to look exactly like the Sinterklaas celebrations you remember from your own childhood to be meaningful for your child.

Why Dutch traditions can matter when children grow up abroad

For children growing up outside the Netherlands, Sinterklaas can provide a connection with Dutch language and culture.

Traditions naturally bring language with them.

Think of words such as stoomboot (steamboat), verlanglijstje (wish list), schoorsteen (chimney), pakjesavond, surprise and Sinterklaasgedicht. Children listen to songs and stories, ask questions, talk about what they have watched and discuss the celebration with Dutch-speaking relatives.

They are using Dutch without it necessarily feeling like language practice.

That matters for multilingual children. A language does not develop through formal teaching alone. Children also need opportunities to experience the language as part of ordinary life: through conversations, stories, music, games, cooking and family traditions.

Sinterklaas provides weeks of opportunities to do exactly that.

At the same time, children learn about the culture connected to the language, even when the Netherlands is not the country in which they are growing up.

How can you celebrate Sinterklaas abroad?

You certainly do not have to celebrate Sinterklaas only within your own household.

In many countries, Dutch associations, Dutch schools and international organisations organise Sinterklaas celebrations in November or December. Dutch embassies and Dutch communities may also organise activities for families.

If you live somewhere with a sizeable Dutch community, there is a good chance that a celebration takes place nearby. Try searching for a Dutch association, Dutch school or Dutch community in your city or country.

But you can have just as much fun celebrating at home.

You can even invite international friends. For children, it can be interesting to explain who Sinterklaas is, why children put out their shoes and what happens on 5 December.

Explaining a tradition to someone else is also a surprisingly good language activity. Your child has to find the words to describe something familiar and, at the same time, think about the cultural traditions that are part of their own life.

Sinterklaas 2026: When does the Sinterklaasjournaal start?

For many Dutch children, the Sinterklaas season truly begins when the Sinterklaasjournaal starts.

In 2026, Het Sinterklaasjournaal begins on Monday 9 November. It will be broadcast every evening at around 18:00 Dutch time on NPO Zapp (NPO 3).

Episodes can also be watched online through the official Sinterklaasjournaal website and NPO Start.

The national arrival of Sinterklaas takes place on Saturday 14 November 2026 in the historic town of Grave, in the municipality of Land van Cuijk. The NTR will broadcast the event live from 12:00 on NPO Zapp (NPO 3).

For families living abroad, being able to watch online is particularly useful. After all, 18:00 in the Netherlands may be breakfast time, school time or the middle of the night where you live.

You certainly do not need to watch every episode either. Watching once or twice a week can already provide plenty of opportunities to talk together.

Ask questions such as:

What happened? What do you think will happen next? Why is Sinterklaas worried? How would you solve the problem?

With just a few questions, watching television becomes a valuable Dutch-language activity.

Sinterklaas activities for children: turn November into a Dutch-language month

One of the nicest things about Sinterklaas is the build-up. The celebration does not start only on Pakjesavond.

You can use the weeks between the start of the Sinterklaasjournaal and 5 December to bring small moments of Dutch language and culture into everyday family life.

Use a Sinterklaas countdown calendar

For younger children, a countdown calendar makes it easier to understand how long it will be until Pakjesavond.

You can use a ready-made calendar or create one together. Count the days in Dutch, add Dutch words to the pictures or think of a small daily activity.

Put out a shoe

Even this simple tradition provides opportunities for language. Your child can write a wish list, make a drawing and add a few Dutch words, or leave a short note for Sinterklaas. And of course, a Sinterklaas song may be part of the tradition too.

Bake kruidnoten together

Cooking and baking are excellent everyday language activities. Find a Dutch recipe together. Read the ingredients, make a shopping list and talk about what you are doing while you bake.

How many grams of flour do we need? What goes into the bowl first? Can you knead the dough? How long do the kruidnoten need to stay in the oven?

Your child is practising vocabulary, reading, speaking and even a little maths, while probably mainly wondering when the kruidnoten will be ready to eat.

Sing Dutch Sinterklaas songs

Singing is one of the easiest ways to bring more Dutch into your home.

Rhythm, melody and repetition help children remember words and sentences. With younger children, there is no need to turn this into a formal language activity. Sing together, play the songs in the car or ask grandparents in the Netherlands to sing along during a video call.

Learning Dutch through Sinterklaas: reading, speaking and writing

Sinterklaas is an ideal theme for Dutch language activities because you can easily adapt them to your child’s age and level of Dutch.

Sinterklaas activities for younger children

Read a Dutch picture book about Sinterklaas together. Start by looking at the pictures and ask your child what they can see.

You do not always need to read every sentence exactly as it appears in the book. Especially when a child is still learning Dutch, you can retell the story in simpler language and deliberately repeat useful words.

Songs are also very effective. Melody and repetition often help young children remember new language.

Sinterklaas for beginning readers

Children who are starting to read in Dutch can practise with short words such as Sint, boot, dak, schoen, paard and pakje.

They can search for words in a story, make a word search together, write short sentences or create their own wish list.

Try to keep it playful. The goal does not have to be completing as many exercises as possible. The conversations that arise around the activity are often just as valuable.

Sinterklaas activities for older primary-school children

With older children, you can add more depth.

Ask your child to read a story and retell it in their own words. Write a letter to Sinterklaas, create a poem for someone else or discuss an episode of the Sinterklaasjournaal. Reading comprehension also fits naturally into the theme. What is the most important information in a text? Why does a character behave in a certain way? What might happen if the story ends differently?

These are skills children also need at school, but the Sinterklaas theme makes the activity feel relevant and timely.

What about Sinterklaas with teenagers?

Sinterklaas does not have to disappear once children stop believing in him. The celebration simply changes.

Older children can make surprises, write poems, choose Dutch recipes or organise a family game. A teenager can write a funny Dutch poem for a relative or celebrate Pakjesavond via video call with grandparents, cousins or other family members in the Netherlands.

Writing Sinterklaas poems is also an excellent language activity. Children have to think about vocabulary, sentence structure, rhyme and humour, and they are writing for a real audience.

For teenagers growing up abroad, traditions like these can also offer a natural way to stay connected to Dutch-speaking relatives and to the Dutch side of their lives, without making the celebration feel childish.

What if your child hardly knows Sinterklaas?

Not every child learning Dutch has grown up with Sinterklaas.

We see this regularly at Dutch for Children. Some children were born abroad. Others have recently moved to the Netherlands and suddenly find themselves surrounded by a tradition their classmates seem to understand completely.

For those children, it helps not to assume too much prior knowledge.

Start by explaining simply who Sinterklaas is. Look at pictures or watch a short video together. Explain some of the words that children repeatedly hear, and talk about what your child is seeing and experiencing at school.

For an international child living in the Netherlands, understanding Sinterklaas is not only about learning Dutch. Understanding what is happening around them can also make it easier to join conversations with classmates and feel part of the group.

You certainly do not have to start celebrating Sinterklaas extensively at home. Sometimes a little background knowledge is already enough to make a big difference.

Sinterklaas in our online Dutch lessons

Sinterklaas returns every year in our online Dutch lessons at Dutch for Children.

Not because every child needs exactly the same Sinterklaas lesson, but because the theme gives our teachers so many opportunities to connect language learning with a child’s age, Dutch level, interests and individual learning goals.

With a younger child, a teacher might read a story, sing songs and practise new vocabulary. Beginning readers can work on their reading skills with Sinterklaas texts. Older children might practise reading comprehension, writing, vocabulary or speaking.

And yes, some of our teachers even bake kruidnoten online together with their students, with a little preparation from parents beforehand.

Our students live all over the world. For some children, Sinterklaas is completely familiar. For others, it is something new. That is why our teachers always start with the child in front of them.

That, ultimately, is what tailor-made teaching means.

Celebrating Sinterklaas abroad: a little piece of the Netherlands wherever you live

Perhaps your family celebrates Sinterklaas extensively this year. Perhaps you celebrate only at home. Maybe your child puts out a shoe once, or perhaps you simply read a Dutch story together.

It does not have to be big.

For children growing up outside the Netherlands, small traditions can become meaningful. A song their grandfather knows too. A recipe that returns every year. A Dutch book that comes off the shelf only in November. A poem written for grandma. Waiting together for Pakjesavond.

This is how Dutch language and culture become more than something you are trying to teach your child. They become part of family life, shared experiences and childhood memories.

And perhaps that is one of the most valuable ways to keep Dutch alive when you live far from the Netherlands.

Would you like to discuss how your child can develop or maintain their Dutch while living abroad, or how your child can strengthen their Dutch after moving to the Netherlands?

At Dutch for Children, we provide personalised online Dutch lessons for children aged 4 to 17, tailored to their language level, background and learning goals.

You are very welcome to arrange a free introductory meeting so we can discuss your child’s situation and what would suit them best.