The Sint is in Holland and gift giving time...

Today, SinterKlaas arrived on his steamboat in Holland. It is always a big day when Sint and his helpers, Zwarte Pieten, arrive. From tonight, the children can place their shoes by the fireside for a special treat. This is done each Saturday evening until December 5th. On the evening of December 5th, SinterKlaas will leave a burlap sack filled with gifts for all the good girls and boys.

During our vacation, we had visited the open air museum and I purchased a set of nostalgic postcards of SinterKlaas. I have a frame saved to use for them. The little shop has an email address which you can see if you enlarge the photo. I am not sure if they have a webshop. Isn't the bag neat?

So my frame can be hung for the coming weeks...

The kruidnootjes (tiny ginger cookies) have been purchased which are a special treat we buy the week The Sint arrives. There are many wonderful speculaas treats in the shops now. Speculaas are my favorite cookies and I also collect the cookie moulds.

As this is the season of giving, I have decided that I am going to hold an ongoing giveaway on both of my blogs for the coming weeks. Each week, I will draw names from each blog and the winner will receive a set of four holiday coasters which I have handmade.

I came up with this idea when I knew my dust mite allergy was so severe and I now have to get rid of as much of my quilt stash as possible. I thought what better why to reduce fabrics than making gifts to share with others. It is my way of saying Happy Holidays to you my special blogging friends. I will show the coasters each week and allow you to choose if you want to enter the drawing for a specific set or all of them. Just leave me a comment on this post along with the sets you would like to win. If you like them all then please tell me to enter you for all three drawings.

I will pick a winner in a couple of days. I gave away a few of these sets last year on my handwork blog. If you won last year, you can still try again for another set this year. You can enter each week if you like, even if you have won. Since you get a set of four, you will have a larger set if you win a second time. I just love the idea of giving this year!

If you do not have a blog then you must leave me your email address in order to enter. If you do not want to leave it on a comment, please go to my profile page where you can email me.

So with no further delay, here are the three sets you can win this week...

Set 1 is red and beige with a green background...

Set 2 is black and red poinsettias and green with a gold background...

Set 3 is burgundy and green with a green background...

Good luck!

Dutch SinterKlaas song:

Zie ginds komt de stoomboot,
uit Spanje weer aan.
Hij brengt ons Sint-Nikolaas,
ik zie hem al staan.
Hoe waaien de wimpels,
al heen en al weer.
Hoe huppelt zijn paardje,
het dek op en neer.
Zijn knecht staat te lachen,
en roept ons reeds toe:
"Wie braaf is krijgt lekkers,
wie stout is de roe."

The translation to English:

See there arrives the steamboat,
From Spain again.
It brings us Saint Nicolas,
I see him standing there already.
Look how the flags,
Flutter back and forth.
Look how his little horse,
Hops up and down the deck.
His servant stands there, laughing
And he shouts at us:
"Who's good, gets sweets,
Who's bad, gets the whip."