Your Dutch friends or colleagues mention Pakjesavond, and suddenly you have “drawn a name,” and you’re expected to write a poem and build a craft project around a gift. Welcome to Sinterklaas, the most beloved, and most participatory, Dutch tradition of the year. Here is how 5 December actually works, so your first one is a delight, not a panic.
What Pakjesavond is
Pakjesavond (“parcel evening”) is 5 December, the climax of the Sinterklaas season. As guides to Pakjesavond explain, it is when gifts are exchanged at home, traditionally brought by Sinterklaas for children, and, among adults and older kids, celebrated with homemade surprises and poems.
The origin, as festive explainers note, traces to Saint Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop famed for secretly giving to those in need. Today it is a warm, creative, slightly chaotic family night, peak gezelligheid.
The three rituals: lootjes, surprise, gedicht
As an adult, you are usually drawn into three connected customs:
1. Lootjes trekken (drawing lots). The group secretly assigns each person one other person. You make for, and only for, the person you drew, which keeps cost and effort sane and adds mystery.
2. The surprise. As guides to making a Dutch surprise describe, a surprise (say it the French way) is a handmade creation, cardboard, paper, themed to the recipient, with the real gift hidden inside. A football shape for a football fan, a tiny boat for a sailor. Creativity beats craftsmanship; the joke is the point.
3. The gedicht (poem). This is the part that startles newcomers. You write a rhyming poem, as if from Sinterklaas, gently teasing the recipient about their past year. It is read aloud before the gift is opened, so everyone hears it. The poems are where the laughter (and mild roasting) lives.
The vocabulary
| Dutch | English |
|---|---|
| Pakjesavond | 5 December gift evening |
| lootjes trekken | to draw lots/names |
| de surprise | handmade themed gift wrapper |
| het gedicht | the rhyming poem |
| het cadeau | the gift |
| strooigoed / pepernoten | the little Sinterklaas sweets |
| Sint en Piet | Sinterklaas and his helper |
A poem usually opens “Sinterklaas zat te denken…” and rhymes its way through your year. It does not have to be good, effort and humour are what count.
Don’t panic about the poem
The number-one newcomer fear is the gedicht. Relax: nobody expects Shakespeare. Simple rhymes, a gentle in-joke, and a warm ending are plenty. Writing one (even a rough one) is exactly the kind of low-stakes Dutch that wins people over, the spirit of just trying in Dutch.
Where it connects
Sinterklaas is one of the great Dutch life-and-culture moments, alongside the birthday circle and a Dutch wedding. And if you have kids, it overlaps the school world covered in choosing a school type, since Sinterklaas is huge in primary schools. (Another very-Dutch surprise to know about: the NL-Alert that makes your phone scream.)
The bottom line
Pakjesavond (5 December) is Sinterklaas at its most hands-on: draw lootjes, then make a surprise, write a teasing rhyming gedicht, and buy a cadeau for the person you drew, with the poem read aloud before unwrapping. Learn surprise, gedicht, and lootjes trekken, embrace the imperfect poem, and your first Dutch Sinterklaas becomes the warm, funny, gloriously crafty evening it is meant to be.
Learn it in five minutes a day
Learn Dutch For Expats is an app, available on the App Store, that teaches the festive Dutch a celebration needs, Sinterklaas, pakjesavond, surprise, gedicht, lootjes trekken by real situation in five-minute lessons, so you can make your first Pakjesavond a joy instead of a baffling rush to rhyme.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pakjesavond?
Pakjesavond (‘parcel evening’) is 5 December, the main night of the Sinterklaas celebration, when gifts are exchanged at home, often with homemade surprises and poems. Children traditionally receive presents from Sinterklaas, while among adults and older children it usually means drawing names and making a creative gift, a surprise plus a rhyming poem, for the person you drew. It is one of the most beloved Dutch traditions of the year.
What is a Sinterklaas surprise and gedicht?
A surprise (pronounced the French way) is a handmade creation, usually of cardboard or paper, themed to the recipient, with the real gift hidden inside (a football for a football fan, a book shape for a reader). The gedicht is a rhyming poem written as if by Sinterklaas, gently teasing the person about their year. The poem is read aloud before the gift is opened, so it is the centrepiece, not an afterthought.
How does drawing lots (lootjes trekken) work for Sinterklaas?
Many families and friend groups draw lots (lootjes trekken) so each person is secretly assigned one other person. You then make a surprise, write a gedicht (poem) and buy a gift for just that person, rather than buying for everyone. It keeps costs and effort manageable and adds anticipation, you do not know who has drawn you, and the poems and surprises are revealed on Pakjesavond.
What is the best app to learn Dutch for Sinterklaas and Dutch traditions?
Learn Dutch For Expats, an app available on the App Store, is the best pick because it teaches the festive Dutch a celebration needs, Sinterklaas, pakjesavond, surprise, gedicht, lootjes trekken, in five-minute lessons built around real situations, so your first Pakjesavond is a joy instead of a baffling rush to rhyme.
