A Sinterklaas party at home works best when it is short. In the Netherlands and Belgium, 5 December is the evening of shoes and presents. With friends, do it as an afternoon: the shoe, a game, then moving. Two hours is enough for most groups. Longer gets restless, especially if the presents are still to come.
Pick an afternoon on the weekend before 5 December, or the afternoon itself if the family evening is later. Friends can join. Keep the group small enough for your room. Six to ten children in a living room is a good number. More people? Find a small hall, or really move the dining table out.
What to prepare
- A clear dance spot. Chairs aside, cables away, breakable things off the low shelf.
- One shoe per child, with a name on it. A sticker is enough.
- Music you already queued. A folder of Sinterklaas songs and a folder of party songs they know. Arrival music alone will not keep them dancing.
- Food that is already ready. A bowl of mandarins and a few pepernoten is enough. Feed them before the dancing. Do not start cooking halfway.
- One small thing for every shoe. The same for everyone. Then there is no winner and no disappointed child.
More help with the room and the setup is in a kids disco at home.
A plan for two hours
- 15 minutes: arrive, coats, shoe by the door
- 20 minutes: a search game through the room, calm, with a clear finish
- 15 minutes: food and a drink, sitting down
- 40 minutes: disco, with known songs, one Sinterklaas song and a freeze dance
- 20 minutes: open the shoe, thank you, coats
- 10 minutes: pickup, door shut
The disco does not need to be an hour-long show. Three or four songs they can move to is a party. Dim the lights a little, not dark. Children who do not want to dance can guard the shoes. That is a real job.
What to skip
A long speech, a surprise from behind a door, or a programme that only gets fun after the food. Children are there for the shoe and for each other. The story can be two sentences.
Keep the afternoon cheerful. No scary twist, no costume that makes someone in the group uncomfortable. A hat and a song are enough to feel that it is Sinterklaas.
If you do not want to run the dancing
A DiscoShow comes to the room or the hall. A DJ plays, does a few games and takes the group along. Who comes depends on the date. It is a Kinderdisco.nl party. It is not a promise that it is always the same person.
Want to see what that block looks like? Read the DiscoShow. If the date works, check whether it is free. Rather look first at what fits the age? Start at kids parties.
