Sinterklaas has been back in the country since this week! Have you been called by Sinterklaas to be helper Sinterklaas or helper Zwarte Piet? Are you also going to accompany the arrival in your city or village this weekend? Then these 10 tips for the perfect Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet will of course come in very handy.
Before you can properly step into your role as Sinterklaas, you must of course know where Sinterklaas and his Pietje come from. Sinterklaas is a saint and patron saint. In other words, the protector of students, merchants, sailors and travellers. Sinterklaas spends his time in beautiful Spain and comes to the Netherlands for our Sinterklaas celebration in the months of November and December. He does not do this by plane, with all the Black Petes that is of course not possible, but by the well-known steamboat!
The Black Petes are the assistants of Saint Nicholas. They help Saint Nicholas with the arrival and entertain the children. They do crazy things and hand out sweets on the different days that they visit schools.
Every evening at 6 o'clock the Sinterklaasjournaal is broadcast on NPO 3. Every day, Sinterklaas and his helpers go on an adventure and experience new things. Most children faithfully watch the Sinterklaasjournaal every day, so watch this fun news yourself. This way, as a helper Sinterklaas, you know exactly what happened to Sinterklaas and his Black Helpers.
A beautiful high-quality Piet suit and Sinterklaas suit ensures that you have a good start at schools and during the arrival. A Piet suit consists of a beautiful velvet or velour suit with a jacket and trousers. In addition, a Piet wears thick tights, a beautiful cap and sturdy shoes. A Piet can also wear a wig. A nicely dressed helper Sint naturally wears a tabard, but also an alb and klinger underneath. The beautiful scarf is a stole. A Sint is of course not a Sint without a mitre and a staff. Finally, Sinterklaas wears gloves, nice and warm in the cold winter months!
The Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet activities are of course held in November and December. Not the best time of year to walk around in a robe and Zwarte Piet outfit. Wear thermal clothing when you participate in a procession. It is also a good idea to wear several thin layers on top of each other. A thermal shirt with a turtleneck sweater on top plus your beautiful costume will ensure that you stay nice and warm all day long.
Giving children a fun evening or afternoon depends on your preparation but also on the acting. Think about what fun antics you are going to pull and how the interaction will be between Santa and his Black Pete. If you are visiting a family, you can think of other things than if you are visiting a large primary school. With large groups, you can think of more storylines so that you can quickly switch from one to the other.
Not every child really likes it when Black Pete and Sinterklaas come by. For example, they are scared by the imposing figure of Sinterklaas or scared by the energetic Piets. Kneel down as Black Pete and do not come too close to small children.
There is nothing more annoying than getting a hand full of candy in your face, unfortunately there are children who experience this every year because the Black Petes are very enthusiastic. We therefore advise everyone to give gingerbread nuts to a child in their hand. Do they find this too scary? Then give it to the parents of the child. Only really throw candy if children, but especially parents, want this.
Discuss with the family or school you are going to how long your visit will last and what is and is not allowed on location. Perhaps it is a good idea to enter through an emergency exit, where no one expects you! Then the alarm must be turned off here. Perhaps there are children who are really very scared, then you can prepare for this. In addition, it is always nice if you know the names of the children in advance.
Some people will still want to see a Black Pete and other people would rather have a Pete with soot marks or a colored Pete. Make sure to discuss this well. In addition, sometimes certain stories are told and not told at schools. Ask how they see their Sinterklaas and Petes with soot marks.
Every year we see videos on the news and on YouTube of helper Santas who can't ride a horse but still try. For a horse, the Sinterklaas party is already exciting, it is very busy and there is a lot of noise. Then think of small children and Black Petes with soot smears dancing around a horse, then it is not strange that a horse gets a bit nervous about this. If you then sit on this horse and you don't know how to get a horse under control, then things can quickly go wrong.
Not only for the children it should be a fun day also for you as helper Sinterklaas or helper Zwarte Piet! Enjoy the days that you can delight your children with the arrival of Sinterklaas and as Piet you can hand out candy and pull pranks.
Have fun in the coming period! The most beautiful Sinterklaas suits and Black Pete suits can of course be purchased at e-Carnavalskleding.
