Hi Santa Claus!
December is the month of gift-giving. For us Dutch not only on Christmas Day but also on December 5th: that's when we celebrate Saint Nicholas' Day (Sint Nicolaas or Sinterklaas).
On the days preceding the 5th, children put their shoe -sometimes with a carrot for Sinterklaas' horse- and sing a song for Sinterklaas, hoping to find their shoe filled with candy or a little gift the next morning. Kids who didn't behave well, might find a birch rod instead. On the 5th more gifts arrive.
The fun part is that most people write a poem with the gift, mentioning (or even better: making fun of) one's hobby, characteristic or a major event that happened this year. The real Sinterklaas fanatics also make 'surprises': not just wrapping the gift in paper, but make little pieces of papier-mache art that contain the gift.
