When a Rotterdam family’s Sinterklaas gifts were stolen from their front door, the police didn’t just go after the thief; they made a heartwarming gesture and bought new presents for the children.
On Saturday, a Rotterdam man was celebrating Sinterklaas with his family when he received a text from his parents — they had left some gifts at the front door as a surprise for their grandchildren.
But when the father arrived at the door, the presents were gone.
The Rotterdammer hoped perhaps a neighbour had moved the gift inside to keep them safe but camera footage from a local resident showed that the gifts had indeed been stolen.
The man posted about the incident on Twitter, which quickly received an enormous response.
Wil de meneer die geheel “per ongeluk” de #sinterklaas kado’s van mijn kinderen heeft mee genomen vanaf het schulpplein in #Charlois zo vriendelijk zijn om deze weer terug te brengen. Gewoon even kloppen en hard weg rennen. Zoals het hoort op #pakjesavond pic.twitter.com/4XVEXhzdM2
— jas-of-vestje (@JVestje) December 5, 2020
In English, the Tweet reads: “Would the gentleman who completely ‘accidentally’ #sinterklaas took my children’s gifts from Schulpplein in #Charlois be kind enough to bring it back? Just knock and run away. As it should be on #pakjesavond.”
Poetic justice
What happened next was “super sweet,” according to the Rotterdammer. The police caught wind of the Tweet and posted a response in classic Sinterklaas rhyme form.
Op 5/12 was in Charlois een feest, totdat er een boef langs is geweest. De deur ging open en wat een pech, de zak en kado’s waren weg. De politie vond dit naar,en zette een zak met kado’s klaar! En ook al hebben wij nieuwe kado’s gekocht, naar de boef wordt natuurlijk gezocht! pic.twitter.com/7UlodJlZEk
— Politie Charlois (@POL_Charlois) December 6, 2020
The (obviously cuter in Dutch) poem reads: “On December 5, Charlois was a party, until a crook came by. The door opened and what bad luck, the bag and presents were gone. The police thought this was unpleasant, and prepared a bag of gifts! And even though we have bought new gifts, the crook is, of course, searched for!”
“A very sweet gesture”
The police asked the children what they wanted, and arrived at the Rotterdam home with a bag of gifts: Monopoly Cheaters Edition, Scoubidou strings, and an animal quartet, along with three teddy bears.
“We are absolutely not pathetic or needy, so when they told us about this plan, we said it really wasn’t necessary,” the Rotterdammer explained. “But they really wanted to give something. A very sweet gesture and the children are very happy with it too.”
Many on Twitter have been touched by the kindness as well. “Great how you handled this. Thank you very much,” writes one Twitterer. “I am deeply moved,” says another.
What do you think of this holiday gesture? Tell us in the comments below!
Feature Image: Politie
Looks like it was the EVIL Zwarte Piet who stole the packages. I mean who else could do something so dastardly? Those black thugs, like Piet, are a danger to society … just like LIBERALS have been trying to shove down society’s throat these past couple years.