The Biggest Book Fair EVER

Last week we went to the biggest Book Fair there could ever be at the Atomium's Metro complex. It was an entire Civic Center full of books, crafts, and gifts. I was in Heaven! From what I gather this event, Boekenfestijn, happens twice a year in Brussels. And it takes place SOMEWHERE every month in the countries of Belgium and the Netherlands. A traveling show! I wonder who lugs around all those books!

It was honestly a feast for the eyes. They were all heavily discounted in some cases up to 90%! Our biggest challenge was finding the books in English since they were dispersed throughout rather than grouped together. I would say they were 60% Dutch, 15% French, and 25% in English. So we hunted around the rows and rows of books to see what we could find!

What a terrific concept to generate excitement and energy about BOOKS! I am sure these are all the overages from publishers. Their excess was our gain.

We especially loved the tremendous craft and gift section. I found puzzles, games and other goodies for the upcoming holidays. Karen is an avid scrapbooker and there was every sticker and crafty tool she could ever wish for. Brady was in school so it was just us girls.

I am not sure what Connor made of the event - she enjoyed holding all the books and toys in her stroller. We were probably there over two hours and I could have stayed another FOUR! My eyes were absolutely overwhelmed.

My cart was overflowing by the end. I had to sit down and weed thru what I had to be reasonable with my purchases. Otherwise Kirk might not have let me back in our home. We only have so much room in our tiny apartment for more books. I loved every moment of it.

Probably the best purchase of the day were these magnetic letters. We rode the metro back and forth from the book fair. On the way home I was crossing fingers and toes that Connor wouldn't fall asleep in her stroller since we had definitely encroached nap time. I needn't have fretted. She found this magnetic side in the train and went to town with the letters!

I ended up with 20 items for a total of less than 70 euros. Still a splurge but now our holiday gifting for Connor is complete. Plus I found a few more travel books to add to our bulging collection. We are suckers for new travel books to research and plan our adventures!

Definitely check out this BIG Book Fair if you live in Belgium. It makes for a terrific day and will make you miss your local library in the USA! Happy Reading!