Received Saturday, December 6, 2008. - Perspective & Opinion
Just a quick question here. I have been working for a new family since August and they have been beyond generous to me so far. I am thinking they will probably give me a Christmas gift/bonus. At this time, I'm a college student and my husband and I are scraping the pennies from the bottom of the barrel just to pay for the Secret Santa our family is doing, so while I definitely want to give the family/kids gifts, I really do not have the money. What would be something thoughtful that doesn't cost too much? FYI, the girls are 14, 12, and 10 and I am a live-out nanny.
26 comments:
I always give the families a free night of babysitting. It's free and all it requires is your time. They always really appreciate it. If you can afford it, you could get them a gift card to a restaurant or movies. Depending on where you live, restaurants.com is a great place to get cheap gift cards.
For the kids, you could do something fun with them. Maybe take them somewhere they don't usually get to go. Like Ice skating, swimming, etc.
Mary that was a great suggestion.
How about giving the parents an overnight out and have a "slumber party" with the kids. Movie night, pedicares etc. Maybe make a cake or cookies. Do makeup and that sort of stuff girls like. Its all about free. And giving the gift of your time means alot to people who can afford to buy whatever they want for themselves and their kids. I work for a family who I see throw alot of stuff away that people give to them, including food gifts.
Anonymous said...
Parents always like craft giftspecially during the holidays. Maybe since the kids are older, maybe a gift card to their favorite store? Just a few ideas
10:40 PM
RE-POST FOR ANONYMOUS!
I agree with Mary. The best gift you can give someone is your time.
I'm making a CD og all of the photos we have taken this year with pics set to music and short descriptions.
I like the idea of a free night of babysitting! My idea would be to make them up a "family movie night" gift basket... Buy a DVD that they would like, and some microwave popcorn, pop, assorted snacks. I think this could be done for around $25? I did that once for a family and they loved it, also its fun to decorate the basket!
Pickled bums!
http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/pickled-bums--oregano-spice
I'd do the "spa" night and make either a salt or sugar scrub(either salt or sugar). 2 Cups Salt or Sugar, 1 cup lightly colored and scented olive oil or sunflower oil, 8 drops of essential oil, mix. You can add food coloring for color, but that seems weird to me personally. I bought small mason jars to put them in.
See, that wasn't even kinda funny. I was expecting something to really look like an ass!
Not to get off the subject...but I was just on Craigslist. What is it with these parents that believe its okay for a nanny to work ten-twelve hour days with little or no salary?? I am seeing ads in NJ for live-in nannies with salaries in the $150 range or no salary.
Do they really think because they give you a bed to sleep in its okay?
I love the slumber party idea, sounds like fun!
If you are crafty you can make an ornament for each member of the family. I think that handmade gifts are very thoughtful and it doesnt matter how much they cost. Im sure that they will love anything you give them :-)
For the parents, I would just write a heartfelt card and let them know that you appreciate them as employers. They'll probably be more comfortable with you not spending money on them anyway.
As for the kids, I try and give books, and there are so many great kids books that you could get at used book stores. You can even make it special that they are "vintage" and tie it into the idea of reusing/recycling.
Doh! My bum link got cut off. I hope this one works:
http://www.pickledbums.com/pickledbums.html
The best received gift I ever gave was a little handwritten poem announcing that this year's gift would be an evening of free babysitting. I also took a wonderful picture of their children and set it in a nice frame that cost me about 7 bucks. I wrapped the framed picture, along with the poem. They were extemely thankful.
Best of luck OP and Happy Holidays.
I'm buying my employers a picture frame that holds like four pictures with pictures of their boys in it.
but something cheap would be the babysitting night for sure!
Hey "snowing"
If you see Ads like that, send them in here so that we can all see them!!
Oooh, I LOVE emily's idea! That rocks!
I am a mom employer of a nanny who has been with us for 2 and a half years. I can honestly say the very best gifts from her were things she made for me. She put together precious picture albums for me one birthday, taking a lot of time making them "scrapbook" looking pages. She has also given us an evening of free babysitting which was also very much appreciated!
I like the idea of free babysitting.
If you bake, you could also make cookies or some other dessert you know they'd like.
Since the kids ages are fairly close, if you can spare $5-10, you might be able to find a board or card game they would all enjoy playing. Games are a favorite family gift for me to give, because it's something they can enjoy together and it saves money by not having to buy individual gifts.
I think Mary and SoCal are right on. I'm a grad student and I honestly don't have $25 for a gift certificate. Girls that age would love to have a slumber party night.
The movie night thing sounds great ... if they like spending time with mom and dad at their age(?)
I think someone needs to give an example of how to word a free babysitting night.
I once made the family I worked for a gingerbread house. Takes a bit of time, but didn't cost too much and they loved it!
The idea of giving free babysitting is a very nice one. It's also very thoughtful.
Just a thought . . . would parents really accept this? Whenever my babysitter (occasional sitter and not a full time nanny) has gotten presents for my kids around their birthdays or the holidays, I always pay her extra money to try to "make up" for the amount she spent on gifts.
I think the free babysitting would be a really nice thing to give, but the parents would probably give you money anyway, and you should accept it if they do.
A ginger bread house?? No way that would work for me. First I'd wreck it, then I'd end up eating the wreckage. Then I would slip in butter and fall down in the kitchen. Then I would bust my nose and need stitches.
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