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Gifts

Holiday Bonus, Tip, or End of Year Cash Gift? (Poll)

by cv harquail December 18, 2009

I’ve been reluctant to bring this topic up again because last year the idea of giving your Au Pair a holiday cash gift or top really seemed to freak people out. Check the earlier posts before you go wild: Gift, Bonus or Tip: Call it what you want, but keep in mind…. How much should [...]

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Christmas Tip: Make sure your Au Pair has a stocking

by cv harquail December 10, 2009

If you are a first-time host family, and if you celebrate Christmas, you might find yourself caught off guard when you begin to incorporate your Au Pair into your family traditions. Some families will want their au pair to help select and decorate the tree, others won’t. Some families will invite the au pair to [...]

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On celebrating each other’s religious holidays

by cv harquail November 9, 2009

Only 4.5 weeks till Hanukkah, 8 weeks until Christmas, 9 until New Years… Time to think about weaving your Au Pair into your family’s celebrations. You should think ahead, and talk with your au pair, because holidays can be important times to feel in or out of a family, acknowledged or overlooked, celebrated or taken [...]

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Au Pair Appreciation: Hooray for all of you!

by cv harquail May 8, 2009

Well, we’ve come to the end of the very first annual International Au Pair Appreciation Week! Thank you to  the host moms and dads who sent in the stories for the Au Pair Appreciation posts this week. Thank you to all of you who commented on the stories, offered snippets of your own stories, and [...]

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I’ve caught a virus… and I want to share it with you!

by cv harquail May 7, 2009

… Moms, I’m not talking about Swine Flu. I’m talking about "Mother of the Year"! Au Pair Mom is 2009 Mother of the Year! Whoohoo! MomsRising.org is spreading a virus … it’s their "Mother of the Year Award" video, the kind where you can insert the names of people you know who then show up [...]

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Au Pair Appreciation: A collage of love

by cv harquail May 4, 2009

International Au Pair Appreciation Week As shared by a Host Mom After being with us for only 2 months, our AP made us a beautiful collage for Christmas of photos that she had taken of the children and our dogs. It was so thoughtful and we were absolutely thrilled! It now hangs on our bulletin [...]

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Your Valentine Reminder…

by cv harquail February 12, 2009

No matter how your choose to celebrate it, remember your Au Pair on Valentine’s Day.

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Gift, Bonus or Tip: Call it what you want, but keep in mind….

by cv harquail December 17, 2008

I’m intrigued by the comments in the previous post about a Christmas/ Holiday tip for your au pair… it seems that some readers are taken aback by the idea that one would tip ones au pair. As a trained social scientist, I see these reactions as "data" — but what is the data telling me? [...]

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How much should you tip your Au Pair at Christmas?

by cv harquail December 12, 2008

If you celebrate Christmas and if you don’t, the quote-unquote Holidays are a time of year when many people think about giving, some people think about getting, and most of us think about both. If you were to search for information about Christmas Tips for au pairs, you’d discover that the commonly-advised amount is "one [...]

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Au Pair Advice: Send a welcome package to your Au Pair’s orientation

by cv harquail September 10, 2008

[Help me find our 100th Host Mom subscriber!] Almost everyone loves to get presents and almost everyone loves to get mail. Put these two things together by sending your au pair a welcome package, and you’re probably going to make her feel happy, welcomed, and maybe even special. Once upon a time, when I thought [...]

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