Holidays

Your House is Not a Youth Hostel

by cv harquail April 3, 2009

Let me repeat that: Your house is not a youth hostel. It’s not a hotel. It’s not a pied a terre. Your house is your home, and if you choose to have friends of your au pair as overnight guests, there is a lot to think about. One blatant sign that a host mom and […]

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Poll: How long, exactly, is “two weeks vacation”?

by cv harquail March 11, 2009

The question has been posed: How do you count "two weeks vacation"? I’m not sure of the "official" rule, so I hope a Local Community Counselor can chime in, but in the meantime, let’s see how we host moms interpret that guideline. And, when you and your Au Pair arrange her vacation, how do you […]

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Don’t take your Au Pair on vacation during her first 3 months!

by cv harquail February 8, 2009

Okay host moms- I’m coming out with a pretty specific "Don’t": Don’t, I say DON’T, take your au pair on a vacation the first 3 months she is with you. Why? Because: 1. It sets up inaccurate expectations about how she will be treated (e.g., as a guest and tourist vs. as a ‘working’ member […]

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It’s YOUR vacation, not hers. Okay?

by cv harquail February 2, 2009

I had a long listen at a neighborhood party last week…one of my host mom friends had just come back from a family vacation to Disneyworld. Three kids, three adults, two bedrooms, 5 days. And for my friend, not a vacation at all. What went wrong? I’ll tell you what went wrong. My friend forgot […]

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Tip: Save those Ice Skates!

by cv harquail January 18, 2009

At the park across the street, the pond has frozen. (This is actually what it looks like!) Every time the pond freezes, I congratulate myself for saving my old ice skates. About five years ago, when my little ones were taking skating lessons , I bought myself skates that actually fit me so that I […]

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Poll: Will your AP be on-duty on Christmas?

by cv harquail December 18, 2008

Hi Moms- I’m testing out a new feature — polls! I’d love to get a sense of what everyone is planning for their au pair on Christmas day…. Given the percent of American families that celebrate Christmas — (according to the Associated Press , Gallup polls from 1994 to 2005 consistently show that more than […]

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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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Christmas Tip: Tell your Au Pair what your family believes about Santa

by cv harquail December 12, 2008

Three Wise Monkeys (Oops, I Mean Three Silly Reindeer) by Pink Sherbet Photography.

Don’t put your au pair in that awful situation of being the person who blows Santa’s secret. Explain to your au pair how your family talks about the man in the red suit, what he does, and what he means. Help her understand your way of discussing the Santa phenomenon, so that she can coordinate […]

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More Thanksgiving Day ideas…for you and your Au Pair

by cv harquail November 24, 2008

wampanoag aupairs low cost childcare au apir advice

What do you know about Thanksgiving? The AuPairCare website for Au Pairs has a fun little activity for Au Pairs celebrating Thanksgiving with their host families. If you haven’t seen this yet, you might want to suggest it to your au pair, or just play it with the family yourself. First, visit this website for […]

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