The holiday season is fast approaching. Everyone will be very busy again with holiday parties and travels. If you are a family with kids and a nanny, managing your schedule around all the hustle and bustle during this season can be a bit tricky. But with advanced planning, you can make it work.
There are things that you need to consider when planning holiday schedules with your nanny. We’ve outlined here the most important ones.
Things to Consider Before Planning a Holiday Schedules with Nany
1. Find out what your nanny feels about holiday celebrations
First off, it’s important to consider the customs or religious beliefs of your nanny about the holidays. If she has a different belief, ask her how comfortable she is to help with your holiday plans. This is very important so that you can both set the right expectations and avoid awkward situations in the future.
Remember to stay professional and understand that your nanny’s traditions and practices may be different from yours.
If your nanny is not comfortable with participating in your activities, you can also plan ahead of time what to do next.
2. Make a list of the kind of help you need from your nanny during the holiday season.
If your nanny is happy to help with your holiday activities, your next step is to list down the activities or tasks that require your nanny’s help. Yes, we suggest creating a list to ensure that you got everything covered.
Holiday shopping, decorating, gift wrapping, cleaning and setting up parties, cooking holiday meals and so on can easily take a toll on you unless you have someone to help you. You may have other activities in mind that you would want to be on your list. If you are traveling for the holiday season with your nanny, don’t forget that too!
When making a list and schedule, be as detailed as possible. The more details you have, the easier it will be for you to discuss them with your nanny.
To give you an idea of what you can include on your list, you could answer the following questions:
- What extra duties associated with the holidays do you need help with?
- What parties and events are coming up that you’d like your nanny to help you out with?
- If you will be travelling, do you need your nanny to go with you?
- How would you like your nanny to help in case you have friends or family gatherings at home?
- Are there specific kid activities outside your nanny’s shift when you want your nanny to be present?
- Do you expect longer working hours on certain days?
The answers to these questions can help you put together a detailed list that would be useful for you and your nanny in planning your holiday schedules.
3. Schedule a time to discuss with your nanny your holiday plans and your needed help.
So you already made a list of your needed help as well as your holiday schedules. Before the holiday season kicks in, make sure to communicate with your nanny the items on your list. It’s important to remember that your nanny may have holiday plans too so giving her a heads up of your plans ahead of time allows her to plan her holidays considering your schedule.
Moreover, it’s important that your nanny clearly understands what she needs to do and what your expectations are when it comes to accomplishing the items on your list.
At this point, you also need to consider – what if your nanny doesn’t have the necessary experience or skill required for the task? For example, if you want your nanny to help out in cooking meals for your parties but your nanny isn’t really good at cooking, do you have an alternative plan?
The lesson here is do not assume that your nanny can do everything you included on your list. You need a verbal confirmation from her on what she can and cannot do because of her limitations.
4. Create a holiday season calendar that is accessible to your family and your nanny
Having a physical calendar is a great idea especially if you have so much going on in the coming holidays and you want everyone in your household including your nanny to be on the same page. Of course, you could also use online calendars but make sure to share the details with your nanny.
5. Don’t forget about holiday time-off, pay and gifts
Holiday time off and pay should already be included in your contract as this is also required by law. Your nanny should already be aware of these.
However, when it comes to extended working hours in case you have house parties and other activities that require her to work late, the extra pay for her service is something you also need to discuss.
As for gifts, this is optional but many families give gifts to their nannies to show gratitude. The gift could be in cash or in kind. Should you consider giving a personal gift instead of cash, consider what her needs or hobbies are.
For instance, if she plans to visit her family, you can give her round-trip plane tickets. Of course, there are many other gift ideas, the important thing is to make it more personal to her.
At Kiidu, we know how important it is for you to have a reliable nanny who can help you with a range of tasks for the holiday such as gift shopping and wrapping, decorating, cooking special meals, setting up tables and so on. Our professional nannies are trained to do these tasks and so much more.
Having a reliable nanny who can help you during the busy holiday season can make your celebrations more fun and stress-free.
