Germany celebrates St. Nicholas Day on December 6.  Children leave a shoe out on the evening of December 5 and the belief is that during the night St. Nicholas goes from house to house putting candies and presents in the shoes of children who were good all year and twigs in the shoes of the children who weren’t.

Did you know that the Christmas Tree as we know it originated in Germany.  The children were not allowed to see the tree until Christmas Eve.  The tree would be decorated with candies, nuts, cookies, apples, angels, tinsel, family treasures and candles.  The presents were put under the tree and a bell was rung.  The children would enter the room where they would sing carols, read stories and open presents.  The Christmas Tree did not become popular around the world until 1848 when Queen Vicktoria talked her husband, Prince Albert, into decorating a tree in their home following the German traditions he grew up with.  At that point other countries tried to compete with the Queen and each tree became more extravagant.

Au Pairs were among the thousands of people enjoying the mild weather to watch the parade and fireworks!

Au Pair in America is thrilled to announce a new exclusive agreement with SUNTREK Active & Adventure travel. SUNTREK has been offering regional tours of the US for young adults for almost 40 years and many of our au pairs have already experienced their fun, rugged, yet comfortable style of travel.

 Au pairs with Au Pair in America will receive a 20% discount off the published rate!  Visit http://www.suntrek.com/_us/aupairs.php to plan your SUNTREK Adventure

Happy Halloween!

Pizza is easy and fun to make. Buy ready made pizza dough (in the refrigerated or freezer section at the supermarket) or a ready-made crust (in the bread department), shredded mozzarella cheese and a jar of pizza sauce. Follow the directions on the crust package and you’ll have a kid fave ready to go!  Add fruit and a vegetable and watch how fast lunch disappears!

Pumpkins rot quickly, so now is the time to carve one, just in time for  Halloween.

If you weren’t able to visit one of our recommended Pumpkin Farms, its time to head to the grocery store to choose a pumpkin!   Tip! Limit the size the children choose by telling them they have to carry their own.

A "first" for many au pairs-they had never carved a pumpkin in their home country

Happy Sweetest Day!

When I first came to live in Chicago, I had no idea what Sweetest Day was.  A quick Google search enlightened me.  Sweetest Day is basically Valentine’s Day in October.   Apparently Sweetest Day was the brainchild of candy makers attempting to convince people there are health benefits to eating candy and chocolate everyday! Hmmmmm, or should I say YUM…but don’t let your host children hear that!

The most typical way to celebrate Sweetest Day is to exchange romantic gifts with a loved one, though families and friends may give flowers, fruit bouquets, chocolates, and cute e-cards.

Whatever you do to celebrate, Sweetest Day is a great way to brighten a dreary October day.

Seeing that I live right in the city, 20 floors above Michigan Avenue, going to a pumpkin patch every fall is a big deal to my 4 1/2 year old.  We drove by a vacant lot selling pumpkins on North Avenue on Saturday, which of course started the questions-“Mommy, when are we going to pick punkins (sic)?  Can I get a reaaally big one?”

So, here are three pumpkin farms that friends have recommended to me: Bengston’s Pumpkin Fest in Homer Glen; Goebbert’s Pumpkin Farm in Barrington; and Johansen’s Farms in Bolingbrook.

I have no financial interest in any of these farms, nor have I visited any of them.  But would love your input. 

What is your favorite local Pumpkin Patch?