Category Archives: Holiday fun

It’s Holiday Party Time Again: December 6, 2015

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For many years, it has been a tradition for Carol Benton and Linn Kereji, two local Au Pair in America counselors, to organize a holiday party for their au pairs. Both Carol Benton and Linn Kereji have worked for APIA for 22 years and every year have enjoyed this special event where au pairs from across the Metropolitan area come together to celebrate the December holidays.

The last few years the party has been held at Ginopolis’ restaurant where our group has been warmly welcomed by staff who understand the au pairs are far away from home and who go the extra mile to make the party special.

After a visit from our very own Santa, the au pairs had time to mingle with each other and play a few games before the luncheon began. Following the meal, some shared holiday customs from their country and more fun games were played – including some holiday trivia (no cell phones allowed!)

The highlight of the afternoon was our version of Project Runway. This year, there were 5 tables and each table selected a model. All 5 tables had the same materials given to them and with team effort, 5 lovely gowns were created. Each model walked down the runway while another table-mate described her outfit and the creative touches they added. The gowns were amazing and headpieces were all unique. Each had its own distinctive look and the accessories were really cute. The 5 models did a wonderful job and the designers did an equally wonderful job.

All of the au pairs enjoyed themselves and had a fun afternoon. Everyone left with big smiles, lots of photos and several goodies.

A big thank you goes out to the host parents since this event was made possible due to their generosity.

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Michigan au pairs enjoy a special holiday treat

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Au Pairs from Au Pair in America had a true taste of an American holiday celebration at Ginopolis’ restaurant in Farmington Hills.

The holiday party started with a visit from Santa Claus who stood outside waving hello to the au pairs.   No one is too old for Santa and everyone wanted their photo taken.

After a lovely luncheon,  the fun games began.  One of the favorites was a gift passing game where au pairs formed one large circle and a holiday story about Mr. and Mrs. Right was read. Every time the word “right” was said, the au pairs had to pass their wrapped gift to their right and the same when the word “left” was read. Lots of laughter ensued as it was hard to keep up with the fast pace of passing the gifts.

Holiday singing followed with the group of 45 au pairs learning their part to the verses to the “Twelve days of Christmas” and singing all of the rounds.

The grand finale was a special version of TV show Project Runway where the au pairs had an opportunity to show their creative and artistic talents. Each of the five tables were given a bag of the same materials and told to select their model. They were given twenty minutes to design an outfit (dress and accessories). Pink and black was the color scheme and the materials were black gossimar paper, pink tolle (lace), a roll of pink crepe streamers, stick on jewels, two small pieces of aluminum foil, tape and scissors.

Each model walked down the runway while another au pair from her table described the dress and the idea behind their creation. Even though the au pairs are from many different foreign countries and all speak English, it was interesting how they used their language skills to describe the outfit and their model.  They did a wonderful job!!

It was very difficult to pick the best overall outfit since all five were so unique with very interesting and creative touches. The judges on the TV show Project Runway would have given lots of praise and positive comments and no one would have been eliminated.

Since the au pairs are far away from their country, family and friends,  they really enjoyed joining together for a holiday celebration.   Although missing their own special holiday traditions, they were eager to learn and experience new traditions while in the US and everyone left with big smiles and a great feeling of holiday spirit.