Tag Archives: holidays

Making Thanksgiving Memories Together

Thanksgiving is a public holiday celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November every year in the United States. It started as a harvest festival and has been celebrated nationally on and off since 1789.  The most important part of Thanksgiving for American families is to spend family time together.

Martin Cathrae

 “My favorite holiday was Thanksgiving. Firstly, it was my first holiday with the whole family in America. Secondly, the whole family came together. All aunts and uncles and their kids came to grandma’s. We played football with all of them, including grandma and grandpa. It was the first time I played it and it was so much fun for all. We had a great dinner with all the typical things you can imagine … it was deeeelicious! It was so great to be with such a big family and I really enjoyed that day. I will remember it my whole life, I hope.” – Swantje from Germany

Here are a few tips to help you have a terrific Thanksgiving experience.

Host Parents
Please plan to include your au pair in your Thanksgiving celebration, if at all possible. If you are traveling or will not be able to invite your au pair to join you for Thanksgiving, give her plenty of notice and help her make alternate plans. You don’t want to leave your au pair alone over the holiday.

Au Pairs
If you are invited to attend dinner, please let your family know within 5 days of the invitation, whether you are planning to attend, so they may make plans. If your host family is unable to include you in their Thanksgiving plans, please let me know if you have trouble making other plans, so I can assist.

Make sure to discuss time off during this holiday weekend. Many host families work the Friday after Thanksgiving so do not assume you have this day off or the entire weekend. Talk to your host family, BEFORE you make any plans.

Bonus Tip for the Kids
If you are looking for a fun recipe to make with your au pair, check out these turkey cookies. Find more fun activities and recipes on the Au Pair in America Fall Holidays pinboard.

 

Avoiding Homesickness this Holiday Season

Homesickness can be a problem during the holidays, even if it hasn’t been at any other time of the year. Au pairs often miss their friends and family, familiar places and their own traditions and customs. The holiday activities in the United States seem, and may actually be, different just at a time when an au pair would welcome something familiar. 

It is common for au pairs’ emotions to be close to the surface during the holidays. Her highs are higher, her lows are lower. The enormity of what she has done–actually living in another country (which is an amazing thing when you think about it!)–hits her and throws her into a self-protective mode.

Host parents can help her through this unfamiliar territory by talking to her about what your specific family activities will be (gifts, meals, visitors, religious services, in-home traditions, or none of these, as the case may be.) In the spirit of cultural exchange, ask her if she has any favorite holiday traditions or foods that you might be able to incorporate into your family’s celebration of the season. Let her know what you will be doing, when you will be doing it, and what she can expect. Talk to her about what has to be accomplished and get her involved and interested. Don’t expect her to just “know” what needs to be done. Give her some clear, agreed upon assignments. Make her feel a part of things. And, let her know her contribution is needed and appreciated.

Photo: Sheila Sund (Flickr)

Happy Rosh Hashanah!

Wishing our Jewish host families, au pairs, community counselors, colleagues and friends a very Happy New Year.  Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Sunday October 2nd and ends in the evening of Tuesday October 4th.

The customs and symbols of Rosh Hashanah reflect the holiday’s dual emphasis on both happiness and humility. Customs observed on Rosh Hashanah include the sounding of the shofar (a musical horn) and eating special foods including round challah (bread), which symbolizes the circle of life, and sweet foods for a sweet New Year. It is also customary to extend wishes for a good year. In Hebrew, the simple form of the greeting is “L’shanah tovah!”

Here is a great site for children including information about the holiday traditions, games, word searches, Hebrew vocabulary and crafts.

http://www.akhlah.com/jewish-holidays/roshhashanah/

 Want to try cooking for the holiday? Find out how to make Challah, Honey Cakes…and lots more here:

http://www.aish.com/h/hh/r/

Federal & School Holidays

You may be aware, the public school children will be off several days in September and October. These are regular workdays for an au pair, unless your host parents tell you otherwise. As with any “school holiday” start making plans for activities with the kids now.

As with any holiday, it is up to the host family’s schedule whether you will have the holiday off. Please check with your host families before you assume you have this day off. Do not make any travel plans until you have received confirmation that you will not work on this day.

Host parents, please check your schedule to make sure that you are factoring in these hours and make adjustments as needed to stay within the State Department regulations not exceeding 10 hours per day or 45 hours per week (or 30 hours her week for Educare.)

10 Christmas Tree Ornaments Kids Can Make

10. Handprint Reindeer

www.missdelk.blogspot.com

This cute little reindeer ornament is super simple to make and only requires your kid’s hand, some brown paint and paper. Have your child place their hand in the paint and press it on a fresh piece of paper. Once it dries, cut it out and add your decorations for a super cute reindeer you can hang on the tree. Easy, cheap and fun!

9. Cupcake Angels

www.allwomenstalk.com

This is a great way to use up the extra cupcake wrappers you had leftover from the school bake sale. Simply fold them in triangles and glue them together to create charming little angels. Add a small cotton ball for the head and you are well on your way to spreading Christmas cheer. They are also a fun craft the whole family can enjoy making.

8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Pine Cone

www.kidscraftroom.com

Instead of throwing out the pine cones that are littering your yard, why not turn them into fun Christmas ornaments? All you need is some pipe cleaner for antlers, some cloth for ears, and a big red button for the nose. Add some google eyes from the crafts store and you’ve got adorable Rudolph ornaments to enjoy.

7. Gingerbread Man

www.lovethispic.com

These ornaments are super fun to make because you can actually bake the cookies and decorate them before hanging the cute creations on your tree. Just follow any gingerbread recipe and let them dry out over night. Decorate them how you wish and then place a hook in the head so they can hang on the tree. They are super fun and create an awesome activity to get you in the holiday spirit.

6. Frosty the Snow Jars

www.crazylittleprojects.com

Frosty is looking super cute this year with this Frosty ornament that’s made out of a small paint jar. All you need to do is paint the jar white and add on a cute face. Place a hook through the top of the jar which also substitutes as a hat and you are good to go. Frosty won’t have to worry about melting this year when he’s safe on your tree.

5. Bottle Cap Snowmen 

www.snapguide.com

This cute ornament is a perfect way to use up old bottle caps you may have lying around the house. All you need to do is spray paint them white and glue three together to create little snowmen. Next paint on the buttons and faces and you’ve got brand new ornaments for mere pennies.

4. DIY Santa

youtube.com

These handprint Santa ornaments are made from dried play dough and are absolutely charming. All you need to do is make some play dough and cut out circles. Make a hand print and then let it dry overnight. Now you can paint the hand prints to look like Santa’s face with a long white beard.

3. Puzzle Piece Reindeer 

www.funfamilycrafts.com

If you have kids then we’re sure you have random puzzle pieces collecting in your drawers that you don’t know what to do with. Well, now you do! You can easily use three of these puzzle pieces to create super cute Rudolph ornaments. Simply paint them brown and add some eyes and a nose! These literally take minutes to make and are loads of fun!

2. Starlight Stars

parentmap.com

For this simple star ornament, all you need is construction paper and glitter, Cut the construction paper into strips and then loop them into circles. Glue the circles together in a star fashion as seen above and then sprinkle with glitter.

1. Melting Frosty 

www.itallstartedwithpaint.com

These are super wrong but also so so right! These melted Frosty ornaments are absolutely hysterical and all you need are some clear Christmas ball ornaments, some salt, peppercorns and orange felt. Fill up the ornament with some of the salt to simulate snow, then add the peppercorns for eyes and buttons and cut out a little orange felt nose.

Source: http://definevirals.com/10-adorable-christmas-tree-ornaments-kids-can-make/10/