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Our nanny’s birthday is coming up and we want to show her our appreciation for her nanny work. What’s an appropriate gift?
July 16, 2010By, Dr. Lindsay Heller, The Nanny Doctor
Your nanny cares for your child with love and sensitivity on a daily basis. Her birthday is the perfect opportunity to show her how much you care about her and appreciate how much nanny work she does for your family. Unfortunately, so many families don’t take notice of this special day in the life of their nanny and miss out on an opportunity to let her know she is important. Here are some quick tips for celebrating your nanny’s birthday:
1) Take note of when her birthday is and plan ahead of time to celebrate it!
2) Get your children involved. Ask them to create a drawing for her or art project. Let your children know why you are doing something for your nanny and how much you love and appreciate them. Encourage your children to talk about why they love her so much and what she means to them. Write their words down on the back of the artwork in quotes for the nanny to read.
3) Are your children too young for artwork? Send flowers to your nanny on her birthday from your baby with a note about how much you appreciate her!
4) As far as gifts go, there is quite a range of what is acceptable. The bottom line is you should do what is comfortable and feels right for your family. While some families are able to give huge cash gifts, other families may be able to give a nanny $100 or $50. You may also choose to give her a paid day off – which can be great because it doesn’t affect your budget. You can also think outside of the box – think about your friends…do they own their own businesses? Perhaps you know a friend who is a massage therapist and you can get a deal on a massage and pass on a gift certificate to your nanny.
5) Try to avoid buying something extravagant. What may be beautiful or special to you may not be useful for your nanny. Instead of a designer scarf, get her a gift card from a local grocery store or a gift card for a restaurant. These kinds of gifts can go a long ways and also extend to your nanny’s family which can be an extremely valuable gift. Offer to purchase her bus pass for a year, listen to her, has she been complaining about a dishwasher that keeps breaking down? If it’s within your budget, these are the kind of gifts that can be really appreciated by your nanny.
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I’m not sure I 100% agree with the extravagant gift point… My nanny is extremely stylish in her off time and – while I understand the necessity of things like grocery gift cards, bus passes, etc – I feel like her birthday is a time to give her something indulgent that she’ll love instead of something out of necessity.
You know your nanny best – it really comes down to getting her something that you know she would appreciate and enjoy. For some, that may mean a gift card to a store, for others it could be a new handbag or scarf – really it just depends on your nanny, your family and the relationship you have with each other!
I love getting a paid day off on my birthday! Last year my family gave me the day off and paid for a spa pedicure – it was heaven!!
my charges always hand make birthday cards for me and then their parents will slip in a gift card or a bonus. i definitely love getting the bonuses, but the cards are so meaningful – i have a scrapbook full of things my charges have made me over the years. it really brings meaning to my job!
Our kids LOVE celebrating our nanny on her birthday! Even though they don’t quite understand that she may not want to go to the same places they would want to go on their birthdays (they are always begging to take her to race go-carts or play putt-putt, ha!!) they really try to go above and beyond by making her cards and crafts and really celebrating her throughout the day. It’s heartwarming to watch – I hope it is for her too!
I’m willing to bet it is
There’s really nothing more rewarding than knowing that your charges love you as much as you love them. It’s what makes our job as a nanny so special!
[...] Information on choosing a birthday gift for your nanny [...]