Happy holidays from Nanny Parent Connection! The holidays are a magical time, and many nannies invest a tremendous amount of time and energy making the season special for their nanny kids.
Below we share some of our favorite holiday activities for nannies and the kids they care for. Parents – these tips are for you too!
Pro Tip: Making simple gingerbread houses are a great way to use up that leftover Halloween candy 🙂
We hope you find an activity below that you haven’t tried yet!
If you aren’t currently a member of our community, we’d love to have you join. Nannies can join our community totally FREE and our Family/Parent memberships start at only $8.99/month!
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and there are so many fun holiday activities happening around us.
Many nannies invest a lot of time and energy to make the holiday season extra special for their nanny kids.
Here are some favorite traditions to enjoy as a nanny – and to carry on at home with your own children:
Host a Cookie Exchange With Fellow Nannies in Your Area
This could be at your nanny family’s home, or somewhere outdoors such as a park in a sheltered area.
The kids will have so much fun choosing a holiday cookie to create, baking that holiday cookie, and then participating in the exchange.
And here’s the best part, not only do you get to enjoy time with friends, but also you get to spend some time trying out other tasty treats.
Arts and Crafts Party
Check with your local art studio to see what fun seasonal activities they are offering.
You can invite your friends and make a play date out of it, or you can host your own holiday arts and crafts party.
You can teach your nanny kids how to make snowflakes, paper chains, angels, etc.
One of our favorite gift ideas is a crafted holiday ornament frame – a nanny can place a picture of the children inside the frame so the family can hang it on the tree every year.
Holiday Scavenger Hunt
List the pictures or names of some holiday items such as Christmas trees, stars, snowmen, mistletoe, etc. and take a walk around your neighborhood to see what items the kids can find.
Seek Out Some Trains
Many businesses and non-profits have special model train displays up and running this time of year. You can put up a post online and crowdsource some fun train displays in your area.
And because so many kids love trains, plan a train outing. You can seek out a holiday train ride near you, or if you’re not near a holiday train, plan a train ride anyway (i.e. light rail). You can take a train to your local downtown area for a hot chocolate!
Visit Holiday Light Displays
This is another great activity to crowdsource locations for.
Put a post up in your local neighborhood social media group and ask others to share great light displays that you can go and check out. Don’t forget the hot chocolate or apple cider if your child is old enough.
Make Simple Gingerbread Houses
Head to the grocery store and pick up some graham crackers, frosting, and candies for decorations. Simple gingerbread houses! And our special tip for gingerbread houses, it’s a great way to use up the rest of that leftover Halloween candy!
Make an Easy Holiday Craft for Your Animal Friends
Find some pine cones and tie some ribbon around them so that they can hang like ornaments. Then coat the pine cones with peanut butter and roll them in some birdseed. Find a place to hang close to a window so that you can see what animal friends stop by for a snack.
Count the number of animals that come and get a snack from your feeder.
Include Children in a Giving Tree Opportunity
Select a tag and take the children shopping to choose the gifts.
This is a great opportunity to talk to your children about how it’s important to help out those who are less fortunate.
Create Your Own Christmas or Holiday Cards
Nanny kids can hand these out to classmates, or even send these to family members.
Help A Person or Family Who Is Struggling Through the Holidays.
A hot meal, or a cup of hot chocolate or coffee can go a long way to raise someone’s holiday spirits.
And it’s a great lesson to share with children in caring for your neighbors.
We hope these ideas spark some new holiday traditions to enjoy with your nanny kids.
Happy holidays from all of us at Nanny Parent Connection!