5 tips on helping your nanny family during a party
The holiday season is fast approaching, and many of you nannies and sitters may be asked to work during a holiday party that the family you work for is hosting. Great! A fun, casual couple of hours with plenty of adults and maybe other kids to keep an eye on your charges, while you get paid to lounge around eating festive baked goods?
Working during a party might mean that the kiddos won’t require - or want - your constant attention, and they may be inclined to run to mom or dad for help instead of you. But there are still plenty of ways you can be helpful and earn your party-frazzled nanny parents’ major gratitude as a result. We’ve rounded up 5 ways beyond being your usual amazing nanny self that you can help your employer out during holiday parties, birthday celebrations, and beyond.
Engage lots of kids at once. This may seem a given, and is probably the closest to what you do every day for your kiddos, but it will earn you major kudos. At parties where other kids are present, try engaging bigger groups of them in games or crafts. If you have special skills like face painting or making balloon animals, now is definitely your time to shine. During summer parties, if you have access to an outdoor space, take them out to blow bubbles or play soccer, as a way to keep noise levels bearable for the adults inside.
Help clean up around the space. Even small gatherings quickly get messy, when guests leave glasses, food, and gift wrapping lying around. Give your employers a major happy surprise when the party ends and they expect a mess to deal with, by gathering abandoned plates or withered balloons throughout the event. If dishes are being used, pop them in the dishwasher, or if the trash fills up with paper plates, do a quick run to the recycling room. Just make sure someone has an eye on the kids if you leave the home, however briefly!
Refill food and drink. Speaking of food, a host is always worried about it running out. Ask your family if you can help replenish food trays, refill ice buckets, or restock drinks for cooling in the fridge. It’s a small detail that really elevates the whole party.
Help siblings handle the non-attention. At kids’ birthday parties, often the parents will have full focus on the guest of honor - leaving less work for you with your normal charge, but also less attention on any siblings who aren’t getting majorly celebrated. Make a point during birthday parties to pay special attention to any one of your nanny kiddos not in the spotlight and help them have a fun and exciting day - with special nanny attention to boot!
Practice patience with upended status quo. Parties often (always?) run over, and even after the last guest has left, the parents may need a bit of support while they get everything in order. Try to have a conversation before the booking about accounting for extra time at the end, but if it does run over your set time, try to be flexible and generous with the parents. Stay behind as needed and just make sure you are compensated for the extra time. If you really do have something you need to leave for at the exact set time, be very clear about this before committing to the booking at all. In most cases, it’s best to assume it’ll run over - this will help you be more gracious about staying later, and will be a major relief for the family.
What have you learned from babysitting or nannying during birthday parties and holiday get-togethers? Have you picked up any special tricks that parents adore? We’d love to hear about it! Drop us a line on our Facebook or Instagram pages and let us know your inside scoop. As always, our newsletter is full of tips to help you in your nanny career - during the holidays and well beyond.