Nannying at Christmas

Oh what a wonderful, crazy time of the year! This is true I think in every aspect of life, but nanny hood can get especially chaotic.

I thought I would do a very brief and grand overview of what a Christmas Nanny looks like! (Ya know since I don’t have time for an in depth look)

Christmas Traveling

First thing you should be aware of if you are thinking seriously of pursuing that #thatnannylife, is that some families will actually want you to work during the holiday season. If this is a regular thing for them, because they travel every year and need that extra help, they should explain this either in their want ad or during the hiring process.

Most families however like to have the possibility of you being willing to work a holiday. So they’ll say that in their ad. Something like “must be flexible” or “willing to work some holidays”. For instance I will be working New Years this year. So just be aware of this when applying for a job.

Wrapping, wrapping, wrapping…

I don’t know if every family will ask their nanny to wrap Christmas presents, but my family does. And it never fails that at the beginning of the season I am all excited to pull out the paper and the scissors. But wrapping for six kids quickly gets to you and by the end I don’t care if the paper has sharp edges or not! As long as they have something to pull off the thing on Christmas. When people ask me what I did at work today I say I wrapped… for an hour and half… I don’t know if everything will be wrapped by Christmas.

Everybody’s Home

The Christmas season is also challenging in the fact that everyone is home. This year hasn’t been quite as noticeable because of COVID. But everyone is on Christmas break and the parents are home wanting to do activities with the kids. Plus relatives come to visit(I have done a post about the awkwardness of this here) and the house can get very full, very fast. Don’t get overwhelmed and just focus on your job as best as you can. Much like being on vacation with the family(covered here) nap and bedtime schedules and other daily routines will get shifted around or thrown out the window. Just do the best you can and know that is only one time a year that this happens.

Never ending Christmas Programs

Of course this looks a little different this year. With many events having been canceled and/or done virtually. But this time last year it seemed every night there was some Christmas party, program or what not to get the kids ready for. Normally I would just make sure they were clean, dressed and as ready to go. But sometimes I would take them and drop them off early for whatever Christmas themed program was needed. Then there were cousins and family members’ events to get to. It can quickly become a lot. But like everything else on this list, just remember that you can only control so much. Do what you can and let the rest go. You’re only human after all.

And that’s it my lovelies! If you still aren’t satisfied and what to learn more about nannying at Christmas here is last year’s post; plus a link to my very first nanny related post if ya want to start at the very beginning of my crazy journey.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas,

Tally