“The Girl Who Saved Christmas” by Matt Haig

Weekly Trip to the Library The Girl Who Saved Christmas is a great Christmas book for your older Nanny Kids (about eight- to 12-years-old). Books always make a great, and inexpensive, holiday gift for children as well. In The Girl Who Saved Christmas Amelia Wishart was the first child ever to receive a Christmas present. […]

Rainbow Pebbles

A preschooler I babysit for really loves playing with Rainbow Pebbles. They make a great holiday or birthday gift. These lightweight, colorful stones with a smooth surface are a wonderfully tactile early math resource. The preschooler I care for is fascinated by the pebbles’ bright colors, odd shapes, and warm feel which makes stacking fun. […]

Card Games for Family Holiday Gifts

Products Nannies Love I’m finding card games are a great boredom buster while the kids and I are forced to remain socially distant during the pandemic. Some of the most enjoyable memories I have are playing cars games with family and friend. Thats why I will be giving the inexpensive gift of card games this […]

Holiday Cardboard Picture Frames

Creative Wednesdays I typically buy a wooden frame for the children to decorate and put a photo in for a winter holiday gift for their parents. But this year I wanted to try to make the frames myself by recycling cardboard boxes from deliveries. If you care for older siblings this is a great project […]

Top 9 Wooden Gifts for Children

Holiday Gift Giving for Nannies Nannies and au pairs don’t need to spend a fortune on giving gifts to their Nanny Kids. Instead, nannies and au pairs should keep to a budget by choosing quality gifts, rather than expensive gifts, for the children in their care. Wooden toys make great gifts as they are usually […]

Christmas Tree Crayons

Creative Christmas Craft Don’t throw out little crayon pieces that are too small for the kids to hold on to. Use them to create big, chunky crayons. We made multi-colored chunky Christmas tree crayons but you can make solid colored crayons if you prefer. We even wrapped some up to give as gifts to our friends. Melting […]

Holiday Hot Drink Stirrers

Inexpensive Gifts and Treats In an attempt to make inexpensive holiday gifts with my Nanny Kids this year, we made these adorable hot chocolate or coffee stirrers. We used ingredients that we thought would make a mug of hot chocolate or coffee taste better. Wrap them up in cellophane and add a ribbon for holiday […]

Monogramed Gift Mugs

Homemade Holiday Gifts You don’t have to spend a lot of money to give personalized handmade gifts this holiday season. You can find nice mugs at the dollar store and oil based Sharpie markers and large monogram stickers at any craft store. Older school-aged children can help make these gift mugs using the first letter […]

Lemon Sugar Scrub

Mother’s Day Gift I just love the smell of lemons! That’s one of the reasons this is my absolute favorite, cheapest, and easiest homemade Mother’s Day gift to make and give. Let the kids help make this wonderfully clean smelling, non-toxic, moisturizing scrub for their Mother and Grandmothers. It’s so inexpensive. This lemony scrub makes an […]

Choose Holiday Gifts that Encourage Quality Play

How to Promote Quality Play When choosing gifts for children the holiday season it’s best to choose simple toys that promote quality play. According to the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play quality play promotes creativity, language development, physical development, thinking skills, and social skills. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood recommends avoiding […]