Need Christmas Present(s) Idea(s) for In-Home Daycare Sitter!!!-HELP!!

Another idea that might not cost too much is to make up several freezer meals for her family. I know for myself, also an in home care provider, sometimes the hardest thing for me to do is go cook dinner right after the kids have left. So if you enjoy cooking, it might be a fun way to go. I have even made choc. chip cookie dough and frozen it in balls to just grab some to cook when we need them. Just a thought...it is great that you are thinking of her already:) ~A.~

I think things that pamper her would be best. The spafinder card is a great idea. You could also get a certificate for pedicure/manicure or something like that. I'm sure she would appreciate something that would allow her time to relax and enjoy some quiet.

I am ani in-home day care provider and the best gifts ihave recieved in the past were spa gift certificates. Taking care of children is the best job ever, but my body gets tired and my back often hurts from picking up kids and twisting. The spa gift is really nice but usually is a one time gift, so nice bath salts are nice too. That way she can relax whenever she feels the need.

T.,

In Mesquite, there is a massage school that give massages for $25. per half hour. I have been there, and it is wonderful! (Keep in mind I have never been to a "real" spa or massage place!)
They are very professional from the time you walk in the door. When you are in the room where the massage takes place, the lights are dim, soothing music is playing, and you get to choose if you want to take all your clothes off, or just some of them.
The only thing that shows it is a school, is after your massage, when you go out to leave, they ask that you fill out a survey. The people rubbing you are about to graduate - and they need to be "graded" by the customer! It is very short. Less than 5 minutes.
Heck - all of us ladies deserve this - not just the babysitter! :)

Merry Christmas!! (Am I the first one to say it here?!)
E.

I used to do in home daycare and nothing was better than a Christmas 'bonus'!! A little extra money or giftcard was appreciated more than anything.

My son is also in an In Home Day Care. We got her a gift card to Applebee's, she is on weightwatchers and they have a great weightwatchers menu. I know people have done fruit baskets, gift cards and other small momentos. We also give her a christmas picture that we have taken at Portrait Innovations of our son.

You could look into getting her a spafinder gift card. A friend of mine got one for me and I loved it. If you go to spafinder.com you can get more info on it. It lists a bunch of spas that accept the gift card and if someone gives you a 25 dollar card you can get a 50 dollar treatment and only have to pay 25 out of pocket for it.

Other than that I know that my aunt used to run an in home daycare and she loved to get Bath and Body Works and salon gift cards to have her hair hot oil conditioned.
She also liked getting gift cards to places to get comfy shoes.

Hope this helps a bit. :)

I am a registered day care provider for the last 16 mo and most people do not realize how much work this is. I had two people listed that quit within a few months and decided to get jobs. I love what I do. I get to see the things I missed with my family. A gift on a tight budget would be just a card with a nice thank you. Even an extra $20 or less.Also most do not realize the expense of this. I wash continually, clean and replace toys because I do not wan the children bored. I like teaching them computer skills, cooking, swimming. Doing it alone I have to mow the yard, cook and clean and wash the car and do all the house repairs. I love also teaching manners where children have respect for each other and my home. Some times I scrimp to just have the food and go in debt to make sure it is there. So extra toys for the kids or paper plates or food would help. Crafts for the children to do. I have computers so programs would help. Books to donate, even used. G. W

Hi T.,
I graduated from SWT too! I think a gift card to Kohl's would be nice. They have such amazing sales and promotions constantly that if you got her a $30 gift card, if she's smart, she can EASILY turn that into $60 worth of merchandise. Just a thought, but with Christmas coming up, I'm sure she has gifts to buy, too and a gift card would come in handy.

T.,

You can always go the pampering route....$25 gift cert. to have a maincure or pedicure. You could get a cert for her to go out and eat. If that's too much money, make her something. Get a picture of the kids. Take a piece of construction paper or colored posterboard, cut it out so that there is two inches over around the edge of the picture, before you glue the picture on it, have your 23 month old color on it all over, especially the edges. Then, glue the picture on the front and glue a strip magnet on the back, that way your babysitter can put it on the refrigerator. The total cost would be about $5 and a little time.

T.,
There are so many ideas you could with depending on what she likes. If she enjoys food, a gift certificate like others mentioned is a good idea or maybe you could make her a basket filled with a themed idea. Here are some I've done in the past:

-Basket of snacks. You can go sweet or salty or mix the two. I enjoy baking so once I made a loaf of banana nut bread and some cookies. I put both of those in a basket along with some hot chocolate (great for those cold days), coffee, hot tea, candies and some other sweet treats teh person liked. GOing with the salty idea could include things like chips, cheese & crackers, trail mix, nuts, etc...

-Pampering basket. I filled one of these with some bath products (bubble bath, a bat mit, lotion, shower gel, etc.), a bottle of wine, scented candle and a music CD with some relaxing music on it. It doesn't have to be expensive. You can burn your own CD, include an inexpensive but good wine, and get some small sizes of bath products for her to try. By the way, Target has a couple of lines of really good bath stuff that is not too expensive.

-I once made a basket for my mother-in-law of her favorite drink. She had once mentioned her favorite alcoholic drink that she orders when she sometimes goes out. She didn't know how to make it but enjoyed it. So I looked up the recipe on the internet and bought all the required ingredients and printed out the recipe on a small card and put it all in a basket with a scented candle, Jazz CD and a glass. She loved it.

-Scrapbook basket. My sister-in-law just got into scrapbooking and enjoying putting her kids photos and their trinkets in them, so for her birthday I got her a small scrapbook, some stickers, paper rounder and some fun papers and put them in a basket for her. I also went on the internet and printed out some ideas for scrapbook pages and put them together with ribbon in the 3 holed pages and made it into a little book that I included.

There are so many things you could do depending on what the person enjoys. Can you tell I enjoy making themed baskets? You don't even have to go the basket route, just find out what she enjoys and go with that.

BY the way, every year we draw names for Christmas with my siblings and my husband's. So it is a surprise who got who, we make each person fill out a small questionnare that asks what their favorite colors are, which stores they enjoy, their hobbies, wish list items and their sizes. This allows us to buy something nice for that person and we know it is something they will want and enjoy. Maybe you could think about creating a little questionnaire for her and get some ideas? Just an idea.

I'm sure whatever you do will be great! It's really the thought that counts.

-M.

Go personalized!! Check out J..yoursmh.com
If you like what you see, contact me and I can help you personalize an ornament from your kids or whatever you like. ____@____.com
I hope that I can help you. You don't have to spend a ton of money for something to be a special gift.

I would TOTALLY go the pampering route!! A gift cert. for a pedi/ massage/ whatever. It doesn't have to be much.

Ask her - turns out mine liked bath soaps and flannel pajamas. I have an affinity for baking - and I love premade (store or home) mixes. The only "big" presents I've enjoyed more than baking mixes and sheets (or bags of flour, cocoa, etc... are my mixer, my oven, and my minivan - and those were all gifts from me. LOL

Hi,
I read the other responses and I think that a pamper basket would be the best, if your babysitter is dealing with kids all day I think mabey a papmer basket with mabey some movie tickets and a gift card for a dinner out and even mabey a gift certificate to get her home cleaned by a pro while she is out(I have a cleaning company and would be happy to give you a good deal). I just think that someone who watchs kids all day would be thrilled to go out to dinner and a movie and when she comes home, her home is clean and fresh looking and smelling great and she can relax. I dont know about you but I would love for someone to do that for me (hehehehe). If you like the idea and are intrested in the cleaning aspect I can be reached at ____@____.com I will give you a good deal. I hope this helps.
'
K.

Just to let you all know that the East branch public Library (on 27th) is hosting a great series on making gifts. They will do something every Tuesday night in the month of November. Most supplies are provided! Give them a call for more information. ###-###-####.

You could put together a nice basket... or large coffee mug with some cocoa or a small candle..or a soap/lotion/puff basket. I am the Queen of Dollar Store basket collections... Dollar Stores have many cool products at a GREAT price... I am sure she will LOVE what you give her if it's from the heart...

or... make her some cookies with the kids help.???!!!!

J.

Here is what I did in the past, it worked great. I asked all the other parents to give money to a holiday fund, whatever they could afford. Then the moms took the teacher out to coffe or dinner and gave here the money all together with a signed card. We went around the table and told the teacher how we felt about her. It worked very well, and everyone contributed something monetary and something emotional and supportive. This way it is collective and one person isn't singled out for not contributing or only being able to give $5. Last year my sons 2 teachers shared $800, there were however 24 students, they were shocked and very appriecative.

i worked in the school system and have had my share of great gifts and ones i could live w/o. a gift card was always a nice one...it could be to starbucks, a neighborhood nail place...even target. for 2 kids, i would suggest at least $10 for each. also, bath and body works stuff is nice too. good luck!