So December is a crazy month for me this year. My wonderful Nanny Family (NF) is gearing up for their long-planned move to Asheville at the end of the month. While I will be sad to see them go, I have known that move was planned since I first took the job so I am excited to see them start the next chapter of their life. Originally they had planned a move date of January 6th (my birthday - easy enough to remember) which seemed incredibly fortuitous as I was offered a position with a new family starting on the 7th. They were lucky enough to have sold their house in less than 2 days for more than their asking price thanks to some wonderful staging and a truly kick-ass real estate agent. The quick sale came with a quick closing date of December 20th necessitating an acceleration of their moving plans. So now they are moving just after Christmas (staying with family until then) and leaving me with just enough vacation days this month to put me on the edge of losing my mind!
Christmas shopping of course present it's own unique set of complications that no one ever realizes as a child. One of the nice parts of being one half of a couple is that presents become joint ventures, balancing out the effective doubling of your list. I tackle Christmas gifts with 3 lists; Acquaintances & Coworkers, Clients & Colleagues, and Family & Friends.
Acquaintances & Coworkers receive something small and usually homemade, but still useful and not junk. This year that means gifts in a jar! Each person gets a jar with all the ingredients for a homemade soup or stew ready to go with directions on the tag.
Clients & Colleagues are important because they are your link to the rest of the community and the referrals that can produce. I haven't yet settled on a gift for this category yet, but will probably have Christmas cards printed up paired with a small (but useful) child/baby related gift.
Friends & Family is the classic "Christmas List" category where each person receives one or more gifts that can range in price from inexpensive to over a hundred dollars. These are the people you get stocking stuffers for and don't open the presents until Christmas. My list this year looks like:
Boyfriend
BF's Mom
BF's Step-dad
BF's Grandparents
My Mom
My Dad
My Sister & Her Boyfriend
My Brother
My Nanny Family
So, overall this is not a terribly long list. I include my NF on this list because they deserve more than just a generic clients gift. While each nanny takes on gift-giving occasions in the NF differently, I've always preferred to get a gift for my charge(s), and something for one or both of the parents (usually the mother) if and only if I find something that is particularly suited to them.
The last gift I give for Christmas is more of a charitable tradition than a gift. During the month of December all debts are forgiven. I vaguely remember something in the bible about canceling debts once a year, but for me this is just an excuse to say "don't worry about it" more often. If I loan someone some money or pick them up something while I'm at the store, this month it is just a small gift. If they do pay me back anyways, I consider it a gift as well.
While I would love to be able to make a charitable donation, my finances usually do not permit me such flexibility, but this does not mean I forgo charity all together. I prefer constant small acts of charity throughout the year. These acts of compassion towards our fellow man are all too rare these days, but are something that gives me great inner joy. People seem to be more aware and more charitable around the holidays, but try to keep that feeling all year long. Bring a coffee to the salvation army bell ringer! Offer a bottle of water to the sign spinners in the summer! Just take the chance to do something small and it will make a big difference for someone else.
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