Abbie and Maddie here. Sometimes in the shuffle and excitement of interviewing and planning for a new au pair, details with your departing au pair can get overlooked. How much do you expect your au pair to clean before they leave? Will there be overlap? Will you want to clean and set things up before your new au pair arrives? Will you give a goodbye gift? There are so many things to think about, so we created a departure checklist!
General Tips – Saying Goodbye to Your Au Pair
- Prepare your children for the transition between au pairs – Check out our blog for helpful tips.
- Find or make a farewell gift for your au pair. Consider a photo book or other small keepsake that can be personalized.
- Plan a goodbye party with your family and/or their friends.
- Confirm your au pair’s transportation and travel month plans. How are they getting to the airport? When is their departure flight?
- Make sure you save time for you and your children to say final goodbyes.
Offboarding Departure Checklist for Host Families and Au Pairs
Are you sure you’ve remembered everything before your au pair leaves? Have you and your au pair discussed his or her travel month? Have you set the expectation with your au pair about cleaning their room and bathroom before they go? Don’t be stuck unable to let your new au pair get an Uber because it’s still under the previous au pair’s login, and more!
Abbie’s Stories
Hi, Abbie here. We planned to have a two-week overlap between our first and second au pair. Sadly, our first au pair’s grandparents passed away right before the second was due to arrive so we sent her home early. We told her to focus on her family and that we would take care of everything.
Our first au pair had already been selling her extra clothes and paring down her belongings. She wasn’t planning on taking advantage of her travel month, and was planning to go home as soon as her contract ended. She had an easy time packing. I took care of the few things she left behind like some backpacks, hiking shoes, and some clothes she couldn’t sell. I figured that either the new au pair could use it or I would donate it to a thrift store.
After a few months on the job, our second au pair had trouble getting an Uber or Lyft account set up. Our family reused the same phone and phone number for au pairs, and the phone number was already tied up from the first au pair. Luckily we were still in contact and got everything straightened out, but that’s when I realized I needed a departure checklist.
Our second au pair was also quite organized. We had an overlap between our second and third au pair. Not only did they get a chance to meet each other, we all had the opportunity to spend Labor Day weekend at a friend’s cabin and go to the rodeo. (Welcome to America, new au pair!) Then my second au pair went on her travel month, but ended up coming home early. She had packed everything up, with the exception of what she took with her for her travel month. It was at my house for a while, but my parents live about an hour closer to the airport so they agreed to take her suitcases for a while. It took a bit of effort and coordination to reunite her and her luggage for her flight home, but in the end we made it.
Even though this was my second time saying goodbye to an au pair, it still felt more chaotic than it should be. Together, Maddie and I agreed we needed a departure checklist. And if we needed one, then other host parents probably needed one too.
Maddie’s Stories
Hi, Maddie here! Each of my five au pair departures have been as unique as my au pairs themselves.
On one end of the spectrum, I had an au pair who packed two weeks early to figure out exactly what she could bring home. She also had her travel month planned out to the minute. She added all her plans to the family calendar let us know exactly where she would be two months in advance.
On the other end of the spectrum, I had an au pair packing 30 after she needed to leave for the airport. Her friends came over to drive her to the airport and ended up shoving everything they could into her suitcases for her. She ended up leaving some important things behind and left a mess for me to clean up.
And in between I had an au pair who did a great job cleaning the bedroom and bathroom but totally forgot to clean the au pair car. My new au pair only mentioned how bad the car was when she arrived when she was getting ready to leave herself. I felt terrible that it didn’t even cross my mind to check the au pair car.
Abbie and I made this departure checklist to avoid another last minute disaster!
Offboarding Departure Checklist for Host Families and Au Pairs
Are you sure you’ve remembered to do everything before your au pair leaves? Do you have your house key and garage door remote? Does your au pair know how they get to the airport and when they need to leave to get there on time? Did your au pair remember all her personal items from the au pair car and clean it for the next au pair?
Download our Free PDF to help you out! Want to modify the checklist for your own family? Editable versions in Word, PowerPoint, Google Docs, and Slides are also available.
Further Reading About Au Pair Departures
- Cultural Care article on preparing for your au pair’s departure
- Checkout task list: Advice for when your au pair departs by AuPairMom.com – a checklist of things she suggests to do
- Ending the au pair year on the right note from AuPairMom.com – great article about sitting down and discussing (realistic) expectations for the last 4-8 weeks of your au pair’s time with you.
- Dealing with (unwanted) overlap by AuPairMom.com – ideas in case you didn’t want the two au pairs to meet, but things…happen….
How Did Your Last Au Pair Departure Go?
How about you? What things did you do when your au pair left? Have any tips or tricks or stories to share? We’d love to hear them in the comments below.
Or if you’re a host family, pop on over to our My Au Pair and Me Host Family Community on Facebook. It’s nice to talk to other host families and know you’re not alone!
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