Hi Abbie and Maddie here. The holidays are approaching and the pace of life is starting to get busier. This is the time of year we are most thankful to have an extra set of hands to help with the kids. We are reminded daily why hosting an au pair is such a valuable experience. Thank you au pairs for all your hard work. And a special thanks to our au pairs for supporting us through thick and thin!
1. Thank you for joining my family. We have all grown from the opportunity to get to know each other.
2. Thank you for loving my children. They are the light of my life and I can see that you feel the same way.
3. Thank you for starting dinner. You are the reason we can find the time to enjoy healthy meals together as a family.
4. Thank you for making me laugh. I love that we can share in special moments that no one else will understand.
5. Thank you for teaching me patience. I watch you with my children at the end of your 45 hour work week and am astonished that you are so calm and collected.
6. Thank you for potty training my toddler. You stuck with it even after being peed on for the third time in one day.
7. Thank you for holding my babies when they cry. It breaks my heart to leave them every morning and your love for them helps me through my day.
8. Thank you for giving my children baths. Sometimes it’s fun, sometimes its torture. Either way it seems to take forever.
9. Thank you for reading to my children. When you first arrived I could see your struggle with learning English. Now you are confident and it shows.
10. Thank you for not breaking the car again. The first time was plenty.
11. Thank you for cooking us your favorite foods from home. I will always be reminded of you when I eat creme brulee, crepes, lemon pie, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and shish kabob.
12. Thank you for sending me pictures during the day. I love to see my babies having so much fun with you.
13. Thank you for allowing me time to take care of myself. Because you are with my children and help me with chores I am able to find time to go to the gym and salon.
14. Thank you for trying my cooking. I know it is not what you are used to and I’m not a gourmet chef.
15. Thank you for teaching my children to read. I know it is frustrating but they will eventually figure it out.
16. Thank you for helping with the kids’ laundry. How do such tiny humans produce so much laundry?
17. Thank you for picking up the house before I get home. After a long day it is so nice to not have to step on Legos and trip over toys.
18. Thank you for noticing we are almost out of milk. You have saved breakfast from milk meltdowns more times than I can count.
19. Thank you for holding my sick baby when I can’t be there. I will never understand why my children are always sick when there is a big presentation scheduled at work.
20. Thank you for putting up with my attitude when I was pregnant. I swear it was the hormones talking. Or maybe the sleep deprivation.
21. Thank you for convincing my kids to try new foods. I know they always want macaroni and cheese and it is hard to say no when they give you that look.
22. Thank you for quietly sneaking away when I fought with my spouse. I’m so sorry that you saw that side of my marriage.
23. Thank you for staying late when I got stuck in traffic. I even left work on time today.
24. Thank you for getting my kids to school on time. And with full bellies, matching shoes, warm coats, and packed bags.
25. Thank you for holding me while I cried. Every day can’t be the best day of my life.
26. Thank you for loving my pets (even though it is not your job).
27. Thank you for being you. I am a better person for having spent time with you.
28. Thank you for teaching my children to say “please” and “thank you”. A one year old saying “thank you” is about the cutest thing I have ever seen.
29. Thank you again for helping with the laundry. SO MUCH LAUNDRY!
30. Thank you for running to the store during the day. We always seem to be missing one ingredient for dinner and the lines are always really long on my way home from work.
31. Thank you for noticing that the kids’ pants are too short and shirts too snug. The kids are always growing like weeds.
32. Thank you for helping during the holidays. I love it when my children’s eyes light up with with the wonder of the season.
33. Thank you for reminding my kids to take their muddy boots off by the door. I am so tired of cleaning prints off the floor!
34. Thank you for getting my kids out of the house. There are so many fun things to see and do.
35. Thank you for keeping my kids off their tablets. I know it is easier and they whine, a lot!
36. Thank you for telling me when you need something. We want you to be happy and comfortable.
37. Thank you for cleaning out the back of the fridge. I have no idea what that was or how long it has been there.
38. Thank you for organizing the kids’ toys. Ponies are more fun with brushes and trains are more fun with tracks.
39. Thank you for being safe. With my kids and in your personal time.
40. Thank you for celebrating your birthday with me. I swear I’m fun!
41. Thank you for driving my kids all over town. Why did I sign them up for so many activities?
42. Thank you for being polite to my crazy neighbor. We want to slam the door in her face, too.
43. Thank you for bringing in the mail. I am jealous that you receive things other than bills and junk.
44. Thank you for keeping in touch with my last au pair. I love that my kids can still talk to her, even though It is impossible for us to talk regularly with the kids because of the time difference.
45. Thank you for making yourself comfortable in my home. We want you to feel like this is your home too.
46. Thank you for cleaning up those little disasters. Was it poop or chocolate? Do I really want to know?
47. Thank you for doing crafts with my kids. I have been saving fun projects to Pinterest for years and never find time to do them.
48. Thank you for being consistent. My kids thrive when they have a regular routine.
49. Thank you for being ready to work a few minutes early. It is a relief to know that I will be about to get out of the house on time.
50. Thank you for sharing your culture with us. I am very curious about what life is like in other parts of the world.
51. Thank you for teaching me about new forms of social media. Old dogs can learn new tricks
52. Thank you for being flexible. I try to create your schedule ahead of time but sometimes life happens.
53. Thank you for making sure their homework is completed and returned to school on time. This is just one less thing for me to worry about between dinner and bed. And it’s nice not to worry about one more deadline.
54. Thank you for signing for my packages and meeting with the cable guy. I really needed to be at work and they gave me a 4-hour service window in the middle of the work day.
55. Thank you for maintaining my rules with the children even when I’m not around. I wouldn’t have made it a rule if I didn’t think it was important.
56. Thank you for asking questions. I can’t help you be successful if I don’t know where you are struggling.
57. Thank you for continuing to try, even when I can tell it’s hard for you.
58. Thank you for all the little things. They do not go unnoticed.
59. Thank you for making it the recitals and the big games. It means so much to my children when you can see them perform and they don’t understand what it means to be “off duty”.
60. Thank you for keeping us all together at the airport. One of the kids always heads in the opposite direction.
61. Thank you for stashing snacks in your purse. My kids can’t seem to survive 10 minutes without something to eat.
62. Thank you for cleaning dog poop off my child’s shoe. Their little feet are drawn to dog poop like a moth to a flame.
63. Thank you for letting me have one-on-one time with each of my children.
64. Thank you for bringing me things I forgot at home. Like my lunch one day, my phone another day, my computer that one time….
65. Thank you for taking all of my quirks in the ways I want things done in stride. I try to let things go, but there are some things that I want done just so.
66. Thank you for taking my kids outside at least once a day, even when it’s winter, cold, and wet. The fresh air is good for them.
67. Thank you for watching movies with us as a family when you probably want to go to your room. It’s super sweet when my kids want to cuddle with you instead of me, and share your blanket and popcorn.
68. Thank you for discovering in my city. Your tips inspire my own adventures.
69. Thank you for watching light-hearted chick flick movies with me. My husband is not interested and the kids aren’t yet old enough to understand.
70. Thank you for not being (too) jealous when we start interviewing our next au pair. We wish you could stay with us forever, too!
71. Thank you for keeping in touch even after you go back home to your family. I wish I wrote you more often. At least you can still see pictures of the family on Facebook and Google Photos.
72. Thank you for being young and full of energy. I may not be that old, but sometimes I feel old.
73. Thank you for being my secret stash of ice cream buddy. My husband just doesn’t understand.
74. Thank you for sharing your playlists with us and for making playlists with my kids. They love asking Google and Alexa to play their songs.
75. Thank you for making it your mission to visit every single library in our library system. And for doing a tour of the parks to find the perfect one. I love that you get my kids out and about!
76. Thank you for finding ways to get my kids’ energy out, like running them around outside or taking them to the children’s museum. If only we could harness that energy…we could power cities with it.
77. Thank you for listening to my children’s jokes. Don’t worry, they don’t make sense to me either.
78. And thank you again for helping with the laundry!
What about you?
Why are you thankful for your au pair? Leave us a comment below or head over to the My Au Pair and Me Host Parent Community on Facebook. It’s nice to talk to other host families and know you’re not alone!
Follow Us
