Susan Wildeboer

California Christmas! – tasty cookies and stories from around the world

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Posted by: swildeboer on December 27, 2009

We had a cozy evening, starting off with a delicious cookie exchange. We tasted each other’s cookies and then exchanged them with each other. Everyone went home with a variety of cookies to share with their host families. (Well, at least I think they shared them when they got home!)

As the au pairs arrived I had paired them up to talk about what it was like to celebrate Christmas in their home country and what they treasured about the holiday. Then we gathered around the tree to take photos and enjoy a gift exchange. As each person chose a gift their au pair partner shared what they had discussed about the Christmas holiday. We learned about eating a huge meal and dancing salsa all night in Colombia, about special foods eaten in Germany and we jumped to a discussion about New Year’s Eve in Brazil. There, everyone dresses in white and walks to the beach. As they jump in the waves they make their New Year’s wishes. We thought that would be very cold to do here – but in Brazil it is the middle of their summer on January 1st!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Kids First Charity Giftwrap a SUCCESS!

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Posted by: swildeboer on December 15, 2009

All of us who participated in this event enjoyed ourselves. It was fun to be together and serve other people wrapping their gifts. We were able to explain about Kids First and the work we do in Brazil, New Orleans, South Africa and Russia. Customers were also intrigued by the girls’ accents and their stories about how they came to the US to be au pairs and provide childcare for American families. We raised $150 for this charity.