Do You Say Something?

[Sahm121]

If you want to continue having holiday celebrations with parents donating, I'd go with what others have suggested and set the deadline to bring things in a day or two ahead of the day you actually want to hold the party. That way you know you have what you need or you can get out to buy it if you need to before the big day. I stopped asking for parent contributions because I found I couldn't be sure everyone would do their part. Some parents were very reliable; others not so much.

Now I plan more low-key celebrations - crafts and activities with the holiday theme and I buy a special treat for snack time, but I provide them myself. For Halloween, I tell the parents they can choose to bring the kids in costume or not. I got tired of having to worry about costumes going home in the condition they came in. I understood parents who worried that the costume would be trashed before Halloween night. They wanted the kids to look cute for their grandparents that night and for when they went trick-or-treating but it was too much stress. I've enjoyed the holidays a lot more since I started doing it the way I do know. I give you credit for making it so much fun for your kids, though!

I sent everyone a deadline for the holiday things, except thanksgiving because they’ll bring it the day of. These two families will bring their things the day before because both signed up for things that won’t be refrigerated. One of them today told me to make sure I don’t lose any of the Halloween costume pieces and then had a look of horror when they realized they left the pieces at home 😂!

[e.j.]

That's funny - and the best part was you didn't have to worry about making sure all the pieces were sent home! lol

[Springvalley]

Springvalley I am not sure why the strawberries were that important. Pink eye or not, she insisted on the parent taking the child out of the house when ill or that the parent finds an alternative person to do it for her.

We talk about our clients having backup plans, shouldn't we have the same thing, a backup plan?

I do not know about everyone else but my illness policy stresses that it is in the child's best interest to rest at home.

I totally agree with you Alwaysgreener we always tell our parents that if their kid is sick to keep them at home and they can return when they are well. I also think that's part of the reason that our children's admission forms have a space on the back to put people as an approved pick up list but could also serve as a backup if needed