Our yayas (nannies) are important part of our family. Gone are the days when  nannies are treated unjustly. Some (and I hope) most families treat their loyal and loving yayas like family. Imagine our yayas do a lot of physical work to take good care of our children and somehow act like parents when we need to attend to something important. Our children will also see how we treat the yayas and helpers and this will in a way be how they will treat them when they grow up. As parents, it is best to lead by example always.

We’re pretty sure you’ve thought of what to give yaya/s for Christmas and here’s sharing some ideas you may want to consider this Christmas or in the coming years. A loyal and worthy yaya deserves these. You may choose one or more from this list.

Cash

Cash gifts are always appreciated by anyone. It gives the recipient the freedom to choose what she wants to do with the money, You can give 10-20% or more of their monthly salary as a gift. If you want to make it more unique, give them gift certificates from leading Department Stores or Supermarkets. You may give them Sodexo gift certificates too.

Free Movie Day

December in the Philippines is a festival of local movies. Some make it tradition to watch the movies with their family and be critics in their own right. It is a big celebration in the movie industry in the Philippines and it’s called the Metro Manila Film Festival. Yayas will appreciate a day off for movie or a movie pass to watch her favorite celebrities. Don’t forget to give pocket money for popcorn and drinks! It will be a good break from their everyday work.

You may buy movie tickets in advance for them if you want but make sure the ticket you’ll get is for a movie they want to watch.

Kicks

We all know that yayas move a lot. They run after kids, walk around fixing stuff, and go with us in short mall trips and others. A quality and comfortable shoes will keep them comfortably at ease while they do their work. They can efficiently run after toddler too (for those who have tots and babies).

For durability and if you have a higher budget, Payless shoes and Crocs are the top choices of most moms. But you can also check apartment stores or bazaars for more options.

Bags

Like everyone else, yayas love fashion and bags too. Some prefer those backpacks so they can use it when take days off from work or easy to bring around with a toddler is they will take it with them while on the job.

If you’re on a budget, you can get them something local and durable like those bags made from Marikina or those nice bags from Lazada is good too. You may also get them a classic Longchamp if you have a budget or some Anello-Like bag perhaps?

Hygiene Kit

I find it very useful to give this to helpers. A hygiene kit ideally includes a comb or hair brush set, pony tails, nail grooming kit – tweezers, nail clippers, pusher, file, etc. and they’re contained in a nice pouch. You may add a little supplies too.

You can build your own kit and buy the supplies from department stores.

Day or Days Off

You may give yayas free days off like 1 day or maybe up to a week. If you have small kids, it is understandable that it will be very difficult for you to have no help around the house. I’m sure yayas will appreciate a day of rest or more.

Just plan ahead so you won’t have a hard time with all the events during the holidays.

Christmas basket

Christmas baskets are always happy baskets. I always see the happiness in every person’s face when they receive a basket full of goodies. Don’t you feel like it’s such wonderful treat? Think also if your yaya needs it or not. Maybe his / her family is not nearby so bringing it to them will still be hard for her.

There are affordable ones from Landmark Supermarkets and other groceries or supermarkets too.

If you can give one or more of the above items, why not right? We sometimes forget and don’t really how much of a big help our yayas are. They attend to the things we cannot when we need to attend to other things. If you’re yaya is worthy and deserving, treat them like family and they’ll love you back in many ways.