Pretty in Pink at the NCT Chiswick Christmas Fare!

Despite the snow and icy conditions Happy Home successfully completed our Arctic adventure to Chiswick Townhall for the NCT Chiswick Christmas Fare.

We had a long hard think of a fun and interesting activity that children would enjoy doing. As it was Christmas we finally decided on decorating Christmas cookies and us being the charitable bunch we are we decided not to charge for the activity but to ask for donations. The cookies were made at home by Renata using the same recipe we used for the cookies we made for our candidates.

The doors opened at 2:30pm and the hours flew by in a haze of children and stickiness. We only had a few small breaks to try and clean up before more children headed our way.At 5pm it was time to shut up shop and clean the stickiness away.

We arrived with 5 boxes of cookies and left with 1 and a donation cup totalling £18 which we consider a success!

Festive Opening Times!

It is that time of year again when people take time off to celebrate and enjoy the festive period and here at Happy Home we are no different.

Happy Home Offcial Opening Times!

Christmas Eve - Friday 24th December 2010 - Open 9am - 1pm

Christmas Day - Saturday 25th December 2010 - CLOSED

Boxing Day - Sunday 26th December 2010 - CLOSED

Bank Holiday - Monday 27th December 2010 - CLOSED

Bank Holiday - Tuesday 28th December 2010 - CLOSED

Wednesday 29th December 2010 - Open 9am - 5.30pm

Thursday 30th December 2010 - Open 9am - 5.30pm

New Years Eve - Friday 31st December 2010 - CLOSED

New Years Day - Saturday 1st January 2011 - CLOSED

Sunday 2nd January 2011 - CLOSED

Bank Holiday - Monday 3rd January 2011 - CLOSED

We would like to thank you all for your continued support over the past year. We wish you all joy and happiness over the festive period and of course the New Year.

We look forward to hearing from you in 2011!

Remeber the Christmas cookies we made?

Well here's the recipe to make some yummy cookies yourself.

What you will need:

350g of treacle
225g of dark brown soft sugar
150ml of cold water
50g of butter
900g of plain flour
1 tablespoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of all spice
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
1 teaspoon of ground cloves
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
Christmas cookie cutters of your choice
Decorations of your choice

What you will need to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/ Gas mark 4 and lightly grease the baking tray (or cover the tray with grease proof paper)

2. Mix the treacle, brown sugar, water and butter together.

3. Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and all spices. Then add the sugar mixture and mix well. Make it into a ball, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

4. Then you will need to roll the dough to about 5cm thick on a floured surface. Cut with the Christmas cookie cutters and repeat until all the dough is used up. Put the shapes on to the baking tray and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

5. Let them cool and then let the decoration commence!

Hopes yours turn out as yummy as ours!

Need some advice on what to give your Nanny/Housekeeper to celebrate the holiday season?

Are you thing about giving a gift or a holiday bonus but unsure on what to give? We have some suggestions which maybe able to help you.

If your Nanny/Houskeeper has been with you for some time it would be nice to give a gift and a bonus. Or if you have only recently hired your Nanny/Housekeeper a gift would be ideal. It is nice for you to acknowledge them even if its a small gesture.

Now the big question............. How much should I give as a bonus?

We suggest the bonus should be equivalent to a weeks pay if your Nanny/Housekeeper has been with you for 1 to 3 years. If they have been with you over 3 years we suggest a bonus that is equivalent to 2 weeks pay.

The holiday season is about giving; showing people close to you that you appreciate them. Your appreciation cannot always be measured by the gift you give but like the saying goes it's the thought that counts.

Happy Home 'Lady of the Year' 2010

At Happy Home every year we ask every client who we have placed a candidate with it they would like to nominate them for 'Lady/Gentleman of the Year' and present the awards during our annual Christmas Party. This year was no different and we were inundated with nominations. After a good couple of days deciding and then re-deciding who would win we got some last minute nominations just to make the decision that much harder.

There were 2 people who stood out amongst them all so we decided to have a runner up as well as a winner.
Just to give you an idea of how hard it was to decide who the runner up should be here's what the employer said about her.

"Everybody always says that having a child is the most amazing event of one's life, but no one ever talks about how hard it is to trust your most precious gem with someone else.

As a first time mother who has a demanding city job as a broker and manager, I didn't have the luxury of much time off. This meant that at just 3 months old, I had to trust someone else with my little love full time.

Enter our angel!

I first met her when I was 6 months pregnant and I knew immediately she was the person I could trust my little son with. My instinct has always served me well and it didn't disappoint this time.....

She started with us the next month as a nanny/housekeeper because I felt it was crucial I get to know her before my baby was born.

She's been there every step of the way. Pre birth to his birth and now 9 months later.

Our excitement as parents when he reaches each milestone is always equal to hers! She takes pride in him like he's her own. She never lets him out of her sight. She showers him with love and attention. She is warm, kind, funny, easygoing and hardworking....but most of all I trust her.

She is now part of our family and my son would not be the confident smiley baby he is today if it weren't for her.

No one deserves this award more......."

Happy Home are pleased to announce that Malinie Hewavitharange is our runner up of 'Lady of the Year'! Well done Mali!!!!

Now on to the winner of the coveted 'Lady of the Year' award.........

This announcement was met by tears as our 'Lady of the Year' started to cry as soon as she realised that it was her we were talking about. Us being the sensitive lot we all soon followed her lead and had tears in our eyes as she said a very tearful acceptance speech. Here's what her employer said about her that made us say she's the one!

"Last year not only did she help look after our daughters but also helped look after my mother who came to live with us for six months while she underwent treatment for cancer. She showed such care and consideration to my mother that she and my mother have now become friends.

I was unwell this year and had to take over two months off work and all throughout this time, she was so kind and considerate towards me. She has also become a very good friend to me.

We are thrilled that this year, her husband was finally granted entry to the UK and is now living with her. However, for the past two years since she got married, she has had to go through extremely tough appeal process in order to enable her and her husband to be together. She has also shown enormous resilience and, despite going through a very tough and emotional time, has never let this affect her work and always been cheerful and happy with us and especially our daughters.

She is absolutely part of our family and given everything she has gone through, we really do believe that she is so deserving of a special recognition award."

Happy Home are extremely pleased to annouce that Winiprida Antany is our 'Lady of the Year'. Well done Wini!!!!