We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, where ever you celebrated it. We had a white Christmas enjoying the slopes, as did our nannies that were lucky enough to have the day off. For those that were working they have said how magical it was to work with the children on that special day. The magic of Christmas just isn't the same unless the sparkle of children and laughter are involved!

The summer may be far off your mind, but when you have time please take into consideration Kids in Greece. Our equally exceptional service that we offer in many of the Greek Islands with a lovely team of Nannies to make your holiday stress-less and trouble free. All of the team are qualified, experienced and filled with bags full of energy and enthusiasm to have fun with your children.
 
 
We all like an offer...

We are expecting lots more snow to fall over the next week, so let's hope for a great start to the New Year. To make sure our nannies have a great season and don't get TOO much time to ski ;-) we have availability for the following;
Samoëns- w/c 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th January.
Megeve- w/c 13th and 20th January and 1st March
St Anton- w/c 8th February and 1st March
Ischgl- w/c 15th and 22nd February
Meribel-w/c 18th and 25th January and 1st March
Courchevel-w/c 25th January and 1st and 8th March
Chamonix-w/c 8th and 15th January and 1st March
La Clusaz 11th and 18th January and 8th February
 
 
Fashion in the chalet
 
Here's a useful tip from one of our Nannies. "I love to take the children out to explore in the snow, making snow angels, snowmen or going on an adventure. When we get back to the chalet, nothing beats getting all cosy in a nice, warm, highly fashionable onesie! The kids love it when we dress up together and then complete our day with fun and games wearing our onesies. It is a nice thing to do with them at the end of the week when they are worn out and need some time to relax. So if you have a onesie for your child, please pack it, the funkier the better!! "
 
Thank you all for your support and we wish you all the best for a happy and healthy 2014.
 
Happy New Year!
 
Kind regards
Katia
www.merinannies.com
www.kidsingreece.com
0044 7860925055

Some activity ideas from our Nannies

As you are ticking off the days in the run up to your well-earned break, our nannies are busy gathering ideas and sharing activities with each other, to make your child's holiday as memorable as yours. Here are some of the wonderful ideas that are being shared.

There are of course the old classic party games, pass the parcel and musical statues, the Snowman Scramble, ideal for a large group of children. Split the group into equal and fair teams, mixing up the ages. Take a coat, hat, scarf, gloves and even a home-made snowman nose.
Each team has to dress their snowman with no help from the designated snowman. The quickest team wins!

A little something extra

We can offer a photographic package to your booking, this will contain pictures taken of your children while in the care of your Nanny. Showing you all the interesting and exciting experiences they have had while on their holiday. It is  a nice memory for you and also lovely for the children to look back on or as a reminder for your next ski trip. For prices please ask us.

Our festive offers...

Fancy a last minute get away for Christmas?

We have added new nannies in Samoens and St Anton /Lech so we can offer you some great deals.

Samoens, Megeve , St Anton/Lech, weeks 15 December and 4 January, 10% discount for a week’s booking based on 5 or more days half or full time.
Meribel/Courchevel/La Tania, weeks 4 and 18 January 10% for every day booked
St Anton /Lech, week 4 and 18 January 10% discount for every day booked.

We wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas!

Katia Koumantou

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0044 7860 925 055
www.merinannies.com

What the press says about us...
 
We love to hear good things said about us, something we strive for on a daily basis. So we thought we would share the latest review with you.

The Family Traveller website has this to say about us “A flexible approach to alpine childcare- first rate childcare specially tailored to your holiday needs” follow the link to read the rest of the review: http://www.familytraveller.com/travel/destination/fr/meribel/ski-in-ski-out-nannies
 
The London based magazine Angels and Urchins also has good things to say about us. "Editor Annie was caught in a familiar conundrum with five-year-old twins not wanting to ski for more than a couple of hours a day. She booked a nanny through Merinannies. They pulled the rabbit out of the bag a lovely, kind, responsible nanny. Nothing was too much trouble. She even got the twins out of bed on the last few days as their tiredness began to show."
 
Let Merinannies add some extra sparkle to your Christmas break
 
We have some tempting offers for you to make the most of your holiday and help to make it a little more special. Due to demand we have taken on more nannies this year, so make the most of our expanding portfolio by taking a 10% discount on the following dates for full time bookings and 5% for part time.

Samoens- week from 21st December

Megeve, Samoens, St Anton and Lech- week 11th January and week 18th January.

Top Notch Nannies

We are honoured to offer the quality of Nannies that are in our portfolio, all are CRB (police) checked, first aid trained, speak fluent English and other languages, come highly recommended from previous employers with glowing references and qualifications a plenty. In each of our resorts we are proud to offer Nannies to cater for children who have learning difficulties and disabilities, with specialisms from SEN training to Makaton, so everyone can enjoy their time in the snow.

Take a look at some of our Nannies on file: http://www.merinannies.com/index.php/our-service-nannies/nannies
 

Warm regards
Katia Koumantou
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0044 7860925055
www.merinannies.com

THE PLUS FACTOR

Famille Plus Montagne is a national label awarded to tourist destinations offering services tailored to families with children. They promise to offer, a personal welcome to families with children, entertainment that is suitable for all ages, special offer tariffs for children and older people, activities for young and old to enjoy together or separately, all essential shops and services on hand and most importantly, high quality childcare by professional staff.

Le Grand Bornand offers a Kids Spa where children aged between 6 and 12 years old can experience the a little pampering, just like their parents.

Fun treatments are on offer: "Sandman" (massage), "Chocolate wrap" "1,2,3 Sun" (mother-daughter manicure), "Softly, Softly" (soft sugar scrub), and "Twinkling Star"(facial). Prices start at 30€ for 30 mins. There's also a treatment specially for teenagers (€45) and an introdution to applying natural makeup at €35 for 45 minutes.
The products used are excellent for young skins.

Here at Merinannies we cover most of the resorts that have been awarded this certification as well as the pampering packages.

Planning your trip
This can be stressful. “Don't forget to take this”.... “Do I need to take that?” Here are a few pointers to help take those stresses away.

Choosing the correct ski school can be the make or break of your holiday, so make sure you choose carefully. Take a look at comeskiwith.me it takes you step by step through choosing the correct ski instructor/school and we have links on our website too. Our nannies will also keep your children practising after the ski lesson (if required),or come up on the mountain to ski with you.

Resorts that are close to theairports are ideal when travelling with children, with as little as a 1 hour transfer to Samoens, Les Carroz, Morillon, La Clusaz, Grand Bournand, Megeve, St Gervais, Contamines and Chamonix from Geneva this can add to the adventure of the holiday rather than a stressful necessity. Also Ischgl and St Anton are only 55 minutes by train from Innsbruck, so worth considering.

Clothing is also another stress that can be avoided if prepared correctly, cold children equal grumpy children! In our experience mittens are better than gloves, they are easier to put on quickly and fingers can keep warm together. Goggles keep out the harmful UV rays from the sun and form a snow proof seal around their eyes. It is advisable to pack sunglasses if you are planning to eat outside at lunch. Sun cream is also essential, as even on cloudy days you are at risk of being burnt. Ski socks should be long, reaching the children's knees if possible, so they are at less risk of slipping down and causing blisters. Lastly, snow boots, great for keeping little toes warm so they can play out in the snow as long as possible, very comfy to travel in too, avoiding taking space up in the luggage.

Party time
We like to be able to tailor our service to each family, celebrating your child's birthday or Christmas can be made a special occasion even away from home. Don't forget to contact us with special requests ranging from shopping to present/parcel delivery as a surprise for the children.

Our nannies like to play party games and can arrange a small party in the comfort of your chalet or accommodation, providing the children with fun games and crafts. Snowman scramble is a great indoor game and snow graffiti is popular for outdoors.

Children are like snowflakes, no two are ever the same...

Looking forward to seeing you soon
Warmest regards
Katia
0044 7860925055
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The London Ski and Snowboard show celebrated 40 years this week with fine wine, indoor ski slope, ice ring, ski lessons, expert advice, shops and music. It’s not every day you get the opportunity to meet and stroke some huskies and some lovely St Bernards, but as a visitor you could do that too.
The kids were really entertained trying curling on the Monarch Curling Lanes where they were advertising free ski carriage if you book your flights early. There were one day free lift passes from a variety of resorts too including the 3 Valleys and St Anton in Austria. 

Little Skiers stand was a delight with some excellent child friendly bits and we managed to get lots of copies of “Monty goes Skiing” by Richard Liddle. Our Merinannies will love to share this beautiful story with all our little clients of any age.

The gossip…
Editor of Angels and Urchins Annie Reid went skiing last winter in Courchevel and used our services.
”Merinannies pulled the rabbit out of the bag with a lovely, kind and responsible nanny. Nothing was too much trouble. She even got the twins out of bed on the last few days as their tiredness began to show…”

 
What's new?
Our recruitment is now complete for this winter although we still get new additions as we go along. You can view most (but not all) of our wonderful nannies here

Our nannies have been selected for their genuine interest and experiences in childcare, their warm personalities, and for their love of the snow and life on the mountains.

And finally…
We cover some of the world’s best ski resorts with fine and flexible childcare.
Sunny slopes, soft powder, long lazy lunches, perfect peaks, party scene, shopping, gastronomy, the lot! From the worlds’ biggest ski area of the 3 Valleys to some smaller and family focused places like La Clusaz and Grand Bornand, Morrillon, Les Carroz and Samoens..

 
What’s next?
- Pick a family friendly resort with a good ski school
- Book your childcare with Merinannies for peace of mind and fun for the kids
- Choose your accommodation independently, catered or not
- Book your flights and go!

And for families with teenage children and young parents who like to rave on the snow we cover some excellent resorts like Ischgl and St Anton too!

Looking forward to seeing you soon
Warmest regards
Katia
0044 7860925055
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www.merinannies.com