What are you all doing for Christmas break childcare?

[waverly]

This is the first year we are not at the daycare.  So I have 3 choices:

1. Stay home with them for part of it.  Probably will do this the week after Christmas.  I am off Fri Dec 22-Wed Dec 27 and H could probably watch them the 28th and 29th.
2. Sign them up for the camp through the aftercare.  Usually when they have the camp, they watch a movie maybe, go outside if it is warm enough, do a craft.
3.  Or it looks like the park district has a sports camp for the first week in Jan.  The kids go to the regular camp, and then 2 hours a day for 3 days learn all the sports.  The ages are separate though so they won't be together during the camp.  5 year olds in the morning and 7 year olds in the afternoon for the sports portion.  It would probably be good for the 7 year old.  

I will also ask them if they have a preference. 

Also question for akafred since I think your DD has done both and other people if you have any insight.  DS has OT every other Tuesday at 3.  Since they are working on core, the session was mostly a workout/ in the gym. 

Would you think it would be too much for me to sign him up for the little kids basketball league on the same day?- It's every Tuesday though not every other.  He is not high energy.  More low to medium energy.  It just happens to fall on the same day.  Thursday is PT, so it would be the same problem on Thursdays although I imagine PT to be slightly more strenuous. PT wants him back into sports now that his ankles are not as stiff (less chance of energy), but I don't think PT was thinking about the change of double workouts.  There are no other league sports until fall for soccer since DS is not a fan of baseball. 

[katrine05]

DD is off school from the 23rd to January 8th. I've booked the whole time off work. I'm lucky I have lots of vacation days.

Our office is closed the 25th to 27th. We decided to head to Mexico from the 2nd to the 9th since her and I were already off and we've been wanting to go on vacation. In future years I might sign her up for camps for part of the time off.

[hocus2]

Our local Y runs a camp. They sometimes do a movie or other outing. Other days the kids stay onsite swimming, taking art classes, get time in the gym. It isn't the most awesome experience ever but it is affordable and fine.

It is the closest winter camp I'm familiar with. There are others closer to where my DH works but they all tend to wrap up around 5:30 and he's never done by then.

Another option would be to hire a sitter who is home from college during the break. My friends do that and it ends up being about the same as the camps since she has multiple kids.

[186momx]

DD is off the 18th-1st.
The 18th-22nd she is doing gymnastics camp from 8:30-1 and I'm trying to find someone to pick her up and bring her to me at work for $$. I have a family in mind who could use some extra $s and have offered this in the past.

The 26th she is working for my office helping with tax organizer packets

Before/Aftercare offer camp at $27 per day so she is going there on the 27th & 28th (they hang around and do crafts/movies/recess), one day she is there they have field trip planned.

For Spring break I will just do the before/aftercare camp as I will be too far into tax season for me to stress about rides and stuff to do a camp or anything else.

[sunbutter]

My kids are out of school from 12/20 till 1/4.
Part will be covered by my PTO, part will be covered by DH PTO. School has some vacation care that we can use and we have an expensive babysitter to call if all else fails.

[2chatter]

My kids are only off 12/21 - 1/3. The only day I am not off with them is 1/2. I’m thinking a gymnastics camp that day for the younger two and whatever the older one wants - drop her somewhere.

[supertrooper1]

For some reason, our school district decided to have the last day on December 15th this year. Luckily DH is a teacher so he's off. But that's a long time for them to be home this year.

[justcheckingin73]

I was just looking at the calendar and realized that my company holidays are the 22nd and 25th but my kids still go to school on the 22nd so I get a free day. This kind of thing hasn’t happened since daycare!

I have a lot of time left to take off so I’ll probably be off most of the week between Christmas and New Years with the kids. I also need to find out if our PTO is use it or lose it - this is my first full year here so I’m not sure. I hope I can carryover because I don’t think I’ll be able to take the 10 days that I have banked.

Otherwise, they will be home with me since I WFH and they are used to doing their own thing while I work.

[akafred]

My company closes the week of Christmas so I will be home. DH is also taking vacation that week. I am also taking the week before off and putting DD in a horse camp from 9-2 every day. I will do last minute prep for Christmas and MIL's visit during that week, fill the freezer, etc.

DD needs lots of exercise and doesn't have core problems so I personally don't let OT get in the way of camps assuming I can manage both for transportation. Summers are a puzzle because we can't put Miss more than one week of OT in a row or she loses her spot, so I have to find camps that don't require a bus ride.

[librarychica]

My company also closes the week after Christmas, so they’ll be home with me that week. They’re off the following week but I go back on 1/2 so they’ll go to a camp run by a local private school. Then they are off AGAIN the following Monday as a teacher workday so we will probably split the day or maybe hire the student around the corner if she doesn’t have class.

My vote is for the sports camp. I think the home with me/out at camp will be a good combo.

[divanerd]

We are taking turns off 4 days of school.. my sister is a teacher so he will hang out with his cousins a day.
My husband and I will take turns

[campermom]

I'm off and daycare is open. I'll be sending my toddler in two days and the big kids one day. That way I can take the big ones to do something fun one day without him, and I'll have a day all alone.

Where's that post we just responded to about the perfect day off?

(Not trying to brag, I realize how lucky I've got it!)

[kimberlybb]

DS's daycare is closed for 2.5 weeks. We have 12/22 off and I will be taking the week of Christmas off along with one day the week of New Year's. I have pieced together the remaining days between friends and back up care. DD's daycare is only closed traditional holidays but she will likely stay home with us too.

[twinmomma]

Wow! You guys get long breaks! We just have the week between Christmas and New Year's for school break. DH is home anyway since he's a teacher, and I'm taking the week off.

[dcrunnergirl52]

DD and DS1 are off December 18-January 1. They'll go to camp at the local rec center. First week is just general camp, where they do crafts, play games, swim (indoor pool), etc. Second week is Jedi Engineering camp where they learn engineering with a Star Wars theme or something like that.

I have off the first week, so I'll probably pull them out of camp for a day or so. And, the camps only run from 9am-4pm, so it will be shorter than usual days for them compared to school.

DS2 will go to daycare.

[HeartofCheese]

We're just switching from a daycare to a private preschool, so the kids will be out 12.25 to 1.2. I always take Christmas week off and have the holidays off, so I expect to be home with the kids. I may need to look into getting the kids into something fun though.

[covergirl82]

I took the week of Christmas off, but the kids are going to in-home DCP's for 1.5 days so they can play with friends. It will give me some time to work on some organization projects at home, without having to hear "I'm bored" or them whining that they can't have more screen time. The week of New Year's they will go to in-home DCP's house for 2 days.

[jlaok]

My kids are off from the 22nd-3rd. They'll be home with me while I work. I'm hoping to be able to take the week of Christmas off.

[shakinros]

Half day of school here 12/22 and then reopens 1/3. I’m taking PTO the 22nd. Office is closed 12/25 and 1/1. Typically I would then use PTO for the week in between but DH is on a furlough, so he will handle it. I will still take a couple days off so we can visit family.

[saraml13]

Our daycare is closed December 22 until January 8. December 26 is the only non actual holiday day I have off. DH is planning on taking off the week between Christmas and New Years. So that leaves us with December 22 and January 2 - 5 to find coverage. We are asking the grandparents if they want to watch the boys any of those days. I’ll use my backup center childcare through work for any remaining days.

Vent: MIL always complains about how she doesn’t see the boys enough and that my parents get to watch them more often. I purposely asked DH to give her first choice of days to babysit so she can’t complain. But of course, DH doesn’t follow up and she won’t commit.