Fab au pair - how do I show my appreciation and help her have a good time?

[FrozenNorth]

Because DH is away with the army at the moment we are hosting a lovely 22 year-old Romanian au pair to help out in the evenings with DDs.

I've never hosted an au pair before but she's been here three weeks and I think she has surpassed my expectations completely. The house has never been so tidy, the children's laundry is immaculate, she offers us cups of tea constantly, washes up after every meal and my bathroom has never sparkled like this before! She is really hands-on with my toddler, takes the initiative with games, making kids' meals etc. and is cautious but lovely with my newborn. She is cheerful and confident, asks a lot of questions and has explored the local area lots already.

Okay, I could go on for hours but the point is she's a great fit for our family. So, how can I help her feel appreciated? How can I help her meet new friends around the area - she hopes to stay for a year-long English course so it would be great if she got to socialise properly too. We were thinking about offering to pay for either her gym membership or her English course - would this be a good idea? We've also made sure she has a contract with a generous holiday allowance, paid sick leave etc. so she feels secure in her job, and have helped her register with the home office and local doctor.

Any ideas appreciated - I know we're very lucky (met on APW and hit it off immediately).

wow your lucky to have found her, she must be happy to be working so hard.

Have you told her how amazing she is?

May I ask how much you pay her and what hours she does?

How wonderful!

If she goes to an English course she'll almost certainly meet friends. Facebook also have groups for au pairs in the UK. Paying at least part of her English course would be a lovely idea, especially if it keeps her there for a year!

Little things go a really long way for appreciation. Some bath stuff, a box of chocolates, a voucher for her and a friend to go to the cinema, a card from your toddler to say 'thank you for looking after me so well'?

i too have a fab one!
i give her a little extra every now and again.
she is included in what we do also which can add up (took her to eurodisney for example)
yesterday dh bought her box chocs and magazine becuase she had missed one of her classes to look after sick puppy (we didnt ask her to do this but she loves puppy and didnt want to leave him when poorly)
little thoughts go a long way i often find.
doing language classes are the best for them finding friends tho... mine been with us 7 mths now and seems to have quite a large circle of friends.

We have a live-in Romanian Mother's Help, and she is pretty much exactly as you describe, too!

In terms of thanks, the main way we do this is to pay her a standard MH wage, but she only works 9-6 (she looks after our DS 14 months) with a one-hour lunch break, plus I do all meals, morning, bath and bed time, etc. Other than that, I just tend to pick her up things when out and about - choclates, toilteries, just little stuff. Plus I just try to thank her as much as possible. It's not much, but we do have a good relationship.