Festive weeks need a written plan early
Festive-season arrangements with your MDW (Singapore) is how employers plan Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali, Christmas/year-end, and similar peak periods with a migrant domestic worker. Home leave paperwork sits in Employer Checklist Before Helper Home Leave (Singapore). School-holiday childcare resets sit in When School Holidays Change Your Helper’s Childcare Routine (Singapore). This page owns the festive household plan.
General guidance only. MOM: mom.gov.sg. SmartMaid.com.sg is a marketplace. Licensed EAs advise on employment steps. Do not stereotype religious or cultural practices by nationality.
Neighbouring hubs:
- Home leave employer checklist
- School-holiday childcare routine
- Temporary household cover while helper away
- Rest days — fair arrangements
- First rest day checklist
- Overnight visitors process
- Written house rules sheet
- When to loop the agency
- This article: festive-season arrangements
Step 1 — Put festival dates on one shared calendar
- Public holidays and family reunion days
- Her preferred rest / worship / community times (ask, don’t assume)
- Travel windows if she hopes to go home (Employer Checklist Before Helper Home Leave (Singapore))
Step 2 — Lock rest days before the rush
Agree which days she rests, any written swaps, and what “work on a festive day” would mean under your rest-day process (Rest Days for Domestic Helpers in Singapore: Rules and Fair Arrangements). No invented compensation figures on this page.
Step 3 — Guests and household load
Extra cooking, overnight relatives, and open-house days change her load. Write guest rules (When Helper Asks for Overnight Visitors (Singapore)) and meal-prep expectations on the house-rules sheet (Creating a Simple Written House Rules Sheet).
Step 4 — Cover if she travels or rests away
Use the temporary cover roster (Temporary Household Cover While Helper Is Away (Singapore)) for kids/elderly/pets. Do not assume SmartMaid can supply same-week cover.
Step 5 — Loop EA for travel / WP questions
Any overseas trip, Work Pass, or insurance question goes to your licensed EA early (When to Loop the Agency Into Early Issues). Marketplace ≠ travel agent.
MOM rules
Respect rest and welfare through festive peaks. Confirm live rules on mom.gov.sg. No religious or nationality stereotypes.
Checklist
- Festival dates shared
- Rest days / swaps written
- Guest and cooking load clarified
- Cover roster if she is away
- EA looped for travel/WP themes
Scripts
To helper: Festive period is [dates]. Your rest days are [list]. If you want home leave, we will run the home-leave checklist with the agency. Tell us any worship or family call times to protect.
To co-employer: We decide rest days and guest load before reunion week — not the night before.
Bottom line
Plan festive rest, guests, and cover in writing before the peak week. Browse on SmartMaid; employment steps through a licensed EA under MOM rules.
