So you think you’re done with gift shopping?Wrong.Did you remember all the people that have made your life easier this year? A recent survey showed 66% of Americans give tips to at least one service provider during the holidays and the gifts averaged about $45.
But only one service provider?Come on. You know you shouldn’t be getting out of the holidays that easy. The problem is unless they give you an envelope sayingtips encouraged,nobody knows for sure who they should be tipping.Until now.
Pull out your checkbooks and get ready. Here are the most important services you should be dishing out someChristmas spiritin the form of cash according to theEmily Post Institute’s School of Etiquette.
- Live-in Nanny. If you’ve got a nanny living in your house, first of all, congrats, second, you should be giving them up to one week’s pay and a gift from your kid. For regular babysitters, one evening’s pay and a small gift from your child will suffice.
- Day care providers.You’ll need to dish out $25 to $70 for each staff member who works with your child and get your kid to work on making them something small as well.
- Home health employees.Got someone taking care of mom, dad, or your grandparents? Check with their agency about their policies and use your best judgment.They are helping keep your loved ones alive so you might want to go big.
- House cleaner.A study found that housekeepers averaged the biggest year-end tips coming in around $65. You should be giving them one week’s pay and/or a small gift.If it’s your significant other, get them something really expensive.
- Barbers and Salon Staff.Guy’s you should be tipping your regular barber to the cost of one haircut or give them a gift. Ladies, you should hand your go-to salon staff member a gift equal to the cost of a visit.
- Personal trainer. Give the person who keeps you in shape enough to cover one session or a gift.
- Pet Peeps.Don’t forget to hook your pet’s groomers and walkers up with a little something, something. The cost of one visit or a gift would be nice to get the person who has touched your dog’s poop.
- Mail Carrier. A recent survey found only four out of 10 people tip mail carriers and it’s either we’re all stingy, or we don’t know what’s allowed. Check their policies online but a small gift under $20 should work.
- Trash/Recycling Collectors. The answer is yes, you should be giving the people handling your garbage a gift this year. $10 to $30 cash or gift works for private providers.
Extra Stats:
- Nearly half of people with childcare providers or teachers don’t tip them
- 70% of people don’t leave anything for the trash/recycling service
- Millennials are the generation who are most likely to tip their providers
Source:The Business Journals