‘Tis the season for gift wrapping, eggnog, and heavy stressing over holiday tipping etiquette.
From your dog walker to your babysitter to your favorite Amazon Prime delivery man, countless people help keep you afloat every day — but are you expected to tip all of them at the end of the year? As it turns out, the answer to that question is no. There are only specific kinds of service people who should receive cash tips during the holiday season. In fact, it’s actually illegal to give tips to some service people (more on that below).
To understand the do’s and don’ts of holiday tipping etiquette, Katie Couric Media spoke with Elaine Swann, a nationally recognized lifestyle and etiquette expert. Below, Swann explains how — and when — to tip.
Who should you tip during the holidays?
“My recommendation is to tip individuals who have helped to make your life easy throughout the year,” Swann says. “So that list can obviously vary, depending on your lifestyle and geographic location. But it’s a good starter rule: Look for the folks who really helped to make your life easy by offering a specific service.”
In general, Swann says, you should consider tipping people who provide professional services in and around the house.
Who to tip this time of year
- Handyman
- Housecleaner
- Pool/yard work/landscape helper
- Nanny/babysitter
- Doorman
- Hairstylist
- Dog walker
- Property manager
- Newspaper delivery people
How much to tip for the holidays
As for how much to give each person, Swann has a very simple rule of thumb to guide your decision — and it requires little to no math. “Consider tipping them the amount of one full service,” Swann says. So for a hair stylist, you can give a holiday tip that is equal to how much you pay them for one haircut, or for a dog walker, give them the equivalent of one dog walk.
“If it’s a babysitter, give them what you would pay them for one night,” Swann suggests. “If it’s a housekeeper, then you would typically pay for one week of service. The same goes for a nanny or live-in helper.”
For someone like a doorman, whose service to you isn’t as clearly defined in terms of monetary value, Swann suggests tipping them anywhere from $20 to $100, depending on how involved they are in your daily routines, if you can.
Who you shouldn’t tip
Wonder why the good ol’ mailman isn’t included on the above list? It’s not an accidental oversight: Swann recommends that you absolutely do not tip your mailman, or your FedEx guy, or your Amazon Prime delivery driver. Not because they aren’t doing stellar and highly essential work — but because it’s illegal in some circumstances, and highly frowned upon in others, to do so.
“You may want to tip your regular mailman, but you absolutely should not tip those folks,” Swann warns. All government workers are forbidden from accepting cash gifts or gift cards — if you really want to do something nice, you can give them a physical gift worth up to the legally allowed limit of $20, but you shouldn’t feel obliged to do so.
As for the other kinds of delivery workers, like UPS, Amazon Prime, and FedEx, Swann suggests you avoid tipping them as well. “Those companies really frown upon that because they don’t want to put their drivers in harm’s way by having people know they have cash on them.”
Here are some other people you should not give holiday tips to, according to Swann:
- Lawyers
- Life coaches
- Doctors
- Teachers
- Therapists
- Mail workers
- Care facility workers
Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to thank these people for their hard work. You just should give them physical gifts (or even handwritten cards) rather than cold, hard cash.
How to decide who to tip when you can’t tip everyone
The holidays are already an extremely stressful time of year — and now you have to find the money to tip all of these people?
Don’t panic. First and foremost, remember that tips are not required. The decision to tip someone is completely up to you, as is the decision regarding how much you want to tip them. If you want to tip your hairstylist, but can’t fork up the few hundred dollars it costs to get highlights done, give them what you can. Similarly, if you can’t manage to tip everyone in your life that you want to tip, then you can just focus on tipping the select few people in your life who really help you out.
