Tipping Etiquette: Holiday Twist for Everyone on Your List
Posted on Mon, Dec 12, 2011
by Meghan Keneally
When going through your holiday shopping list, sometimes we get caught up finding the perfect gift for our loved ones or Secret Santa recipients. Oftentimes, the people we depend on most frequently, like doormen or children’s tutors or babysitters, are thought of at the last minute, resulting in a typical holiday tchotchke gift or even something overly expensive to make up for our oversight.
Especially in these hard economic times, that is not a mistake that you want to make. As the gift-giving season gets well underway, remember those who make your day-to-day lives livable and incorporate your holiday tipping into your holiday budget,
In New York like many major urban areas, it essentially takes a mini-village to run your life: the person you buy your daily paper from, your doorman, your regular manicurist and hairdresser, your kid’s teacher or nanny- all of these people provide services that make your life easier. The holidays are an easy time to show your appreciation with a little something extra, and just another way to show your etiquette expertise.
If you weren’t hit too hard in the recession, count your blessings, and be happy that you are able to give generous tips to all of those people who help you. Tipping etiquette says that for personal beauty service providers (nail salons, waxers, hair cuts, etc.) double the 20 percent tip that you usually leave. Because every building is different, see what is doled out through service fees in your rent before tipping doormen and concierges. Standard tipping guidelines for nannies and babysitters dictates that an extra week’s wages is expected, while school teachers are more often given gifts like store cards, spa certificates, chocolates as opposed to cold hard cash.
What makes this tougher this year is that those extra tips add up to quite a lot. If you are trying to do more with less this season, think of thoughtful ways to surprise the people in your life while showing them their importance.
A thoughtful note should always be a part of any gift, so that is a given, but this year try making a thoughtful gesture instead. If you are tech savvy, rent a video camera and use iMovie to make a short but sweet personalized video that the recipient will get a kick out of. Another alternative is to make a calendar using iPhoto and let the person start next year right with fun photos of them with friends.
If the computer is not your forte, take to the kitchen. Everyone enjoys eating and drinking with loved ones during the holidays, and so your gift can help them with that by giving a bottle of wine or some festive treats. Homemade holiday cookies are always a success, and they are also something that they can take home and share with their families at the end of their shift. (Nothing says you care like well-baked delights!) For the tipplers on your list, stop at a Trader Joe’s wine shop for great deals or look online for distributers who discount 12-bottle box shipments around this time of year.
For most people in your life, there is bound to be a personal way to show that you care, but unfortunately, the only way you can do that in restaurants is to cough up some extra tips. Proper dining etiquette suggests that tips should always be between 15-20 percent depending on the level of service, but at the holidays, lean towards the higher end of the scale. Anyone that has worked in a restaurant will tell you that the difference between a good and bad tip is a good and bad shift, so it will definitely mean a lot to your servers if you are sure to reach a little deeper this December.
In the end, the holidays are just a time to show that you care about the people in your life and that you appreciate their services. By putting some extra thought into the notes that you write and the gifts you buy, the recipient will feel proud of their work and eager to keep up the good pace next year. Now isn’t that reason enough to get into the holiday spirit?!