Tipping in December

[LuvOrlando]

Who are you tipping in December and how much, are my numbers good?

So far I have tipped the mailman, waste collector, auto mechanic and two maintenance workers $20 each and everyone who helps me by pumping gas or loading groceries is getting $5-$10.

Can't decide how much to give the lady at the dry cleaners & how do you show appreciation for the phantom UPS and Amazon workers I never see or talk to?

 

[EACarlson]

I tip none of the above. If I don't tip the other 11 months of the year, I'm not tipping just because it's December.

 

[mjkacmom]

No one, I usually schedule hair appointments before the holidays so I don’t feel the need to double tip, I don’t have sitters or cleaning ladies anymore. No teacher gifts, no crossing guard gifts, life is good.

 

[dvcgirl67]

We tip our mailman $100, trash guys (2 man truck)....$50 each. If we had random mail delivery and trash pick-up people I wouldn't tip as much....but we've had the same guys for years. $200 to our pet sitter who stays with our girls when we travel. We used to have a regular UPS driver that we tipped, but we barely see him anymore as amazon delivers everything with their own drivers. I might leave $20 here and there for those drivers, again, only if we have deliveries close to the holiday. I'll tip hair and nail people a bit more than I normally do if I'm getting a cut or manicure during the holiday season. But I'm a good tipper to them throughout the year so I don't go overboard. I think that's it.

I own a pet sitting/dog walking company and we have a few that tip throughout the year, but most tip at the holiday.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

.

 

[leebee]

Tipping... strange custom. My mom used to have a Christmas present for the mailman and paper delivery boy, but these were people she saw every day, who we knew. We don't have anyone who comes to the house regularly as part of their job, and I'm not in the habit of tipping random people.

 

[tvguy]

Who are you tipping in December and how much, are my numbers good?

So far I have tipped the mailman, waste collector, auto mechanic and two maintenance workers $20 each and everyone who helps me by pumping gas or loading groceries is getting $5-$10.

Can't decide how much to give the lady at the dry cleaners & how do you show appreciation for the phantom UPS and Amazon workers I never see or talk to?

No holiday tips. Our garbage men are all public employees and can get fired for taking tip. We have three, trash, green waste and recycling. Letter carriers also can get in trouble for taking tips.
I think my auto mechanic would be insulted if I tipped him, but we have given him homemade cookies at Christmas. He charges $100 an hour so that kind of covers all his expenses and leaves a nice profit.

 

[Disneylover99]

If I go to a restaurant this month, I’ll be tipping, but that’s about it.

 

[soccerdad72]

I don't know if we have the same mail carrier each day, as we're usually not around when they deliver. We tried doing small gift cards for trash guys one year, but the logistics of how to do that became more of a hassle than it was worth.

My wife gives the cleaning people extra $$ for the last cleaning of the year and we usually give gifts to our trainers at the gym (along with a tin of cookies) and I assume she also tips her nail person extra as well. I can't think of too many others. Granted, we buy a lot of gifts for work people for Christmas as well - my staff and admins that I work with and my wife's whole staff, who all work across the country. I think she said she spent like $1,000 for them alone.

 

[jimmymc]

I leave a Christmas card with $20 for the mail. Our garbage trucks are the type that use a big claw, and I never interact with them, so there isn't even a good way to tip them. I also do my own car work, so nobody to tip there.

$20 is a good default amount for any gift like this.

 

[Karin1984]

I don't think I have ever seen my mailperson in my life in the Netherlands... Maybe on occasion if I came home/left the house at the right time, but those instances are rare.

How does that work in the US? I take it you have a mailbox, they don't come to the door, ring the bell and give your mail to you in person, do they?

 

[disneychrista]

Why does there seem to be an obligation/tradition of tipping at the holidays? I don’t tip anyone and other than when this type of thread or “articles” pop up this time of year never even gave it much thought.

 

[soccerdad72]

How does that work in the US? I take it you have a mailbox, they don't come to the door, ring the bell and give your mail to you in person, do they?

It depends on a lot of things (the neighborhood, the area, the type of residence you're in, etc.). Our suburban neighborhood has drivers that put mail in your mailbox. The condo community near us has a mail area where everyone has a locked mailbox all at one location that you walk or drive to. Other communities where the houses are closer together have a mail carrier park at the end of the block and walk from house to house delivering mail (often, those mailboxes are at the front door as well).

 

[easyas123]

$50 for the FEDEX kid who schleps my heavy Chewy boxes for me.
$50 + a $100 gift card to my nail gal. She's taking her daughter to WDW in Feb for first time so figured I toss in something special.
Large gift basket for the cleaning ladies at home
$50 each for the cleaning ladies in the office
$50 for the lady who delivers the mail
$50 & a Tortuga rum cake to the older couple who have my husband over to do 'deer control' on their property.
An entire deer, fully butchered and packaged to the other elderly gentlemen who has engaged my husband in 'deer control'.
Feel Absolutely no obligation to offer these tips this time of year, it's just something we like to do for these particular people.

 

[GoingSince1990]

I heard mail carriers are not allowed to accept cash so we give ours a $100 Visa gift card every year. She is very friendly and takes VERY good care of us, bringing larger packages into our garage, leaving little treats for our pup, and so on. I would tip the UPS/FedEx person but it seems to be a different guy every time.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

How does that work in the US? I take it you have a mailbox, they don't come to the door, ring the bell and give your mail to you in person, do they?

It really depends on how your house is set up. In my case the mail slot is in my door so he comes to my door, opens my storm door and puts the mail through the slot and it comes into my living room. I happen to watch my friend's child one day a week so I see the mailman that day and usually open the door so he can just hand it to me instead of having to bend down to stick it through the slot. Other houses I 've had mailbox attached to the front of the house. My parents' mailbox is at the end of their driveway. And some developments they have a central area where all the mailboxes are located and you have to go there to get your mail from your mailbox with a key.

 

[Moliphino]

Nobody.
We don't get the paper, no trash pickup, no idea who our mail carrier or any delivery driver is, no kids so no teachers to get gifts for.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I financially tip only building staff and generally the tips equal one month’s maintenance.
I follow a complex formula that the man left me bless his overly generous heart .
Anyone else on my list gets homemade baked goods.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

He's makin a list, checkin it twice, gonna find out who's cheapskate or nice.

 

[mjkacmom]

We tip our mailman $100, trash guys (2 man truck)....$50 each. If we had random mail delivery and trash pick-up people I wouldn't tip as much....but we've had the same guys for years. $200 to our pet sitter who stays with our girls when we travel. We used to have a regular UPS driver that we tipped, but we barely see him anymore as amazon delivers everything with their own drivers. I might leave $20 here and there for those drivers, again, only if we have deliveries close to the holiday. I'll tip hair and nail people a bit more than I normally do if I'm getting a cut or manicure during the holiday season. But I'm a good tipper to them throughout the year so I don't go overboard. I think that's it.

I own a pet sitting/dog walking company and we have a few that tip throughout the year, but most tip at the holiday.

I rarely use a dog walker, maybe 5 or so 20 minute walks a year, I Venmo the owner ($30 a walk?). I’ve never tipped, how common are tips?