Holiday gifts for postman etc

[niccig]

The sparkletts water guy just gave me a christmas card, and I didn't have anything to give in return. It's not something we do in Australia, so I never know what is considered correct for holiday gifts. Any advice.

I have the:
postman
garbage truck drivers
cleaner (biweekly)
gardener (weekly)
sparkletts guy
babysitter (5 hours/week)

and probably a few other regular people that I can't think of now.

So what do you give?

Nicci

[kedss]

for the postman I would give him cookies/candy or a gc for coffee?
maybe a nice coffee mug with coffee/tea for your cleaner?
bulbs/plant for your gardener?
maybe just a card for the Sparklett's guy or a gc?
I would think maybe movie/book/food gc for the babysitter depending on the age?

I've never given a gift to the garbage truck drivers. :)

HTH :)

[ett]

I usually give a 10-15 dollar gift card from Panera or Barnes and Noble to the postman.

[bunnisa]

I'd love to hear some ideas, too. Our poor UPS driver is at our house nearly every night (and he doesn't deliver until 7 pm). He probably sees our house more than his own, lately!

Bethany
mom to one and one on the way!
http://lilypie.com/days/060226/0/8/1/-6/.png
"And children are always a good thing, devoutly to be wished for and fiercely to be fought for."
-J. Torres

[murpheyblue]

>I have the:
>postman
>garbage truck drivers
>cleaner (biweekly)
>gardener (weekly)
>sparkletts guy
>babysitter (5 hours/week)

For the mailman, I give a gift card for some place that has wide appeal: Target, Barnes and Noble, Peets/Starbucks. I do teh gift card because I've heard they can't accept cash and any gifts have to have a value less than $20. I don't give food/candy because I assume they get a ton of it.

Garbage - cash (like $10)

Housecleaner - cash

Babysitter - I gave our regular babycitter a gift card to Sephora (she's 15).

[HGraceMom]

Postman: $10-15 gift card to the local coffee shop
Garbage drivers: Tape a card to the bin with BIG LETTERS so they know it's not trash... $10-15 AmEx or Visa Gift Card
Cleaner: Extra week's leaning fee in cash (in addition to whatever you'd normally pay at the last cleaning before Christmas)
Gardener / snow removal: Extra week's fee (in cash)
Water guy: $10-15 gift card to Panera (not a beverage card :) )
Babysitter: Extra week's fee (again, in cash)
Newspaper delievery: $10-15 visa gift card

It adds up, but I don't want to lose my cleaning lady, regular babysitter, or emergency gardener... and don't want to fish my paper out of the bushes in the snow!

[niccig]

Thanks for your suggestions. I'm making a list. I do want to thank these people as without them my house/garden/life would be far more chaotic.

Nicci

[boys2enough]

Hi,

Of all the service folks, I feel the most for our mailman. We live in Chicago and the winter is really lousy. I always feel compelled to give him a Target GC for about $20. (Plus he's really sweet. lol)

I read once in the newspaper that garbage truck drivers enjoy getting beers for the holidays. (I am not making this up!) So I left a six pack of Bud in a brown paper bag tied with red ribbons with big letters "Thank you!" next to our garbage piles, one for regular and one for recycling. Now they wave to me if I happen to be home when they drive by.

Cheers, Lin
Mom to 2 wild boys
D 3/98
G 11/02

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/pnoodles.gif

[Melanie]

Wow, all the things to think of! I was just thinking today, as I called Dh to tell him how much I love our gardeners (we're first on the route and this AM was rather inclimate but instead of skipping us they just came later in the day), that we should give a gift. However there is the owner/gardener, and he has several employees ( I have no idea how many, I'm usually asleep). Do I send one gift? a bunch?

I had never thought of the garbage truck drivers. I've thought of the post mail, but we don't always have the same person. They are all great, though, and take packages up to the door, have not ruined anything. I guess I could call the PO and ask for the name of our 'usual' guy and just address it to him? Do I just put it in my box as outgoing?

[kimbe]

I want to be your babysitter! :)

I got horrible gifts when I babysat when I was younger. Once I got a warmup suit that a 110 year old woman would wear and once I got a key chain!