Parenting Club - Parenting Advice, Parenting Message Boards, Baby Message Boards, Pregnancy Message Boards, TTC Messge Boards
Shop for Baby Items | Parenting & Family Blogs

The Great Debate - What to give babysitter for the holidays


coasterqueen wrote: Okay, what are all of you who work giving your sitter for the holidays (present)? Last year since Kylie didn't start going to her sitter until mid-November we gave Terri (our sitter) a $50 gift certificate to Chili's.

I've always heard that it's customary to give them one week's pay as their holiday "bonus". What do you think?

DH agreed to this, but it's how to give it to her he doesn't agree on. I want to give her a cash bonus and he wants to give her the $100 in gift certificates to the mall and food places. I know I would rather have the cash. What do you think?

Also, do you know if you can give cash or do you have to give a check becuz they still need to claim that? I know if I get a bonus here at work it comes out of my check so it is "claimable income".

maliksmommy replied: Well I would love to be able to give our sitter a great gift like that but the funds are not available to us this year. Money is so tight I'm not sure what we are going to be able get her let alone anything. I am not sure about what is claimable and what isn't. I would think that if you wrote and check to her and in the memo wrote gift she wouldn't have to claim it.

coasterqueen replied:
I know we really can't afford that either, but I really feel "obligated" to do so :-( Just means Dh and I won't get each other anything. That's no big deal, though.

Kaitlin'smom replied: Well since I have gotten to know them I bought her something, a winter coat, she needs one and really cant afford one. The one she had got destroyed by a prevoius dog she had to take back because it was scared of her DH (nothing he did, but from the dogs past). So I found a nice one on sale and got it, just hope she likes it! Other than that I might give her a cash bonus on top of that, dunno yet. If I do it will be cash so she will not have to claim it.

As far as I know if you do give a check and write gift in the memo they should not have to claim it.

Hillbilly Housewife replied: I've been thinking of that myself.... Zach absolutely adores her...and her hubby is unemployed now (taking classes) so he takes care of the kids too... Zach only sees her 2x a week now instead of 5 days, so a week's pay would be 72$... pretty crappy... heh

But I also sell Mary Kay, so I have tons of stuff I could give her, it's just a matter of whether she'd like it or not...she's not the type to wear lots of makeup or perfume and such... They're not rich, but they're not poor either...they make a decent living.

I was thinking maybe a nice framed picture of Zach, with a certificate to a mall or restaurant or something...I can get a nice frame at a dollar store, and to blow up a nice pic of Zach would only be like 5$, and a 30$ gift certificate? dunno.gif

I think that really, anything the sitter gets would be fine.... they are there to serve. I know that sounds mean...but you pay them to do their job, they do it, simple as that. I just happen to *like* my sitter...after all, she does take care of my baby.... wub.gif which is, like, the best job anyone could have.... rolling_smile.gif rolling_smile.gif rolling_smile.gif

But seriously...if Kylie has a great relationship with her sitter, I'm sure the sitter would love a picture and a smaller gift certificate. It's a nice gesture!

100$ gift certificate? I think that's a little much.... I'd love to be your sitter for that amount... I don't think I get that much in gifts from my own parents!! lol rolling_smile.gif

CantWait replied: When I was babysitting I never got cash bonuses (mind you that was a long time ago). I usually just got a picture of the kid(s).

I agree with Zach'sMom, $100 does seem a little much. I always like the idea of gift certificates, then I know it's going to something constructive.

Good Luck thumb.gif

coasterqueen replied:
LOL! I don't get that much from my parents, either. rolling_smile.gif

My sitter is pretty, how do I say it politely, more manly than feminine. She just doesn't like to "pretty up", dress nicely, wear make-up, etc. She's a pants and t-shirt kinda woman, not exactly attractive, either. Not being mean, but things like spas, make-up etc are off her list. tongue.gif

I honestly don't know much about her, she's pretty simple. Her and her Dh are actually pretty well off, but they live very SIMPLE life. She's a MAJOR tomboy, that's the word I was looking for. emlaugh.gif

So cash just seemed the easiest thing to do. Hehehe. DH thinks we should give her $50 cash and $50 in food gift certficates. *SIGH* The only two major things I know about her are that she loves her dogs. She's spent over $25,000 this year trying to keep them alive and well. wacko.gif AND she has wanted and tried to have a baby for a very long time and is still trying. What can ya do with that? dunno.gif dunno.gif LOL.

I think one weeks pay is a lot too, but I know I read somewhere last year that that was "customary", but at the time she had only been her sitter for 1.5 months so we didn't think that was appropriate. Shucks, now I wish I could remember where I saw that. LOL. I know I have to spend at least $50 on something cuz I did that last year. Set my standards too high blink.gif

I'm not quite sure she would like a pic of my child, lol. I mean, she loves Kylie very much, but just something in my gut tells me "na". LOL. Good idea, though. I might use that for someone else wink.gif

Oh, maybe if I go shopping tomorrow I will find something. biggrin.gif THanks for all the ideas though!!!

My2Carebears replied: My sitter loves candles, So i am getting her a set. i can't afford the Extra cash to give her, though i;d love to!

kimberley replied: one weeks pay?! ohmy.gif wow can i babysit for you?! rolling_smile.gif did you find that info in fortune 500 magazine for the rich and famous?! rolling_smile.gif until a couple of years ago, i babysat fulltime for a family that was in no way struggling financially. *IF* i got anything from them for christmas, it was no different than one you would get for a co-worker. like a bottle of wine, soap set etc. but she would always get the boys some kind of inexpensive toy.

i think a nice gift would be the gift certificate idea and $50 is sufficient and maybe have Kylie draw a picture or hand prints or something. i always loved the stuff the girls gave me.

also, if you gave her a $50 gc last year, and plan to give her $100 cash this year... in a few years she'll be waiting for a car! rolling_smile.gif rolling_smile.gif
let's not forget the spirit of christmas is about togetherness, love and family... not presents.

as for the money, if you want to write it off as part of your daycare costs, you have to give her a check and she has to claim it as income. if you don't want to write it off, just put gift on it or give her cash.

hth,

kit_kats_mom replied:
Ya' know, Carrie-Ann is a Party-lite consultant. I ordered a bunch of candles from her and they are really great! Might want to PM her. wink.gif

jcc64 replied:
No offense, Zach's Mom, but I'm glad I don't work for you!
I have also heard that one week's salary is customary, but I absolutely can't afford that. If I could, I'd do it in a second b/c the person that takes care of your child has the most important job on the planet, and it's critical that you let them know how much you value the hard work they do. As an employee myself, a gesture that is expressed financially is always much appreciated, but the really important thing is the expression of appreciation and gratitude, SINCERE gratitude. I will write out a card that lets her know how much she means to our family and give her a gift certificate to the mall. I think childcare workers are the single most underappreciated group of employees on the planet.

Hillbilly Housewife replied:
LOL! I didn't mean that to sound as if they're your maid or anything... I jsut meant that they are there for you and your kids...the same way that the bus driver is there every morning for the kids, or the way that the guy who gives yo ucoffee when you go to the counter to buy a cup is there every day. It's their job... kwim?

That's all I meant... lol

Sorry if I offended you... blush.gif

booey2 replied: Wow, you guys are really generous. My sitter always refuses to tell us what she would like. She doesn't even want a bonus or gift. We have known her for over 6years now and she is our next door neighbour and friend. So we usually get her something she can use that she wouldn't buy for herself. And we always get her cream for her hands as she has bad ecema (sp??) and she love Ferroro Roche Chocolates, so she gets them and something else. Not sure this year, I'll have to ask her. One year she wanted a new bath towel so we splurged and got a really good one for her, nice and thick. Just thought I would share our experience. I am not fond of giving anyone cash as a gift but people do.

coasterqueen replied: Well, I think I figured out what to get her. When I was shopping at the mall today I remembered that she LOVES to burn candles, I just have to remember what scents, lol. I'm gonna look when I drop Kylie off Monday ;-)

I was thinking about getting her a Yankee candle with a topper and bottom plate, something pretty :-) And maybe a gift certificate to somewhere to eat :-)

Thanks everyone for your honest opinions ;-)

mummy2girls replied: I am a cregiver to disabled kids and i was a nany befoe to kids that don't have diabilities...and whenever it came to Christmas or anything like that i didnt care if i got material things..the thing i appreciated the most is knowing i am doing a good job. I however do get the parents a gift to let them know that i enjoy working for them..even if its a simple gift. This year I have put together a scrapbook for the parents of the little girl i care for during the day. Each page has photos of the girl, what we do during the day, little things she says that cracks me up and i know would put a smile on the moms face. I know how hard it is to leave your child in the hands of someone else during the day. Felling you are missing out on alot.

Maby something like a card or something to tell her how much she is appreciated. Just athought... smile.gif

Kirstenmumof3 replied: dunno.gif Wow I've never heard of that. Of course this is really the first time I've had any of my children in Daycare. I was going to give the Daycare a poinsettia and a box of chocolates. That was all. Plus we have these volunteers that come once a week for Parental Respite and I was going to get them one of those lovely smelling gift sets from WalMart. I think that's a very generous thing to do. If I were you I would give the gift certificates for the mall. That way she wouldn't have to claim it as extra income. Also I don't know about were you are, but the mall we have you can buy mall bucks so they can use them at any store in the mall. dunno.gif

Jamison'smama replied: I also heard it is customary to give one week's pay if it is a private sitter--of course a daycare would be different. I don't have a childcare provider but for our hair stylist we just add cash to her tip--we have also done the same for our cleaning person--when we had one. People do love cash.

It is a nice thing if you can afford it. After all, we tip for all kinds of services year round!!!

MommyToAshley replied: When I babysat, all I got was a t-shirt with the pictures of the kids on it and a statue of E.T. LOL rolling_smile.gif Of course, I was only 13 (I babysat everyday after school) hehe rolling_smile.gif rolling_smile.gif


CommunityNewsResources | Entertainment | Link To Us |Terms of Use | Privacy PolicyAdvertising
©2024 Parenting Club.com All Rights Reserved