Holiday Tipping

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By Jackie Watanabe

Summary

Holiday tipping is a tradition, but if you start to get sweaty palms trying to figure out who to tip and how much, you're not alone. Consumer reports has some tips on tipping

Story Published: Nov 27, 2009 at 6:42 PM PST

Holiday Tipping
You've got the hair stylist who makes you look good all year round, your manicurist, housekeeper, and the nanny who looks after your kids. And what about mail carriers? Do they get included in the holiday tip fun? Consumer reports conducted a survey to find out who gets tipped and how much.

"Tipping was much leaner last year. We found a definite drop in the number of service providers who were tipped," says Donato Vaccaro of Consumer Reports.

Among them, manicurists saw fewer tips and so did newspaper and mail carriers. Housekeepers, child-care providers, teachers, and hairdressers turned out to be the most commonly tipped.

"Our survey found that house cleaners got the biggest tip on average $50, and they were followed by child care providers who got an average gift value of $40," Vaccaro says.

If this year is anything like last year, $20 dollars will be the tip of choice for hairdressers.