Tips for holiday tipping

Lizzie Post, author of “Higher Etiquette” and co-author of “Emily Post’s Etiquette,” offers insight into tipping during the holiday season.

Q: How much should you tip, if at all?

A: Tipping may seem optional, but it really isn’t under certain circumstances. Some people’s pay is based on the expectation that part of their income will come from tips. In the 20th edition of “Emily Post’s Etiquette,” we suggest 15% to 20% as a rough standard, but there are lots of situations where you can tip less, such as when you’re getting your coffee or picking up takeout.

Q: How does tipping change around the holidays?

A: Tipping around the holidays is really about thanking those service providers who help you throughout the year, whether that’s your dog walker, a regular babysitter or nanny, your trash collector, mailperson or your at-home health care provider. These may be people you tip throughout the year as well, but this is the bonus to show you really appreciated the help they provided this year.

Q: How should you budget for holiday tipping?

A: Think about budgeting for tipping throughout the year in the same way you budget savings for presents for birthdays and holidays. A lot of people say if you can afford the service, then you can afford the extra tipping that goes on top of it. But I think that’s a really tough position to put people in. Sometimes people really need a service, such as a babysitter, and they can’t afford anything extra.

Q: What should you do if you can’t afford to tip?

A: If you’re not able to give tips, but you have been able to keep some service providers in your life, consider writing a card. If you were able to tip last year and you’re not able to tip this year, it’s OK to mention that. It’s OK to let people know that this year was a little different.

Q: The pandemic has put a lot of pressure on front-line workers. Who should we give a little extra to this year?

A: A group we have added to our list recently is grocery delivery people. That kind of service boomed this year because of the pandemic. If you use curbside pickup or grocery delivery regularly, giving a tip with a card during the holiday season is a really nice thing to do.

Q: Are there special rules and policies for certain kinds of workers that we should look out for?

A: It’s a good idea to find out whether tipping is an allowed practice for a particular industry. The post office is a good example. For an individual postal worker, the gift must be less than $20 in value, and gift cards, or anything that can be used as cash, are not allowed.