Pointers for etiquette-savvy holiday tipping

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - If you're looking for ways to cut back this season, holiday tipping might seem like a logical place to start.

We checked with the Emily Post Institute's Lizzie Post, great-great-granddaughter of Emily Post, to see if crossing the newspaper guy and hair stylist off your give-to list passes muster.

"It's perfectly OK, if you can't afford to give to every service person, that you scale back," she says. "But you must at the very, very least write a thank-you letter for the service they've provided all year for you."

Holiday tipping, after all, is really holiday thanking, Post reminds. And it would be awfully Scrooge-like to forget your manners in the season of giving.

There are instances, however, when a thank-you note is not enough.

"For people you're close with who are in your home on a weekly or daily basis _ taking care of a parent or elderly relative, caring for your children _ you still need to look into giving them a gift," Post says. "If you can afford to keep an au pair or nanny on hand, then you should be able to afford to give them a holiday tip."

If you're looking for some hard-and-fast guidelines, the institute has updated its annual holiday etiquette chart for the realities of 2008. Some main points:

If you tip regularly throughout the year at the time of service, feel free to forgo an end-of-the-year tip, or just give a small gift.

When deciding whether or how much to tip, consider the quality and frequency of the service, the number of years you've been using the service, your relationship with the provider and where you live _ tipping tends to be higher in larger cities.

You can always call the front desk of an establishment and ask what is accepted by the company and also what tips or gifts they typically see.

For most professionals (hair stylist, personal trainer, pet groomer, housekeeper, dog walker), the cost of one session or service is an appropriate tip.

Recommendations for child-care providers: one week's pay for a live-in nanny or au pair; $25-$70 for each staff member of a day-care center; one evening's pay for a regular baby-sitter. A small gift from your child is also a nice touch in each case.

And don't forget the newspaper delivery person ($10-$30); building superintendent ($20-$80); doorman ($15-$80); garage attendants ($10-$30); and yard worker ($20-$50).

Remember that mail carriers are prohibited by the U.S. Postal Service from accepting currency of any kind (cash, checks, gift cards) or any gift worth more than $20.

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Don't give your kids' teachers cash. A small gift is a token of appreciation, but anything more sets up an awkward quid pro quo situation.

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© 2008, Chicago Tribune.