Gifts & Bonuses for Nannies
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Holiday bonus for new nanny?
Dec 2013
We just hired a new nanny in December and I was wonder what the etiquette is with gifts. I understand the Holiday bonus concept but seems like a lot for someone so new. We got her a small gift and giving her next week off paid. Is that enough? T.
You've done enough since she just started her job with you. If she's still with you next year, a bonus would be appropriate. J
I am a nanny and yes to both. After a year, it is a weeks pay for each year that she is with you. Cash is king and it is nice to know that you are appreciated, especially when it comes to care for your children. @
We started with a very part time nanny start in October. For a bonus, We gave her the equivalent of 2/3 or 3/4 of one week's part time pay. We don't have a contract. When we had a full time nanny, we gave the full time nanny:
- one paid holiday (per contract)
- one additional extra paid day (to do something extra)
- we paid out the additional sick time that she had for the year that she hadn't taken (our contract had 3 days and she hadn't taken any of it - well worth celebrating her being healthy & punctual through the year.) This came out to one week's pay, but it was mostly expected pay... anon
Holiday Bonus for Nanny in East Bay?
Oct 2013
What is the going rate/type of compensation for holiday bonuses for live-out nannies in the East Bay/Bay Area? We want to be appropriately appreciative but do not want to set a precedent for overly lavish holiday bonuses. Thanks! anon
Usually one weeks pay for every year worked, but if your nanny is a keeper, be more generous. After all its your kid/kids she is looking after. appreciated
There are lots of discussions about this on BPN already. But I have to say, it bothers me when people say, ''You have to give two weeks pay as a bonus.'' (that's usually what I hear). You don't have to anything. A bonus is a bonus, not regular pay. It's a gift and it's your appreciation for the nanny's work. Give what you can, what you think she deserves. Often times it's in the contract you created when you hired the nanny, but if not, then you can decide on giving what you think is right. And what you can afford. Maybe you can't afford two weeks pay. Anna
I get a bonus from my firm based on how well the firm has done that year, and I give a bonus to my employees based on the size of the bonus I get! I think a week's pay is pretty good. $$$
Christmas bonus for nanny
Dec 2011
We have an amazing nanny that we've known for about 3 months now. We scrape by to provide this level Of care for our infant. As Christmas approaches I want to get her a small gift to thank her. I know she prefers money over gifts, but we don't have a lot of extra money this year. What's the going nanny Christmas bonus these days?? What have you done for your nanny at Christmas? Happy holidays!
Give her money. Even if it is a small amount give her money. We scape together money to give our nanny 1/2 a week of pay. She takes good care of our kids and makes our work \\ home life balance possible. I think of it as a gift for myself and kids. $$
Gift for nanny under $100
Dec 2007
This is the second Christmas with our daughter and the first with her nanny. I am wanting to give the nanny something for Christmas, but have no idea what.
Gifts are so culturally driven. If she had kids, I would get her something related to them, but she doesn't. It's just her and her husband. They are recent immigrants from Central America, and they both work in service type of jobs. In lieu of vacation, our nanny has always preferred money instead of time off. She works 5 or 6 days a week and is always interested in getting extra shifts from us or her other employers. (We have her only part-time.)
Ideally, I would give her money, but our budget for this is about $100, which doesn't seem like much. I thought about getting her an English language tape course, but I thought she might find that insulting. She was taking English classes at night, though, and recently had to quit, so maybe she would appreciate it??
For our daughter's (first) birthday, she gave us a few very cute outfits, a balloon, etc. It was very special and unexpected. I would like to give her and her family something that resonates with them, that shows our appreciation for the caring she gives our daughter, etc. Any good thoughts out there? Mom on Hayward Fault
Give her the $100. I doubt she will buy English language tapes with it. She is special to your family, but she is an employee and you are in a business relationship with her. Also, it should be a year-end bonus as opposed to a holiday gift (this way you avoid the cultural issues you mentioned). Anon
From what you've told us about your nanny, I would definitely go with the $100 in cash. It seems pretty clear that what she needs most is the extra money. How could she not appreciate $100? You could also get her something small and more personal to go with it. anon
Please give your nanny the $100. She is working extra a hours and asking for extra shifts because childcare does not pay well, and Spanish-speaking immigrant women are not seen as valuable, skilled, talented workers. Do not buy her the language course. She would much rather have the money. Please.
Give her the $100. It is ''enough.'' Heck, I make six figures and would be DELIGHTED if my employer gave me $100 for Christmas. anon
i always heard nannies are supposed to get a bonus of 1 to 2 weeks' pay for the holidays. i definitely think you should give her the cash rather than trying to come up with a gift that she may not want, which would be a total waste of money. i don't know how things are done here, but her caregiver-friends may have conditioned her to expect a big bonus, and she may be quite surprised.
I worked as a nanny for several years, now just date nights. I got between 1-2 weeks salary as a bonus for Christmas and birthdays. Now that I just work date nights, my family gave me 3x what I make for the one night I work. I know you say money is tight, but I count on that money (build it into my budget) and even though I love the kids, if the family did not give me the bonus, I probably would have started looking elsewhere. Good luck, but please understand that money is tight on the other end too. nanny
I think you have your answer. Cashola. Even if it is only $100, that is a lot better than a $100 gift she doesn't need. I would stay away from English tapes or any kind of gift card, which is basically deciding how to spend her money for her. anon
As a former nanny and as you describe it, she will be more grateful to get a Grocery store gift card. with a nice box a cookies. or a Mall gift card rather a store gift card, so she can pick the store she likes best. Happy Holidays to you too!
We have tried to give the equivalent of one week's salary and a small gift to our nanny each year. She too is from Central America and while she appreciates little gifts, she also is supporting a lot of family back home and cash is really a big deal.
You say you don't have much cash to give. I am sure anything would be appreciated. If it just doesn't feel like enough, give cash and something else. English tapes are not a bad idea if you know she has wanted to learn, but perhaps also something that is just purely about the holidays, or about her. A basket of cookies? A gift card for Target? One year, we got a free used computer, refurbished it, and gave it to our nanny with money for 6 months of internet. Love our nanny too!
The English Tape thing is not cool...or very festive. Give her a small personal token (nice lotion etc.) and the $100 that you have in your ''budget.'' She'll appreciate the money. Maybe that isn't a lot to you, but i'm sure for her, it is. peace
It's very thoughtful of you to think of her this holiday season. Give her cash. It's probably what her and her husband need most and it allows them to buy what they need or save up for something they really want. mother of 4
You already know the answer to this. Despite that it's nice to get gifts, the best gift someone struggling with finances can get is more money. Believe me, I know. Poor
Holiday bonus for part-time nanny
Oct 2006
How much do people give as a holiday bonus to their childcare providers? One week, Two weeks wages .. more? Or do people give them a physical present? What is appropriate? Background: We hired a *fantastic* nanny in June to take care of our 12 mon old child 10 hrs a week. We pay her $13 per hr and did not offer her any paid vacation. But we pay her when she is sick or we take vacation (which is about 4 wks a yr)
curious
Our wonderful nanny has worked full-time for us for almost three years. We've given her a $1000 holiday bonus the past two years plus a small gift to open. (We currently pay her $17/hour with COLA increases on her employment anniversary date, plus health insurance, 3 weeks paid time off, time off on most of the U.S. national holidays, and a cell phone that's part of our family cell plan.) I realize our situation is different than yours, but seeing a range of practices should be helpful. - An appreciative mother
Definitely give her cash instead of an item. $13/hour is very difficult to live on in the first place, but clearly she's a part-timer (perhaps she's in school?). It's likely she will always need extra money at this point in her life. Give her whatever seems generous to you, but not over the top. I also strongly feel you should give her yearly paid time off as part of her contract anon
The ''apropriate'' amount is 1 or 2wks salary. Though, I think any amout in keeping with your income level and living style will be appreciated.
Margaret
Holiday bonus for nanny share?
Dec 2005
We are part of a nanny share and are giving our nanny a week of paid vacation at Christmas time. I'm wondering if it's also customary to give a bonus and how much that should be (or if a gift would be more appropriate?) She's been with us for just a couple of months now and this is all new to us.
I got my first holiday bonus as a nanny last year and nearly fell over! It was about a week and a halfs salery. In addition, I had time off with pay and a small gift personally picked out by the child. I suggest any or all of the following: Time off with pay, a cash bonus (whatever you can afford..and make it cash! Not a check the nanny has to take to a bank.), a gift certificate, a small gift chosen and wrapped by your child. Nannies come from all backgrounds, try to match your bonus/gift to what your nanny might really need and want! It will be very much appreciated! A happy nanny in El Cerrito
2004 & Earlier
Christmas Gift, Year-end Bonus
Dec 2000
Can anyone provide some guidelines regarding Christmas bonuses for childcare providers? Are there any rules of thumb for the appropriate dollar amount? I would appreciate any feedback given. Thank you Maria
I had this same issue this year. I spoke with 4 other families and everyone had a different idea. I think it depends on how well you like your nanny and what her financial situation is. Our nanny is a single woman and is supporting a teenage son so we wanted to give a little more. We decided on one week's pay, in cash. That worked out to about $300. Our nanny just started working for us in August and only works 3 days/wk. Next year we may decide on two weeks pay. our neighbors want to give their full time nanny who started in Sept. $500 - $1000. Other people said they were going to give $100 but those tend to also give a gift as well as other perks during the year (trip to Hawaii with the family, extra days off with pay, etc.) Hope that helps a little.
Nov 2000
As the holidays approach, I am curious about what people do for their nannies/sitters as a xmas/holiday gift. I remember hearing a colleague at work last yr say that it it not unusual to give the nanny a bonus as much as one month's salary! That is much more than we can afford, and I was wondering what others have done. I certainly think my nanny deserves the best, but need to stay within our budget. Thx.
We have two babysitters who each work only one day a week for us, and have done so only for about 3 months now. What would you recommend as a holiday bonus in this situation, and when should it be given?
To the person inquiring about a holiday bonus. We have a full-time nanny and have given 1 week's salary for a year of service at Christmas. If the nanny has worked less than a year, we prorate the bonus with a minimum of 1/2 week's pay.
Nov 1999
I'm trying to decide what kind of bonus to give our nanny, and would love to know what other people consider to be appropriate. The nanny, who is wonderful, takes care of two 8 mo. old boys together in my home full-time. Both families essentially split the cost of $15 per hour (which we pay as a straight salary of about $650 per week). We give her paid holidays and two weeks of paid vacation and 5 sick days per year. She's worked for us since June of this year. We have an informal contract that says she'll get a year-end bonus. We'd like to give the bonus around Christmastime, in addition to some smaller gifts from the babies. We have some good ideas for gifts, but have no idea how much cash to give. We're broke, of course, but we'd like to do the right thing, whatever that is.
Most people whom I've seen/heard of giving bonuses, give a bonus tied to the person's compensation. So, say, an extra week's salary (or, since the nanny has worked a half year, say half-a week's salary -- though since you're happy with her, maybe a week's salary isn't crazy).
We generally have given our Nanny a nice personal gift plus a bonus. Our bonus benchmark is a week's salary, which of course increases as she gets raises over time. You might reduce that benchmark a bit for a new nanny with only a half year's service, but if she is as great as you say, I'd give her a whole week.
I want to respond to the issue of Nanny Year End Bonus recommendations. Someone suggested a week's salary for good service.
While I don't philosophically object to this advice, some of us are paying at the highest level we can afford throughout the year and an extra week's wages, even if one month a year, is simply not in the budget. I believe that our ongoing commitment to fair financial treatment is adequate and that I'd like to share in the celebration of this season, with our nanny as well as with our families and friends, in heart-felt ways when possible instead of or in addition to limited use of cash gifts. We (2 families in a shared childcare situation) are therefore are planning to give our nanny an extra $100/ per family plus a color zerox photo collage of her with the children documenting their year together. We will also make an extra copy of the color zerox and copy some video tape excerpts made throughout the year for her to send to her family, and probably make her a gift from the babies (their hand prints with warm message glazed onto a large coffee mug at Brushstrokes for example). I do beleive that it is possible to be fair and during this season without spending a lot of money which we don't have.
I think it is pretty standard to do a year end holiday bonus.
Having talked to a lot of parents about this, ~2 weeks of pay is the typical annual (holiday) bonus for a full time nanny. We pay ours 3 weeks pay for the holidays.
It's been a while, but the general rule was that you give a Christmas bonus that's about a week's pay, prorated if they worked for you less than a year.
I guess I’m uncertain what you mean by tipping? The nanny is your employee, whether over or under the table. Tips are not generally given by an employer.
If you mean bonuses, I’ve heard it’s typical to consider something on order of one week’s salary as a holiday bonus at end of year.
We have an FT Nanny that we pay $24/hr. Her contract includes guaranteed 40hr minimum (whether we're in town or she meets those hours), 2 weeks PTO, and 5 sick days. At the end of the year we will also give her at least a 2-week bonus. We normally give about $40 "extra" a week as a tip for her help around the house. She goes above and beyond and a tip is easier for us than bumping up her hourly rate. on weeks when we are gone, we give her the base rate but without the tip.
I have personally never heard of tipping a nanny outside of a holiday bonus. I have heard 1-2 weeks wages for a holiday bonus.
I had a family that would pay essentially a tip for when vacations came up, or they knew certain events were happening in my life, and around the holidays. Always appreciated it and never expected it. They were kind and I’m assuming could afford to do that.
I agree as others have stated, it’s more of a bonus rather than thought of as “tips.”