There are plenty of holiday traditions in the United States, but giving gifts to important people in your life is among the most notable.
Gift-giving is a way to express gratitude for people that have meant something to you. While family and friends are the main recipients, others look to the under-appreciated people in their lives.
Lizzie Post, co-president of the Emily Post Institute, provided some important advice on how to approach gift-giving for the service providers and helpers in your life.
"You really want to build your list based on the service providers and the people in your life that really make a difference," Post said.
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Who exactly fits into that category? It could be a number of people, including mail carriers, nursing home staff, teachers, dog walkers, house sitters or hair stylists, among others.
Post noted that it is necessary to research companies before giving gifts, because rules can differ depending on each line of work.
"You do really want to pay attention to the particulars," Post said. "... We really want to make sure that we're checking in with the organization before we give a cash tip. Some can accept them, some can't. So that's a really important thing to know. That's why gifts often end up being for some of these folks in these categories.
"The USPS does have very specific rules about what you can and cannot give to your mail carriers or to the branch."
The same goes for teachers, Post said. While you might want to give cash to teachers in your life, it can be tricky depending on the school. Post suggested checking in with the school to learn what the standard gift-giving practice might be.
"Teachers are a really classic category that people want to give to at the holidays," Post said. "That is actually another one where you do want to check in with the school first and make sure that the type of gift or the amount or value of the gift is appropriate.
"Teachers fall into an interesting category because they are often burdened with having to provide most of the supplies for their classrooms. So, a lot of times our holiday gifting can be in support of taking some of that burden off of teachers. But we have to do it carefully because teachers are also sometimes those folks who we can't give cash directly to."
While we would all love to show appreciation for these providers in our lives, not everyone is financially able to do so. If you can't afford to give gifts or cash tips, Post offered an alternative: writing a note.
"Sending that thank you note or including a note -- even if you can't do a tip or a gift this year -- is a really, really important way to express your gratitude," Post said.
