Typical Holiday Bonus?

[Anonymous]

One week's pay is often held up as typical, but as a nanny I have received all over the board. It depends on a lot:
1) How long her hours are (simply because genuine appreciation is key to staving off burnout)
2) How long she has been with you
3) How well you pay--if you are paying a high hourly and can't swing a week's pay that should be understandable
4) The big one: how well does she actually perform? There is a big difference between doing something fairly token (gift from the kids worth $30-50 and a nice card) versus really going all out (large cash gift and/or present AND the thoughtful card) and the difference should be whether you are really pleased with your nanny or just meh. Does she do her job with a positive attitude? Does she provide reasonable flexibility when you really need it? Does she go above and beyond in little ways? Brass tacks: is your family life truly enriched because THIS PERSON is your nanny? If so, then focus on thoughtfulness and genuine expression of gratitude (i.e., tell her what you appreciate and how much in writing), then give what you can. An awesome nanny isn't going to quit because you didn't shell out a huge pile of cash.

[Anonymous]

$200 gift card for one job.

Nothing other than a card and cookies for a previous job but they gave me one extra week off at Christmas because they were off. They were the best family and an extra week off is a nice bonus.

[Anonymous]

I got a $100 gift card

[Anonymous]

MB here -- I gave $500 for live-out nanny who works 45 hours a week. She also got a week off, paid.

[Anonymous]

I'm going to give $400 and a gift this year (her weekly salary is $720). I pay all taxes, but I do the bonus in cash and don't report it. It's not legal, but I'm ok with that.

I'm not doing a full week's salary because a) she hasn't been with us that long and b) she's a brand new, young nanny who has needed a lot of hand-holding making a good hourly rate.