# USAicans-- do you tip your postal worker on Christmas Eve? If so, how much? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 24, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081 "2013-12-24T14:40:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/1 "2013-12-24T14:40:22Z")
USAicans-- do you tip your postal worker on Christmas Eve? If so, how much? ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/2 "2013-12-24T15:23:50Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > USAicans-- do you tip your postal worker on Christmas Eve? If so, how much? I don’t and I don’t know anyone who does/ever has. Some urban folks are reputed to leave small presents for the postman, but I have no personal knowledge of that. It is against the law in the US to give any federal employee a gift (\> $25, but up until recently the limit was $5) if it is in any way tied to their work. Postal employees are not federal employees, but are closely associated with the federal government. This association and the above law may be a reason why tips to Postal employees are so rare. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/3 "2013-12-24T15:43:00Z")
I leave a gift every year. First year in this house, it was a bag of nice chocolates. Second year, I ran out of time, so I gave money. Yesterday I mailed a ton of thank you cards, new years cards, and I put a large bag of holiday m and ms for him. Always with a nice card of course. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/4 "2013-12-24T15:46:14Z")
A postal worker can lose their job for accepting monetary tips over, I think $20. They can accept food gifts or gifts of trifling monetary value. It’s a weird myth that postal carriers can accept generous cash tips. If it was ever true, it hasn’t been true for decades. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/5 "2013-12-24T15:55:43Z")
My wife left a note this morning telling me to put a tip for our postal worker in a nice Christmas card etc. I was not aware that was something we did, but apparently it is. I left $10. Sounds like that was okay. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/6 "2013-12-24T15:58:57Z")
They technically aren’t supposed to accept gifts, but it seems like many offices look the other way (even with large cash gifts) as long as it doesn’t become an “issue.” Say, if postal workers who regularly share the same route start arguing over who deserves what tips and start threatening to drag others into the dispute, that kind of thing. (Wife of a letter carrier, here.) Which reminds me, I totally forgot to tip our letter carrier! :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/7 "2013-12-24T16:02:09Z")
I don’t and I don’t see why I would. Maybe if it was some postal worker I was friendly with or something, but I don’t even have the first clue who mine is. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/8 "2013-12-24T16:03:39Z")
We used to, when it was the same guy or whatever. But one year I noticed that there was a sub around the holiday time that got what I left out, not the regular, so I decided the whole system was too complicated. Usually we’d leave $10. ---
**Author:** ![cherry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cherry)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/9 "2013-12-24T16:12:42Z")
Our mail carrier leaves a card with a picture of him and his dogs wishing us a happy holidays. It was the same one last year. I’m not sure if to let us know we can leave him a tip or just a holiday card. But I will leave a card with some cash this year. I hope he doesn’t get in trouble for it. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/10 "2013-12-24T16:20:32Z")
Don’t leave more than your carrier can legally accept and you won’t be tempting him/her to break the law and lose his job. It’s seems quite cruel to do otherwise, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/11 "2013-12-24T16:25:48Z")
A large jar of jam and a Christmas card, both homemade. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/12 "2013-12-24T16:34:14Z")
Not anymore. A couple of houses ago we were on a walking route. We knew our postman pretty well. He made sure no packages were left in the rain, mail didn’t overflow out of our box if we were away for a few days etc. We tipped him. Now we are on a driving route and I don’t even know what he looks like. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/13 "2013-12-24T16:38:44Z")
FWIW, I did leave an 8-pack of Bud Lite, for the garbage men. I hope they came around before the mail carrier. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/14 "2013-12-24T16:39:38Z")
I have the vague impression that multiple people do my route, so I tend not to leave a tip. I do (hopefully) tip the garbage guys because they’re good enough to come back and pick up my rubbish if I’m late getting the bags out. I say “hopefully” because I tape the card to the bag, so it’s somewhat possible that I’ve been throwing out twenty dollar bills for the past 10 years. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/15 "2013-12-24T17:34:49Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > Postal employees are not federal employees, but are closely associated with the federal government. Postal employees _are_ federal employees. This is a common misconception since the post office was reorganized in 1971 as an independent federal agency. > [@Hello\_Again](#): > > Don’t leave more than your carrier can legally accept and you won’t be tempting him/her to break the law and lose his job. It’s seems quite cruel to do otherwise, doesn’t it? This. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/16 "2013-12-24T18:11:46Z")
I’m on a rural route and I believe our carriers are contractors, not employees. We have the same one 98‰ of the time and she got a $25 gift card. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/17 "2013-12-24T18:43:23Z")
See’s One pound gift cert. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/18 "2013-12-24T19:45:36Z")
Never have, and doubt that I ever will. Our mail is rarely anything but junk - it’s not like we get tons of packages that require special care. In fact, more often than packages, we get mail that should go to our neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/19 "2013-12-24T21:00:29Z")
USAicans? ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2013, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081/20 "2013-12-24T21:34:24Z")
I think it would be inappropriate to do so. But then, I am on a rural route - we rarely see the mail carrier, as they just drive to our on-street mailboxes. If it was someone who came to my door daily, and we had an ongoing interaction, perhaps it would be different. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usaicans-do-you-tip-your-postal-worker-on-christmas-eve-if-so-how-much/677081.md?page=2)