A Holiday Bonus Question of the Day

As regular Billfolders may remember, one of my goals this holiday season was to give my favorite hair stylist a holiday bonus.

First because service workers deserve holiday bonuses regardless; second because this hair stylist is amazing; and third because it’s a celebration of my own financial security this year. I’m finally ready to participate in this cultural thing that other grown-ups do! (I am literally 34 years old.)

But my favorite stylist had to call out this weekend, and since I didn’t have another chance to get my hair cut before Christmas, I (gulp) let someone else do it.

(Pics are above. It’s a good haircut, but… it’s not the same as getting your hair cut by a person who has experience with your hair.)

I tipped the new person 28 percent, but now I’m stuck trying to figure out what to do about this holiday bonus.

Should I:

1. Mail a holiday card with a check to the salon, with instructions to give it to the stylist
2. Deliver the card and check to the salon in person, understanding that it’ll be, at minimum, a 2.5 hour round trip
3. Wait until the next time I get my hair cut (probably early February) and give a retroactive holiday bonus

I’m leaning towards either 1 or 3, but not until I poll the Billfold hive-mind. What would you do, if you were me?

Also, a Bonus Holiday Bonus Question of the Day: Do you give bonuses to people during the holiday season? How do you decide who gets a bonus and how much to give them? If you work a job that receives holiday bonuses, what amount feels right to you? Do most people still give holiday bonuses, or is this a dying cultural tradition?

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