Holiday Gifts to Get Your Babysitter

By Kaitlin Hurtado on December 20, 2022

When it comes to the holiday season, you have the perfect opportunity to show extra appreciation for those in your life, from family and friends to coworkers and employees. If you have a babysitter for your family, the holidays are a great time to show them some well-deserved appreciation for all the time they spend with your children. Depending on how well you know your babysitter, getting them a gift may be more difficult of a task than you originally anticipated. If you find yourself stuck on what to gift your babysitter this holiday season, keep reading for potential holiday gifts to get your babysitter.

Photo: Pexels

Gift baskets tailored toward their interests

If you know your babysitter on a personal level, making a gift tailored toward their interests should be a piece of cake. Or, you can ask your kids for their input on what their babysitter is interested in. For example, if you know your babysitter loves to cook or bake from their time with the kids or your past conversations with them, throw together a gift basket surrounding their hobby.

If their hobby is baking, for example, their gift basket can include a recipe book, sprinkles, decorated pan or muffin tin liners, piping tips, cookie cutters, and so on.

If they love crafting, you can include some crafting tools, paints, or gift cards to local crafting stores so they can choose what they want or need for their desired projects.

If you don’t know your babysitter well enough to know their interest and hobbies outside of work, you can’t go wrong with getting them some goodies gathered together in a basket. The basket can include:

- Candles

- Snacks

- Teas, coffee, or hot chocolate mixes

- Fuzzy socks or beanies

- Self-care items like face masks, lip balms, bath bombs, or hand lotion

To make a gift basket more festive for the holiday season, stuff everything in a Christmas stocking instead of the regular basket.

Gift cards

You can never go wrong with a gift card when you aren’t sure what holiday gift to get your babysitter. You can always get them from a store or restaurant that is nearby and that your babysitter is bound to get something from or get a gift card to a place where you know your babysitter already loves to eat or shop.

You can also get them gift cards for gas stations – it’s something they are going to use if they drive their own car and will be much appreciated.

Electronics or streaming subscriptions

Depending on your budget, you may consider gifting your babysitter some electronics or a subscription to a streaming service. These are often gifts your babysitter is bound to make use of, from headphones if they love listening to music to a multi-month subscription to Netflix or Disney+ that they don’t have to pay out monthly by themselves.

Cozy gifts

If your gift giving during the winter months, why not give someone a gift they are bound to use during the colder months? Cozy items like gloves, knit beanies or hats, and robes can be great ideas for babysitters and are something they are bound to use if the weather gets chilly.

Other items that can help them get cozy can be fluffy blankets or heating pads they can take on the go and plug in.

A bonus, or employment-related gift

Depending on your financial situation, you may consider giving your babysitter a year-end bonus as a holiday gift. The bonus can be influenced by how long your babysitter has been employed, how much time they spend with the kids, and their typical base pay.

Urbansitter recommends a bonus of a week of pay, but you can adjust depending on your situation and how you already compensate your babysitter for their work.

If you don’t want to give out a holiday bonus, consider something like paid time off for your babysitter.

Don’t forget your kids’ contributions

Obviously, your children are going to have the closest bond with your babysitter, so don’t leave them out of the gift you are giving. Whether it be a crafted gift or a handmade card, allow your kids to contribute to the gift for your babysitter.

If you are going the homemade gift route, you can enlist the help of your kids to get the job done. Some homemade gift ideas you can consider for your babysitter include:

- Cookies or other baked treats

- Scrapbooks of the babysitter’s time with the kids

- Decorated photo frame for a photo of the babysitter and the kids

- Christmas tree ornaments or other decor

Something as simple as a handmade Christmas card with the kids’ handwritten messages expressing their gratitude or feelings toward the babysitter can make your babysitter feel appreciated, especially if your kids don’t often express their feelings toward their babysitter.

With these ideas in mind, you can show your babysitter some extra appreciation before the year ends. Happy Holidays!

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