What domestic staff you do you have?

[Mich the Tester]

Last year we gave ours a gift thingy from Boots

Yep, Boots have always sold the best thingies; thingies from any other store are just not the same.

[shaunbhoy]

Yep, Boots have always sold the best thingies; thingies from any other store are just not the same.

Dunno about that. M&S usually have a great range of Thingies in the run-up to Christmas.

[cailin maith]

Yep, Boots have always sold the best thingies; thingies from any other store are just not the same.

Dunno about that. M&S usually have a great range of Thingies in the run-up to Christmas.

Ah but Boots do 3 for 2 thingys so it's a bargain too.

[Mich the Tester]

Dunno about that. M&S usually have a great range of Thingies in the run-up to Christmas.

Ah, but these days they don't guarantee that the thingies are 100% Made in the UK. They might be cheapo Bobthingies made by small children in sweatshops in Thingyland.

[sasguru]

Your cleaner must be crap if it takes them 5 hours a week.
We recently got a cleaner for the first time. Don't have a garden or children...

Side question... is it normal to pay a Christmas bonus to a cleaner? If so in cash or as a present, and what value to avoid looking tight or like you're throwing money about?

Its a 2 reception, 4 bed, 2 bath, 1 Ecospace garden office house. 5 hours is being a little rough on the cleaner.
We give bottles of wine to the gardner and cleaner and will give a small hamper to the nanny (she's new this year)

[Spacecadet]

What domestic staff you do you have?

I'd sack your typists if I were you

[sasguru]

They are in "sasguru-Mitty-Land!" Over there it is a land of milk, honey, imaginary motorbikes, and headhunters.

You must be very poor.
Motorbikes are very cheap and provide the biggest bang for the buck.
Or maybe you're not confident of your cognitive abilities on a powerful two-wheeler - I don't blame you, I wouldn't if I were you.

[norrahe]

Used to have a gardener and cleaner.

Gardener was good, cleaner was hopeless, or rather the cleaning company was hopeless, high attrition rates and many of the people they sent were either crap or allergic to cats.

[d000hg]

So is cash considered vulgar? The idea is a token gift, more than a bonus?

My parents tell me that in their day, it was normal to give binmen, postman, etc, small cash 'presents'. Has that completely gone as well?

[cailin maith]

So is cash considered vulgar? The idea is a token gift, more than a bonus?

My parents tell me that in their day, it was normal to give binmen, postman, etc, small cash 'presents'. Has that completely gone as well?

Dunno really, guess cash would be ok, just wasn't really something we considered last year.