If you shop online as much as I do, the delivery men and the postman earn their salaries. As an extra thank you during the holidays, you might consider small gifts for mail carriers and delivery people.
Almost every day, one or more of the trucks pass my driveway to deliver a package or stack of mail to the porch. I “blame” amazon for splitting orders into multiple shipments, but really it’s because I’d rather shop online than take my kids to the store.
To show my appreciation for all the usps, ups, and ex drivers who come to our home, including regular and seasonal drivers, I leave a basket of goodies on the front porch to help them through the long hours and frequent visits to our home. .
I especially appreciate my drivers because they don’t call unless a signature is needed. With a dog who thinks he’s a guard dog (he’s not) and 2 kids at home, a knock on the door causes chaos.
We also have a doorbell that rings, so I know when they drop something off anyway, whether I’m home or not (and could even talk to them through it, if need be). some even thanked me on our call recording after having a snack.
When I saw a photo shared on facebook a few years ago about leaving a snack basket for the drivers, I decided it was a great way to reach all the drivers throughout the season. They work long hours every day (even on Sundays) and I want to show them my gratitude and give them a snack or two each day for them to enjoy.
I try to include a variety of options to account for nutritional preferences. I switch snacks every day or two when I’m done, so I thought I’d share the hits and misses of what they seem to prefer.
gifts for “top hits” postmen and deliverymen
- snack cakes like little debbie cakes – definitely a favorite
- protein or breakfast bars
- bags of pretzel sticks and chips
- bags of peanuts
- chocolate chip granola bars
- driver suggested: Powdered flavor packets to add to water bottles. drivers often have water with them, so a change of flavor is a nice treat!
I was always surprised when funyuns were chosen, but they were popular!
gifts for postmen and deliverers “misses”
-water: either because it’s freezing (therefore the water is very cold), or because they already have their drinks, no one had a bottle of water last year
-cheese sticks: I know you’d grab a cheese stick from a basket like this, but you didn’t. obviously this isn’t a good option if it’s not too cold outside, but I only turned them off when it was really cold.
-apples: I thought I should offer a healthy option, so I added 2 washed apples to the basket, but finally took them out after a few days with no interest.
other options I intend to choose this year
-small packets of gum or mints
-mini candies or other sweets
-cheese or peanut butter cracker packets
If you plan to give your drivers a gift in person, some popular options are small gift cards (coffee shops, fast food, etc.), cash (acceptable limits listed below), small box of chocolates, or Christmas bag wrapped sweets, cookies. I would suggest pre-packaged or bakery food rather than homemade, as most people won’t eat homemade food as gifts from strangers.
Other options include movie tickets, small fruit basket (you can make this yourself), food gifts such as gourmet cocoa mix, tea, honey, candy, bag of coffee, sauces, etc. if you know your bearer personally, feel free to give them something to suit their tastes based on what you know about them.
Just keep in mind that you can find a secondary or seasonal driver on any day during the holidays, and some delivery services have two drivers per truck during the holidays.
gift rules for postmen and deliverymen
Each delivery service has rules for their employees about what types of gifts they can accept. here are the details via the huffpost holiday tag.
USPS: According to a representative of the USPS Ethics Council, “mail carriers are prohibited from accepting cash or a cash equivalent, such as a visa or mastercard gift card, from customers of the postal service “. you can give a gift to a carrier valued at $20 or less, or a gift card to a specific retail establishment valued at $20 or less, as long as the total value of the gifts you gave the carrier does not exceed $50 in a year calendar.
fed ex: “gifts of cash or cash equivalents, such as gift cards or gift certificates, should never be accepted. employees are allowed except one nominal gift valued at up to $75, not cash.” – Steve Barber, FedEx Global Communications
ups: “at ups we train our drivers to politely refuse tips, however, when a customer insists, we allow our people to accept nominal tips. we do not suggest an amount or range for monetary tips. our drivers receive heartfelt and heartfelt gifts of baked goods, knitwear and even holiday party invitations. Ultimately, we allow them to use their own judgment as to whether to accept or decline a gift.” – justin luther, improve public relations
Do you have to tip or give away? Absolutely not. As with all other gift situations, only give what you can afford, and if you want to express your gratitude that way. a handwritten note or card is also perfectly acceptable to any gracious gift recipient.
do you need to buy for others? our gift guides are here to help!
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