The holidays are a stressful time for everybody—estranged families, bourbon distributors, Chinese restaurants, poor people. How are the mommies over at UrbanBaby dealing with the crunch? Currently, they're trying to figure out the most appropriate—yet still demeaning—way to reward "the help" for their efforts this year. Let's take a look inside their minds (and their messageboards)!

First, an important poll:


i feel shitty. nann came in this morning and we never shoveled and it was all ice (we have a slate front porch and large walk way) she didn't say anything, but when i came home just now it was all shoveled. she said she didn' wantthe mail man or someone (more) to slip. how horrible are we?
* omg you need to get her something for that.
* how in the world did she shovel that ice? we are locked in like an ice cube
* yuck, you suck, to be honest.

And also!

What should I give to my cleaning lady as a gift? I'm giving her a nice tip, but I also have a box of chocolates and a nice candlestick. I'm thinking the chocolates, right?

Or, you could try paying her on the books for once—so she'll qualify for Social Security and all that! OMG.

for those of you who have nannies, how do you handle petty cash? for example she is out with the kids and they want an ice cream, etc. do you pay her back later? give her spending money and expect receipts? new to this nanny thing and looking for help. (more)

This season, God bless us all, every one! (Some will need it more than others.)