If you interact in any model-mom circles, a big question
this time of year is: “What do I get my agents for gifts?” Holiday gifting is a nice gesture, and I
would say it’s probably somewhat expected (but I don’t think any professional
agent worth his/her salt in the business would deny you any work for not
gifting). I’ll give you some of my
thoughts.
First, gift-giving of ANY sort should be based on your own
personal resources. No one should feel
the need to gift more extravagantly than their budget allows.
Some people work exclusively with one agent or manager (and
maybe that person has a staff member).
You would probably choose to gift this person more extravagantly than if
you work with four or five agents at a bigger firm. You can set a total budget and work within
it, which makes a lot of sense especially when you have two agencies and a few
agents and support staff under each roof.
The IRS has work-related gift limits if you plan to deduct
the cost of the gift on your child’s taxes.
It’s $25 per gift per person (so if you work with three agents in one
firm, you can send 3 $25 gifts and be able to deduct all three). If you spend more than that, great…but you
cannot deduct more than that. (Now is
also a reminder to keep ANY AND ALL WORK-RELATED RECEIPTS.) Here’s a link to the IRS page that explains this policy and even gives a handy example.
I know of people giving a whole range of gifts. Anything from a $10 Starbucks card to a $250
gift card to a swanky store is cool – again, it depends on your relationship
with the agent. I would say that if your
kid is a HUGE booker, you should probably err on the more generous side. That’s a lot of agent/parent contact and you
want to show your gratitude if you can.
And if kiddo is making $25,000 this year, it’s really not too much to
think of a gift in the $100 range – in my humble little opinion. On the flip side, giving an extravagant gift will NOT make your child a big booker.
I also like to steer people in the direction of practical gifts. Maybe a little luxury (like a Nest candle or
Simon Pearce hurricane) or a gift card to a great lunch spot near their
office. Bonus points for a restaurant that delivers. I don’t think this is one
of those situations when a gift card seems too impersonal – if you’re going more
extravagant, why not one to Zappos – who doesn’t love shoes? If you’re staying more modest, Starbucks or
even Amazon are great choices. These are
not cards that will sit unused in the wallet.
If you know your agent’s tastes really well, you can head in that
direction. If you're self-conscious about a modest gift (NOT THAT YOU SHOULD BE) have your child hand-draw a card to go with it.
Food is a popular gift – what’s cuter than a rosy-cheeked
child carrying in a beautifully wrapped box of homemade brownies? And for some families, food is how they roll…
BUT…I’m not sure it’s always tops on the list of agents’ favorite gifts. Main reason: they get SO much. It’s totally thoughtful, don’t get me wrong,
but there’s so much…and a lot of agents I know are physique-conscious…so what
ends up happening is that the Bizzy Mama in the office (read: chubby girl) eats
all the goodies and ends up ten pounds heavier by December 20 (you know, before
the family holiday stuff even happens and you gain the actual holiday
weight). If you really feel the push
toward the food, why not have a nice bagel/lox/schmear/fruit assortment
delivered for the office to share one morning (maybe check with the assistants
first to see if there is a particularly good day). Another option is a tray of healthy wraps for
lunch. That gets you the satisfaction of
feeding your agents but stays away from the sweets. If you are really inclined toward the sweets,
you could do a couple of different things: maybe individually wrap the items
(little cello bags) so the agents can grab some to take home to their family OR
send a nice holiday card and promise a treat on a date in February, when
everyone is sad and dreary and those Italian cookies would be really excellent
at 3:00. Don’t be afraid to switch it up
a little – your gift will probably stand out, which is always a nice plus.
I’m going to add, and I’ve mentioned them already, but don’t
forget the assistants. They do a lot of
legwork and they may actually be the ones you interact with the most. If you interact with the assistants just as
much or more than the agents, I think the assistants are worthy of the same
value of gift. Fielding multiple calls
at a time and unjamming the copier while making sure a CD knows that a kiddo is
running late for the 5:00 audition because of the tunnel…all of that merits a
nice holiday shout-out.
And what do I give?
Booze. Last but not least, the
booze gift – it’s how I was raised (and all of those bottles my dad got came in
really handy when I was, um, well…let’s just say there were so many you’d never
miss one, or, er…) and it’s what I like to do.
We work with one agency for print and another for on-camera and last
year I sent each a case of decent (read: affordable and drinkable) prosecco. My aim was for anyone who wanted one to take a
bottle…or two, whatever was left…and drink it or even re-gift it. If someone’s working late and needs to run to
have dinner with friends, he or she can grab a bottle out of the case and be
all set with something to hand the host.
I have no problem with re-gifting.
If I give you something that makes your life easier – not having to stop
at the liquor store on the way – great.
Mission accomplished. I should
also acknowledge the, what if someone doesn’t drink? question. It’s just like the brownies or the lox –
maybe those gifts aren’t for everyone and while someone may pass, I’m sure he/she
appreciates the gesture. Note that I am
sending these bottles to agencies that have a few people on each team for kids –
I would not send booze to an individual or two-person office unless I know
confidently that those people drink.
Here’s the link to Sherry-Lehmann (free delivery in NYC if you get to it
in time).
I've got one more bit of gift-giving advice. Teacher gifts. After 20 years in the classroom, I can confidently say what we teachers want. Amazon or B&N gift cards OR gift cards to coffee places that have drive-thru on the way to school. If you give us sweets, it never fails that my dog eats them...which is probably good for us, but bad for Tessie.
Hope these ideas help!
Anything I didn’t think of?
Questions? Hit me up here, via
email at TheBizzyMama@gmail.com or
the Facebook page. I’m also on Instagram
and warning: it’s likely to be full of ballet pics the next couple of weeks.