Holiday tipping in hard times.(UP FRONT)

Despite tight-money woes, Americans are unlikely to cut back on tipping, according to a nationally representative survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center. We asked almost 1,900 U.S. residents what they gave last holiday season, when the economy was already unraveling, and found few differences from a year earlier.

House cleaners got the biggest gratuities, $50 on average, followed by childcare providers, with an average tip of $38. In the 12 other categories we list, the average was between $15 and $25, roughly in line with earlier findings.

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Strategies for giving

Author Anna Post, etiquette legend Emily Post's great-great-granddaughter and a spokeswoman for the Emily Post Institute, says how much and whom you tip depend on variables such as the quality and frequency of the service as well as the length and strength of your relationship. "It is easier to jump first to the people you see face-to-face," Post says, "but try to think of the people who do things all year long that you may not see."

 
                           Gave     Average 
                         anything   Gift (1) 
 
Cleaning person             65%       $50 
Child's teacher             59         20 
Hairdresser                 56         20 
Child-care provider         52         38 
Manicurist                  51         20 
Newspaper carrier           45         20 
Barber     ...