HELP....what do you give your babysitter?

We are heading out for tea tonight :dance: and for the first time in forever we have found a babysitter. We don't live near any family etc so never really knew anyone. The office lady at my DH work has offered to sit at our place when we need her.

So tonight my DH has a special dinner on & YAY we get to go DS free. He will be in bed before she gets here, it's just down the road (small town) and will only be gone at most 3hrs. So what do I give her??? how much cash??? she's happy with whatever as she's not a sitter as such just helping out - she said its up to us.

I was going to get a small bunch of flowers to say thanks & ahhh I dunno some cash??? what do you think?????

I always think something like a voucher is nicer than cash if its a favour rather than a paid job iykwim?

have a lovely night out!

Thats a good question Erin. I think flowers and a giftcard would be nice.

Can i hijack your thread?

My mum looks after DS once a week for about 6 hrs while i work?

I'm not sure what to get or do for my mum either. Dad and mum do pretty well for themselves so money is probably not the right thing for her. We are going through a pretty tough time financially at the moment so for the interim i made her a nice (scrapbooked) card to say thanks but i want to do something else for her. Once i made her dinner for the day she looked after him so she didn't have to worry about cooking after i picked up DS.

What does everyone else do?

Taking dinner over is such a lovely idea...
Something handmade is lovely for family or friends esp if they dont need the $$
I know my mum wouldnt take money but a lovely card once in a while ans a gift i know she wants saying thanks for all you do for me goes a long way
pictures DS has done, sending her postcards from him etc
for a friend i think a voucher is lovely, also leave some nice food for her
and a handwritten note telling her how much it meant to you to go out would belovely

thanks for the replies guys, I don't really know this heaps well....my DH does though as he works with her. So was thinking some flowers & box of choc's & I've left out all the stuff she needs to make a nice tea or coffee. Does this sound ok?
It's not a paid job as such & DS will be in bed so its more a favor I guess. We wont be out long either. Can't think, I'm too excited about being able to eat my meal in peace & I don't have to pay for it YAY!!!

that sounds lovely!
enjoy your meal!

I wish everyone was as considerate and grateful as you :) Last time I babysat for a friend's 10mo old for a few hours (while she was up and awake) I didn't even get a verbal or SMS thanks afterwards, much less a card/flowers/anything!

every time my parents came to baby sit over here, I used to buy them chocolates, biscuits and all sorts of snacks to enjoy while we were out... they loved it but have since told me its not necessary. we don't go out much anyway, so when the rare occasions comes that they do look after ds, I still buy them something yummy like choccies they like etc. It just makes their evening a little more special once ds is in bed :)

If my sister babysits i we give her cash for takeaway and movies etc (and loads of thanks)

Mum looks after MJ on thursdays and Fridays, she does not want/expect to be paid for it.
We give her $50 a week in fuel (she would probably use maybe $25 if that for the travel she doesn) and i will occasionally give her an envelope with $100 in it, its probably about once a month. she is always cross, but always accepts it (which is nice)

My friends are going to have MJ for a day while i am at work and i plan to give them some flowers and choccies and something for the kids as a thank you.

Its about how much do you want her to come back and do it again, if she feels apprecaited (flowers, choccies, wine etc) she will be more inclined...
And even though your bubs will be in bed, its still the responsibilty that she is undertaking... what happens if he does wake? she has to stay sober, in hearing distance and not distracted kwim?

Enjoy your night out :)