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Ask Andreas: How should I mark my Maid’s Birthday?

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We have the best Agony Uncle at Sassy Mama – Andreas is the author of one of our most-recommended books: Hiring & Managing Domestic Help. It’s an absolute must-have for Dubai mamas and you can buy it from our Sassy Sale shop in Hong Kong right here!!
Today we’ve got a fun question about how to celebrate your maid’s birthday – what’s appropriate?

It’s my maid’s 40th bday coming up – what’s the protocol for birthday gifts? I’m new to Dubai and the maid thing.

There is no obligation to give a birthday (or Christmas) gift, but it a nice thing to do.

You can always give cash. It is a bit impersonal but always appreciated. Many will give cash for Christmas anyways and birthday are normally seen as occasions for actual gift giving.

A gift should be something your maid would never buy for herself, such as a nice handbag or a pair of shoes.

A final option is an “experience” type gift. For example you can invite (and pay for) some family member of your maid’s to spend a week or two in Dubai. We did this for our maid, and she got to spend a couple weeks with her son. A surprise trip home to see her family can also work, but be wary since many maids don’t want to home too often as they get to pay for everything when they are there.

Do you have a question for Andreas? Email sassy@sassymamadubai.com with the subject line “Ask Andreas” and we’ll make sure it gets answered!

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