Thank you, its not going to be easy.
People like to spend time with their family over the holidays - If you are an open to the idea of your sitter having visitors during this period you could add that to your listing .
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What a dream! 5 Golden Retrievers near the beach…
I just favorited your listing. Cannot do Xmas but would love to do warmer months.
@jeangriggs, the festive period is a time of extreme excess demand for housesitters. Many choose not to housesit but to spend time with family. Some choose to housesit via paid platforms, rather than THS, as its peak peak time of year. And many Pet Parents seek housesitters. Big imbalance.
Given your five dogs then we heartily applaud advice by @Colin and @Silversitters to increase the attractiveness of your listing for prospective housesitters. Our of sheer pragmatism then it may be smart to concurrently prepare a Plan B.
As we havent actually booked anything we still have some flexibility but unsure of how to say this in the given dates.
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I have a flexible Christmas sit booked. I set the dates for the week of (12/20-12/27), then noted at the top of my profile that the dates were flexible because we were driving to our destination, and included my specific timing parameters: that it could be anything from 1-2 weeks, could include New Years or not, and that we definitely needed X-Y dates covered at a minimum. We booked a sitter who’s only a couple hours away and also has flexibility, so we agreed to decide on the actual dates closer to the sit.
I think this works really well because both parties are driving, the ultimate flexibility! I don’t think it would be so easy if we both needed to fly to our destinations so depending on your travel plans this may not be an option for you.
This is the first time in 10 years we will be in the UK for Christmas and New Year. We are usually away chasing the sun but because of health issues we are in the UK till the end of January.
We are already booked up and looking forward to time with one of my all time favourite dogs.
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Hi Colin, I’ve sat for Jean and it’s an amazing sit. 5 lovely well trained dogs and gorgeous house. I’ booked elsewhere for xmas but would have gladly done this.
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Thanks for this post! It seems like I should start consider holiday travel over New Years now rather than waiting. We live a few blocks from the rose parade route so I thought it could be a good time to take a trip and let someone enjoy the New Year’s Day parade.
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@RnR Rose Parade Route>? This is a world wide site, you expect everyone to know what you are talking abut?
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I think the fact that your dates cover Christmas AND New Year could be a stumbling block. Potential sitters are being asked to be away from home and their loved ones for not just 1 , but 2 big holidays.
Ah yes, it’s just a US thing so not everyone would know in the forum. But I’ve put it on my listing for the dates and will let sitters know! The Rose Parade/Tournament of Roses is just the thing most people associate with my city. Many people come out for the American Football game that day, but it’s not my thing.
I’m sure this varies a lot by sitter. I only consider Christmas sits that encompass both Christmas and New Year’s. I’m always off work that week in between and I want to settle in and enjoy the holidays without packing/cleaning/traveling until after New Year’s.
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Just agreed our Xmas sit 14th Dec to 1st Jan in Jersey Channel Islands. We’re sitters.
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Isn’t there a group that want to go watch the game, which is very expensive, and another that would watch the parade, like a family with children? I can’t imagine someone coming to just watch the parade.
We just posted our sit in Pennsylvania, USA, for early to mid-December.
Keeping fingers crossed for the right sitters to apply. 