Guess it’s not that hard for a grown-up to learn new things like driving manual or automatic. For example, I can switch between right lane and left lane traffic rules in no time.
Thanks - I was basing my comment on the international sitters that I’ve spoken to, who said they’d have to hire an automatic. I appreciate that mature drivers may well be able to drive both, but it’s no longer the case with younger drivers, many of whom have never had the opportunity to try a manual car. It’s getting harder even to buy one now!
Of course that’s true - we have driven all over the world in both manuals and automatics, right side and left. However, often an auto-only licence does not permit driving a manual at all.
FYI, U.S. licenses don’t specify whether the person drives an automatic or a stick — they basically don’t care which you drive, as long as you obey laws of the road.
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Yes, I became aware of that a couple of years ago when someone became very aggressive about it in a facebook forum!
Does such a thing really exist? An auto-only license? Never heard of that. It sounds ridiculous to invalidate an entire driving license process just because someone allegedly can’t manage to press a pedal at the right time while moving a small joystick 5 or 6 times up and down, in ascending or descending order. 
In my country the standard license is for manual gear where you can drive also auto. You will then drive manual in driving school and pass the test on manual.
It is a licence for automatic gear, which is considered somewhat inferior - you get a licence for automatic gear and you are only allowed to drive auto. This license was introdused to make it easier to get a license without sufficient skills to drive with a manual gear, and was popular for instance for elderly women that had to learn how to drive. Now some youth also choose it as it is considered easier/ cheaper to get.
Yes, it does. In the UK, someone who has passed their test in an automatic has a licence for only automatic cars. They wouldn’t be able to hire a manual car; if they owned or borrowed one, they’d need learner plates until they passed a test for a full licence.
But what’s with the traffic rules!? Getting a driving license is surely more about traffic rules, capability of parking, to be able to not run someone over… For me, auto or manual like asking a cyclist if he prefers the ring bell on the left or the right side.
Wow, thank you. Everyday is a school day! 
Never knew that.
I’ve seen people used to automatic try to drive manual, and I don’t agree. They focus so much on the shift gear and have to look to see what gear to choose when gearing. It shifts a lot of attention from traffic and to the gear stick. Here it is illegal to use a hand held cell phone while driving also. We do have a small number of deaths in traffic, so it works.
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Thanks to all who responded about sits over the Christmas break - I now have a clearer idea of the issues and will do what I can to mitigate those.
The post appears to have turned into a debate about driving, which was not my intention, as my car can’t be part of the sit. That’s a whole new topic for a new post I think.
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Which country are you in?
Edit: okay, seen. Norway.
We’re UK-based and always very happy to sit over Christmas - anywhere. In fact, we’ve had our best sitting experiences over the Yuletide period. All I would say, though, is that we tend to organise any Christmas/NY sits very early (our last one, for example, was booked in mid-September) especially if flights are involved, for obvious reasons.
So all I’d suggest is, if you need sitters over Christmas/NY, post it as early as you can. Good luck!
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It is not permitted to use a mobile phone or GPS in any manner that could be deemed detrimental to driving in Sweden, I think. You can ofc bring a phone in the car as such.
That is the dynamic of online forums… 
(1) EMPHASIZE your flexibility about dates! BTW, lots of Sitters do long-range planning but most do not. I would recommend posting late August for Sitters considering plans for the last four months of the year
Perhaps a Post Title such as: FLEXIBLE DATES Dec 6th-January 4th
Then you can explain in the post that you’ll be gone 4 weeks but if the sitter cannot commit to the whole time you can adjust a little
(2) EMPHASIZE the coziness of your home with pictures of past Christmas?
And definitely emphasize attractions within a reasonable distance either by transit or if a car is necessary, that range. Where can a sitter go for a holiday event? Interesting sights? A special meal…
As others have said, we get half a dozen invitations from past HO to do Christmas/NYE sits. They range from a week to a month. As it is, we have been doing the same Sit three years in a row because we absolutely love spending the holidays & January here & already committed to the next one!
Previously? Would usually wait to commit to a Christmas sit until late Sept, early October.
We have done a Sit in Copenhagen and one in Riga in winter: loved them both.
BTW, seeing your “tag” is Scottish_cat_posse I can even add we once did Christmas in a vaca rental in Edinburgh and loved it!
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good grief, mid-September is really late to book a Christmas sit. My last two were booked in June-July.
Thanks - we advertised in January, more than 10 months before the start date, as soon as we were able to book flights for our dates.
Thanks - I can do that, and the obvious add-on from our place is new year in Edinburgh, just an hour away (and that is in our profile)