Housesitting Over the Holidays

Many full time housesitters travel home to be with family for big celebrations, and others continue housesitting over the holidays. In this article one of our full time housesitters Deb Sakal, shares her experience of housesitting and petsitting over the Christmas holidays. Read on to learn more.

Housesitting over the Holidays

Welcome to my blog all about housesitting over the holidays. My name is Debbie and I travel with my cat Molly, mostly in the UK these days. If you want to find out more about me, check out some of my blog posts here:

While the festive season can be great fun, it can also be a challenging time if we have to go away from home, whether it be for a holiday abroad, or going to see family somewhere, to going away for an extended period for work.  Add to that the complication of getting our pets cared for in our absence and you can see that it can be stressful and worrisome, in addition to the feelings the Season already creates! So, what are the responsibilities of a house sitter over Christmas and the holiday season?

1. Extra love and care for your pets

Organising a trip away can be worrying and time-consuming at the best of times, and when you factor in getting someone to look after your much-loved pets whilst you are away, it can all become very stressful indeed.

Double the anxiety when you are having to organise all this for the period over the festive holidays! As pet parents, whilst enjoying their time away, many may feel guilty that they can’t take their pets with them over the holiday period, or may worry about them.

Image by Debbie Sakal

The job of a house sitter, as I see it, is to allay all these fears and make the whole process easy and effortless for the pet parent. We ensure that the very much-loved family pets are given extra love, cuddles and attention, and especially on the key days over the season, particularly Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. These are the days that we feel the most guilty about not being at home with our pets.

We do this by regular updates and photos to pet parents, so that they can see their pets are happy and healthy.

2. Pet Routines

This is an easy one, and is at the heart of a house sitter’s regular duties, whilst house and pet sitting.

However, over the festive holidays, it’s very important to ensure that the pets’ usual routines are followed. For example walking the dog at the usual times, feeding the fish, giving the cat his or her brush, and the administration of any medication, on time and every time.

Image by Debbie Sakal

And whilst this routine is important, over some festive holidays, safety comes into play. For example on New Year’s Eve, some pet parents would prefer their cats be kept in during the evening and night, due to the potential hazards and dangers associated with fireworks, drunken drivers on the road and so on.

Another example, and this is common for many dogs especially, ensure they are put at ease due to the noise of fireworks.

3. Home Security

When we are away, it’s always a worry that something may happen or go wrong when we aren’t there. Whilst some of us have outside cameras, many don’t, so this can be a great worry indeed. Homeowners may worry about burglary especially over the festive season and possible damage to property over New Year, due to half the population being drunk (!) and possible firework damage to property, and so on.

Image by Debbie Sakal

Or maybe it’s particularly cold Winter and a frozen pipe causes a blockage, or worse, a flood. Having a housesitter takes all this worry away. This is a strong argument for housesitting over the holidays when you are away from home.

It’s part of our job to look after the house and report any problems to the homeowner, and organise any relevant repairs to be carried out as they arise, quickly and efficiently.

4. Decorations

Again, this might seem obvious, but decorations can be an accident just waiting to happen! We want to ensure that any little mischiefs are safe around them at all times.

We take it for granted that our pets are monitored and protected from any potential hazards whilst we are at home. But what when we are not there?

For example, it’s important to ensure that all decorations are safe and that the pets don’t hurt themselves, or conversely, don’t damage the decorations themselves.

Image by Debbie Sakal

The best example of this is the Christmas tree. Tinsel, low-hanging baubles, and wires from the LED lights, can be too irresistible to cats and some younger dogs. Then when it comes to taking down the decs and storing them, it’s a good idea to discuss who will be taking them down, or do the homeowners want to leave it until they are back and do it themselves?

5. Pet Diet

It may be the festive season for us, but pets need their routine and continuity, and it’s well-documented that some festive foods can be detrimental to our pets health. Indeed, some foods can be outright poisonous to dogs and cats. Examples are chocolate for dogs, and many varieties of plants (specifically poinsettias at Christmas) for cats.

Image but Debbie Sakal

It’s best before the sit commences, to discuss and agree on what the pet can and can’t eat, outside of their normal diet. For example, does the homeowner want their pet to have any of the leftover meat, or does their pet have a favourite treat that is allowed, every now and again?

6. Special Expectations and Communication

This one may seem obvious, but it’s worth spelling this one out to be safe, dotting all the “i’s” and crossing the “t’s”! Outside of the normal house sitting duties, when house sitting over the holidays, it’s advisable to discuss and agree on any special festive duties and instructions between you. This way there are no unexpected issues or problems.

An example of this may be if the house sitter is going out for Christmas Lunch, or to a New Year’s Eve party. How long can the pet be left for? It’s my experience that most dog owners wouldn’t want their beloved pet to be left for more than 4 hours maximum. So it’s imperative to discuss and agree on any plans around this in advance, and make the appropriate arrangements.

Image by Debbie Sakal

Extra seasonal duties may include putting up or storing away any decorations, shovelling snow in the driveway, or perhaps awareness of any special pet behavioural quirks and even the care of hot tubs or swimming pools, to name a few. Of course, if anything does happen, quick and clear communication is key, with the prompt reporting of issues, and remediation if required. This is the best way to ensure there aren’t any unwelcome surprises over the holidays!

7. Travel Delays and Contingency Plans

Whilst we can all experience travel delays at any time of the year, they really can be prevalent over the festive season, due to travel companies overbooking, adverse weather conditions and numerous other issues. So it’s always best to have a contingency plan in place.

If the house sitter is flexible with dates either side of the sit, happy days. Or if they already have existing bookings, then are they local enough to be able to come in and feed/walk pets, even if they cannot stay the night?

Image by Debbie Sakal

Or if this is not an option, do you have any family or neighbours that the house sitter can give the key to when they leave, so that if you are delayed, they can come in and to feed and walk any pets?  These are all things to think about

Housesitting Over the Holidays in Summary

Well, I do hope you have enjoyed this article about house sitting over the holidays, and that it’s given you some useful information and tips on going away over the festive season. Please look out for more blog posts from me very soon.