Getting a Large Home and Its Staff Ready for Holiday Hosting

Holiday hosting in a large home goes well when the staffing plan is settled by mid-November: who works which days, who covers when your regular housekeeper is off, and what the house needs before the first guest arrives. The checklist below is written for homeowners, house managers and estate managers who run a residence with one or more household staff and expect a full house between late November and early January.

It is a planning aid, not legal or tax advice. Holiday pay and overtime rules differ by province and state, and the labour standards office where the home is located publishes the current figures.

Six to eight weeks out: settle the calendar

Most holiday problems in private homes start with a calendar nobody wrote down. Before anything else, put the season on one page.

• List every event and every overnight stay. Dinners, open houses, children home from school, relatives staying a week. Note the expected number of guests for each.
• Ask your staff for their own plans now. Your housekeeper, nanny or house manager has a family too. Asking in early November, rather than mid-December, gives both sides room to plan.
• Mark the statutory holidays where the home is located. In Canada that includes Christmas Day and New Year's Day everywhere, with Boxing Day added in some provinces. In the US the dates are set by custom and by the employment agreement rather than federal law.
• Decide which days the house is fully staffed, lightly staffed and closed. Writing this down early is what lets you book extra help before the good people are taken.

Check the pay rules before you ask for extra days

Asking a household employee to work Christmas Day or a string of long days has a cost, and in many places it is set by law rather than by goodwill.

In Ontario, domestic workers are covered by the Employment Standards Act, which includes public holiday pay and premium pay for working on a public holiday. In Québec, the Act respecting labour standards gives employees an indemnity for statutory holidays such as December 25 and January 1, and a household employer is covered like any other. Other provinces have their own versions, and the provincial employment standards office is the place to confirm them.

In the US, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires overtime after 40 hours for live-out domestic workers, while live-in workers are treated differently at the federal level. Several states go further. New York's Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights, for example, sets overtime after 40 hours for live-out staff and after 44 hours for live-in staff, and California has its own household employment rules. If holiday weeks will run long, check the hours against your state's rules and the employment agreement before agreeing to the schedule.

Whatever applies, put any extra days, holiday premiums and time off in lieu in writing. A short email that both sides confirm is far better than a verbal arrangement remembered differently in January.

Arrange temporary help early

When your regular staff are away, or the season simply needs more hands, temporary help fills the gap. It works best when it is booked weeks ahead.

• Decide the role. A second housekeeper for turnover of guest rooms is a different person from someone who serves at dinners or helps in the kitchen.
• Confirm who the employer is. If you hire a temporary housekeeper directly, you are usually their employer for that period, with the same obligations as for regular staff. If the person comes through a service, ask who handles pay and coverage.
• Write a short brief. Rooms, routines, linens, what not to touch, alarm and key procedures. A one-page household brief saves your regular staff hours of explaining.
• Plan a handover. Ideally the temporary person spends a few hours with your regular housekeeper before the busy days, not during them.

Our temporary housekeeper cover page covers how short-term cover works and what to prepare.

Two to three weeks out: the house itself

Once people are settled, turn to the residence. These are the tasks that tend to land on the last day if nobody owns them.

Guest rooms and bathrooms

• Air out rooms that have been closed since summer and check heating in each one.
• Count sheets, duvet covers, pillows and towels against the number of guests, with one spare set per room.
• Test bedside lamps, reading lights and any in-room thermostat.
• Stock each guest bathroom with toiletries, a hair dryer and extra toilet paper.

Kitchen, pantry and serving

• Inventory serving pieces, glassware and table linens, and send out anything that needs pressing or repair.
• Clean the oven, range hood and refrigerators before the heavy cooking starts.
• If a private chef or caterer is involved, agree on who uses the kitchen and when, and where their equipment goes.

Entrances and public rooms

• Book carpet and upholstery cleaning for the main rooms early in the month, so it has time to dry.
• Clear the front hall closet for guests' coats and set out boot trays for snowy weather.
• Check that exterior lighting, the walkway and the driveway are ready for evening arrivals.

The week of: a daily rhythm

During the busiest week, a simple daily structure keeps the house running without anyone burning out.

• Morning: guest room refresh, bathrooms, breakfast cleanup and a quick pass through the public rooms.
• Afternoon: event setup, laundry turnover and a short check-in between whoever is running the house and the staff on duty.
• Evening: service for dinner if planned, then a reset of the kitchen and main rooms so the next morning starts clean.

Build in real breaks for staff working long days. A tired housekeeper on day five of a full house is where breakages and missed details happen.

After the guests leave

The first week of January is easy to forget in planning, and it matters as much as the run-up.

• Strip and launder every guest room, then store linens properly.
• Schedule a deep clean of the kitchen and main rooms.
• Return rented items and settle any temporary staff pay promptly.
• Give your regular staff the time off you agreed in lieu of holiday work.
• Write down what worked and what didn't. Next year's planning starts from those notes.

If the family is heading to a second residence for the rest of winter, the arrival preparation service gets that home ready before you walk in.

Frequently asked questions

Does a housekeeper get extra pay for working on Christmas Day?

In much of Canada, yes. Ontario and Québec, for example, both include domestic workers in their statutory holiday rules, so working on Christmas Day comes with holiday pay, a premium or a substitute day off, as set by provincial law. In the US there is generally no federal holiday premium, so it depends on your state and the employment agreement.

How far ahead should we book temporary holiday help for a private home?

Early to mid-November is a sensible target for late December coverage. Experienced temporary housekeepers and event staff are in demand across the season, and booking early also leaves time for a proper handover with your regular staff.

Can our regular housekeeper and a temporary one work together?

Yes, and it usually works better than replacing one with the other. The regular housekeeper knows the house and its standards, and a temporary person can take guest room turnover or laundry. Agree in advance who leads, so the temporary person knows who to ask.

What should go in a brief for holiday staff?

Keep it to one or two pages: the rooms they work in, daily routines, special items to avoid or handle with care, linen and laundry procedures, key and alarm instructions, and who to contact during the day. A written brief keeps standards consistent when the house is busy.

Plan your holiday staffing

If you want help putting the season together, from temporary cover to a full holiday staffing plan for a large home, tell us about the residence and we follow up in writing with options and a quote.