Follow these 3 tips to help secure a quality caregiver, so that you can enjoy a night on the town.
Prescreen
Start your search for a New Year’s Eve babysitter long before New Year’s Eve. Consider registering with a babysitting service (visit the website of the International Nanny Association for a reputable sitting service) or spreading the word that you are in need of a sitter to friends and family in early December (or earlier if you already know you have plans on New Years Eve). If you choose to use an online website to recruit caregivers, proceed with caution. Regardless of how you find your potential babysitter, screening your candidte and ensuring that they are qualified to care for your children is up to you. You’ll also want to have a dry run or two after you’ve selected your caregiver, prior to New Year’s Eve, so that your sitter and children have a chance to spend some time together.
Book early
While it can be tempting to drag your heels, don’t. Quality sitters book out New Year’s Eve well in advance. Many have standing clients and others are reserved months ahead of time. If you know of a sitter you’d like to hire, offer her the job as soon as possible.
Expect to pay more
On New Year’s Eve you’ll need to sweeten the pot. Expect to pay $5 to $10 more per hour than you typically might expect to pay on a non-holiday evening. For many sitters, who are of an age where they could consider going out to celebrate on their own, weighing giving up the night for babysitting needs to be financially worth it to help influence them to commit to babysitting for you.
So what if it’s the night before New Year’s and you still haven’t found a sitter? Embrace celebrating at home. You’ll save money and if you head to bed early, you may even be able to catch up on some much needed sleep and enter the New Year feeling refreshed. That’s my plan anyways.
What are your New Year’s Eve plans? Have you secured your sitter yet?
