I'm part of our neighborhood's newsletter team and for the next one they asked me to write about what you should do to your house before going on Christmas vacation. Thoughts so far are:

1. find someone trustworthy to walk through house every 1-2 days.

2. Set lights on timers, but not so they all come on/turn off at the same time.

3. have some collect your mail or stop mail delievery

4. have someone collect newspapers/random junk tossed into yard or stop newspaper delievery

5. Turn off power to appliances (tv/computer/washer/etc...

6. Turn off water to washing machine and also fridge if you can reach it. (hoses only break while on vacation :()

7. Set ac/furnace to minimum levels needed.

8. have someone water your lawn if needed (I'm in Texas).

9. Alert local police that you'll be gone.

Any other thoughts?

-Blast

great list.

unplug the appliances you mentioned - surge protection.

turn off water to water heater - they don't leak until no one's around.

hijack alert - do you all have a pan under your water heater that is plumbed to the outside or to the garage floor if in the garage?

think of all the water - 40 gal / 60 gal - that would end up on your carpet or..... not to mention the water that will continue to flow trying to fill the water heater while it's leaking...

hijack alert off.

Good list. I leave the TV plugged in so I can set the built-in timer to come on for a couple of hours in the evening. I make sure the volume is up a bit. Anyone cruising past in the dark can see and maybe hear the idiot box squawking through the drapes.

Leave a $20 bill on the floor near the entrance. If anyone comes in, they'll surely pick it up. You can tell immediately when you return and open door that someone who was unwelcomed has been in and you can take necessary precautions to make sure they are not still inside.

Of course, it is probably a good idea to place the $20 bill so that you have to be inside to see it. You'd hate to invite someone in just to get it (i.e. door-to-door teenage magazine salesperson peers through window in door and sees $20 and no one comes to door . . .).

Just a thought :
idea #9 + idea #1 : won't this ensure the "someone trustworthy" will be arrested and put in jail ???

put cat outside and leave.

nope... on the contrary ... put cat INSIDE with no food and leave. Now you have a defense cat guarding the house.
No need for "someone trustworthy" anymore..

Good list, Blast. Here are just some random thoughts that came to mind.

Since it's Christmas, obviously, don't keep Christmas presents visible from a window. Be careful with those Christmas trees that are getting more parched with every passing day.

Lock up tool sheds or bring in ladders, tools, patio furniture or other objects that can be used to climb up or get into your house.

Ask a neighbor to take out your garbage. No garbage is another tip-off that no one is home.

Make sure you don't miss paying any bills that come due while you're away. Especially with a big, holiday-induced credit card balance, it hurts to miss a deadline and get hit with unexpected finance charges and late fees.

If you have to leave cars parked outside or in the driveway, have a neighbor move them occasionally if it would be unusual for them to sit there for a long time.

Great idea for a newsletter!

Stop mail delievery You might provide link to USPS's on-line "Hold Mail".

Unplug the appliances you mentioned - surge protection. For those with no surge protection, or whose surge protectors don't include phone line and/or cable line surge protection , a reminder to physically unplug those connections too.

[Water] hoses only break while on vacation Another plug for burst-resistant braided stainless steel hoses. Or, shut-off water to whole house at service-entry.

I leave the TV plugged in so I can set the built-in timer to come on for a couple of hours Verify functionality. My TVs, once powered-off, require pressing power button on TV or the remote to come back on — timer won't work.

Find someone trustworthy to walk through house every 1-2 days. Ask them to water house plants, if any.

For the extra-cautious, turn off natural gas at the meter (unless of course, hot water heater/furnace will remain on.)

Make sure someone has itinerary and contact phone numbers (cell, hotel etc).

If foreign travel, or uncharacteristically heavy credit card usage anticipated, might want to inform credit card company.

If any pets left behind for neighbor to care for, or they're left with a boarding service, be sure to provide veterinarian's name.

In any given week, our household might have a UPS delivery. Put such purchases on hold prior to vacation, or alert neighbor to check for packages left at front door.

If traveling by car, confirm you've got current registration and insurance card in the glove box (or wherever).

Don't forget charger for cell phone and/or digital camera (I speak from experience).

The only time I use this feature is while on vacation ... remote retrieval of answering machine messages. Review the procedure and the access code if you don't remember how, so messages can be monitored while on the road.

Assure the kids you will return in two weeks.

They always say that you need to call the gas company to turn the gas back on. Is that what you do when coming back from vacation? If everyone going on vacation for Christmas needed someone to come out and turn their gas back on, that would be a huge headache for the gas company.