How to Handle the Christmas Rush in a Grooming Business

A note on the numbers. The dates below are for December 2026, and the slot counts are a made-up example. Your days, hours and staff will move every figure. Written November 2026.

For many groomers December is the busiest month of the year, and the busiest fortnight is the one right before Christmas. Every regular wants their dog clean for the family visit, and every new client found you the week before.

You can't add days to December. What you can do is decide early who gets the days you have.

The maths of the last fortnight

Christmas Day 2026 is a Friday. From Monday 14 December to Thursday 24 December there are nine weekdays.

Say you do four grooms a day. That's 36 grooms in the last fortnight before Christmas. If you have 100 regular clients, and most of them want a groom "just before Christmas", most of them can't have one in those two weeks. That's the rush.

The answer isn't to work fourteen-hour days. It's to spread the demand out before it arrives.

1. Tell your regulars early

Most of the December crush comes from regulars who didn't book. They meant to, then remembered on 15 December.

• Rebook at the door from October. Every regular who leaves in October or November should leave with a December date.
• Send one message now. Tell your regulars when December fills, and ask them to book this week. One message, not a series. (Next year, send it in early November.)
• Offer "early December". A groom on 3 December still looks good on Christmas Day for many coats. Say so: "a groom in the first week of December will still look great for Christmas".

2. Take deposits on December bookings

A no-show in March is a nuisance. A no-show on 22 December is a slot you could have filled three times over.

• Ask for a deposit on every December booking, including regulars if you don't usually.
• Write your cancellation notice down where the client sees it before paying. December is the month to stick to it.
• Keep the rule for waitlist bookings too. It's tempting to waive the deposit because you're grateful for the booking. Don't.

3. Keep a waitlist for the full days

Every December day will fill, and some of those bookings will cancel. A waitlist turns a cancellation into a booking, instead of a gap.

Every time you say "Tuesday's full", follow it with "but I can put you on the waitlist". We wrote about filling last-minute cancellations, and it matters most in December.

4. Decide your break, and block it out

Decide now when you close and when you reopen. Then:

• Block the closed days out in your booking system, so the booking page can't offer them.
• Put the dates on your booking page and in your messages. Clients plan around them.
• Book the January return before they leave. A client who leaves on 23 December with a date in late January is one less message to send in the new year.

Check your state's public holidays for the break, because they differ from state to state.

5. Protect the time each groom takes

In a rush, the temptation is to squeeze an extra dog in by shortening every groom. It rarely works. The matted dog that hasn't been seen since winter arrives in December, and it takes longer than its booking.

• Don't shorten the times on your menu for December. If anything, add a buffer to new clients.
• Charge for matting, and say it before the clippers start: charging more when the coat is worse than booked.
• Say no to new clients in the last week if your regulars fill it. A regular is worth more to you than a one-off Christmas bath.

6. Add a little Christmas, at a price

A festive bandana or bow is a small add-on most owners will say yes to, and it's a reason for them to post a photo of their dog. Put it on the menu as an add-on with its own price, not as a free extra you'll forget to charge for.

If you take photos for your own social media, ask the owner first.

7. Plan the summer that follows

In most of Australia the Christmas rush and summer arrive together, and the summer clips keep the diary full into January. Our summer grooming calendar by climate zone shows what to expect where you are.

The checklist

• Every October and November regular leaves with a December date
• One message to regulars, as early as you can (early November next year)
• Deposits on every December booking
• A waitlist for full days
• Closed days blocked out, and the dates on the booking page
• January bookings made before the break
• Menu times kept, matting charged
• A Christmas add-on, priced

Where My Pet Groomer fits

My Pet Groomer takes a deposit when a client books, sends reminders before each appointment, keeps a waitlist for full days, and lets you block out the days you're closed so your booking page only shows real times. If you're getting ready for your first Christmas rush, see what's in it. Your first 30 days are free: get started.