Hi Everyone
I am a HO and I have a few sits in December and one over Christmas
I wanted to get some ideas of how to make the sit extra special particularly for my sitter who will be here for Christmas.
Was thinking a nice Xmas Hamper with some foodie treats. Any other ideas
Ooh that sounds nice. Wish I was sitting for you over Christmas! It might be nice to put a tree up and/or decorations, although it wouldn’t worry me if you didn’t!
What a thoroughly lovely home owner you are🤗
Thank you. I have the Christmas tree and decorations. I will have to do a test run to see if my cat doesn’t injure herself messing with the tree and decorations
@MigeyMeatball I’d suggest you also check with your sitters and make sure they do celebrate Christmas. Keep in mind that we are a multicultural society on TrustedHousesitters.
I’ve done Christmas sits where the owners have asked me if I’d like the home decorated. Once there was also a small gift for me under the tree, which I thought was lovely. I’ve also been left a Christmas hamper at another sit, which I enjoyed. 
Thanks I will double check if they want the house decorated
That sounds great @MigeyMeatball - we were promised something similar for a great festive sit & it consisted of one small box of chocolates, a Velcro dog and a grubby bathroom. Not quite as advertised….
The tree was quite nice though.
A hamper sounds amazing, that is so lovely, if you decide to have a tree you could have also bought a personalised bauble or something similar for the sitter, just a cheapie one off ebay, and then they can hang it on the tree themselves to make it feel extra special.
Thats a good idea thanks
What a lovely and thoughtful home owner, we’re going on a sit this Christmas (home owner asked us) I am hopeful there will be a tree up 
This my very personal opinion.
We do pet sits in warmer countries during the winter because it suits our health. It also gets us away from the commercial aspect of Christmas. I find the whole holiday overwhelming and would not appreciate decorations or a hamper. That’s what I’m trying to get away from. As others say please ask your sitter what their preferences are.
PS I am not a killjoy. Any National Holiday stresses me and I feel over welled by the expectations of others.
A hamper sounds lovely. Be sure to ask about allergies though.
I’d appreciate a few starter groceries for breakfast so I didn’t have to run right out and find a market. Coffee, milk, eggs, bread for toast.
Maybe any local info about Holiday events or places that are lit up and decorated for Christmas.
But really we expect nothing but a clean house and good instructions for our time with your pet.
If you’re in an area with such, it might be nice to offer a gift card or such for a restaurant meal that the sitters can use at their discretion. They could get a holiday meal, for instance, or just get any meal. Or you could offer say a DoorDash or Deliveroo gift card, with which they could order groceries or delivered food or food to pick up, of their choice. In some locations, such services will even deliver liquor.
Personally, I’m not sitting during U.S. Thanksgiving or Christmas. Whether it’s for my husband and me, or with holiday guests, we typically order catering or takeout of some sort if we’re home for holidays. It’s a nice way to enjoy without cooking and with little cleaning. We usually order and pick up or have delivered a day ahead of the holiday and warm things up on the day of. You can get entire multi course meals that way, if you want.
We had a fabulous sitting over Christmas in Australia with a Christmas Tree and a present for both of us under it. The highlight though was the owner had wrapped up a present for the dog and cat.
We opened them all on Christmas Day morning videoing the pets watching us and then playing with their toys. Priceless!
As sitters, we’ve only done one Christmas sit which was very memorable. We had sat for this local couple many times before and they asked if we would consider sitting for them over Christmas. Our youngest son and his girlfriend were joining us for Christmas and the homeowners agreed that we could all stay at their place. They have a lovely condo overlooking the seawall in Vancouver and they put up a Christmas tree for us and left us a lovely gift. Our youngest son surprised us and announced that he bought an engagement ring for his girlfriend and proposed to her on the seawall. One of our best Christmases ever!
I have done a Xmas sit and I got a hamper with a few treats that was so nice of the ho and appreciated.
Thanks . They both confirmed they celebrate Christmas. I included Christmas activities in my welcome guide
That’s such a lovely idea . I’m struggling with ideas on what to get the couple or put in the hamper . They confirmed that they do celebrate Xmas . Think they might be vegan so not too sure what food , chocolates etc to get
I was just now confirmed for a long Christmas sit (with “just a cat”) in Stockholm. The HOs will be travelling back “home” to India, so I don’t count on any tree. That is perfectly fine with me.
But if I am lucky, they might leave me some goodies from the hamper they got at work 
Stockholm is great over Xmas so many fun things to do .
HO HO HO!!! Sorry. I couldn’t resist.