We’ve booked a holiday over Christmas 2022 and New Year. How easy do you think it will be to find a sitter?
Where are you and how long is the sit? I’ve no problem and have sat Christmas and US T’giving for the 2 years I’ve been sitting.
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Hello @MacPosh and welcome. There is a lengthy post about Christmas sitting, so perhaps take a look at that. I realize lots has changed over the past year, but much of the feedback is still useful.
Thanks for the tip! I’ll take a look.
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Thanks for your response. We live in Richmond, Greater London. The sit is for two weeks. We’re not ready to advertise yet as I realise that most people don’t plan that far ahead but I did want to get a feel for how difficult it might be. Kind regards.
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Hi @MacPosh - The the Christmas period is always really busy with far more sits than sitters available. However, your sit, a full two weeks in a nice area of London has a lot going for it.
I will stick my neck out and say that if you advertise around September then you should have no trouble getting a sitter.
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I see Colin suggesting you list in Sept. I’d think maybe earlier maybe for someone traveling internationally. I’d likely try to string together several sits to last about 4 to 6 weeks. I’m heading back to the US tomorrow after 5 UK sits from early Feb.
But 2 weeks in a nice part of London would be a joyous way to spend the holiday.
Take care.
Tom
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We’ve done a number of Christmas/New Years sits. Our most recent, this past year, was in Spain and we confirmed the sit first week of August.
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That sit will likely be very inviting. Many sitters even seek holiday sits close to their families to enjoy the holidays without having to stay with relatives or book a hotel. It is the best of both worlds to be able to attend holiday gatherings without crowding or having the expense of lodging. We did this for both Thanksgiving and Christmas/New Years last year and it was wonderful. Good luck!
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I recommend you advertise asap as many HO want to travel at Christmas. We are Australian sitters and have already been booked for a UK Christmas New Year sit plus 2 others earlier in December. We are actively searching for UK sits from mid Jan-March 2023, a year away, so people do plan that far out!
Thanks for your response.
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I feel that the sooner you list it the better. The closer we approach Christmas, a sitter can pretty much go anywhere in the world as there will be so many sits listed. We are already booked for a 6 week house sit encompassing both Christmas and New Years so in my opinion, it’s never too soon to post.
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I welcome any opportunity that keeps me occupied over the holidays. In the past I used to do catering, and that would take up several days.
Luckily for me, I’m the eccentric aunt, and my husband is the eccentric uncle. no one expects us to be present out of obligation, because we have the luxury of being able to visit when it’s not hectic, there’s a lot less stress.
If house sitting is anything like catering, advertise early AND LOCK DOWN THOSE DATES so that you can enjoy the luxury of being picky. If you wait until October, you’re likely going to get who’s left, not who’s great. That’s my two cents!
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To be honest I think that’s a really offensive comment
Are you seriously implying that sitters that prefer to wait until they know exactly what their plans are before committing to a Christmas sit are somehow inferior than those that accept bookings 12 months in advance?
There will be many fantastic sitters applying for Christmas sits from October onwards!
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I’m sorry that you were offended – but I can’t see how what I said would be a problem.
As I said,
if it’s anything like catering, advertise early AND LOCK DOWN THOSE DATES.
I’ve always been booked out for all the December weekend dates well before Halloween. I simply can’t accept more work. My reviews speak for themselves, so if someone contacts me, they’ve already shortlisted me. It’s up to ME to decide to accept the job or not. The same goes here. Don’t you also look at homeowner’s reviews before applying for a sit?
By extension, if a homeowner is asking about xmas/nye before st pat’s day, they are proactive and planning ahead, which means they have the opportunity to choose from all the available sitters, sorted by reputation and background check status. Those are clearly important enough that TH management decided it would be worth it to create a way to sort by those factors.
The idea that someone is asking for a sit that covers xmas AND new years this far in advance means they are going to have a wider selection of sitters who haven’t yet committed those dates, and they can choose from people who can boast a history of positive reviews and a quantifiable level of trust.
Of course there are highly rated sitters who will spontaneously decide to make themselves available at the last minute. Of course there are going to be people signing up between today and Christmas Eve that are going to be amazing spectacular wonderful kind tidy and conscientious sitters! Everyone starts out with zero reviews! There’s no shame in that.
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Hi @MissChef I can appreciate where @Colin is coming from as the comment that he has particularly quoted didn’t sit well with me either when I first read it.
Last year I sent my first Christmas sit application in October. I was one of about 20 applicants within the first few hours. At that point, as it was their first time with THS, when they first contacted me I mentioned that they could pause their listing, and the benefits of doing that. They selected me from many applicants. I know from speaking with them that they felt they had someone who was GREAT, not just one of the ones who were LEFT. 
We all have different schedules, reasons, and timeframes. The important part of timing is that it was right for those involved.
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This applies exactly the same for homeowners that list in October onwards.
The time that home owners advertise gives them the choice of sitters that are looking to fill their calendar at that specific time. All the ‘great’ sitters are not looking to secure listings so early.
Any homeowner advertising in June will be missing out on us because we don’t book that far ahead - and we think we are pretty great sitters
I would say “If you wait until October you’re likely to get great - much the same as if you advertise in June”
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Hi and Welcome to the Forums @MacPosh 
I like other people have suggested, recommend posting now. I’m sure other sitters do as I, and try to plan out in advance. Because of my job, I try to take the down time off, which is usually Nov/Dec. So I’m currently looking for sits during the holiday season, and if I’m lucky when the time comes and those dates are closer, I will already be book out, should someone wait until last minute to post, I wouldn’t be able to help. I’m sure there are other that can do last minute sits, however I’m seeing it could also be harder to find too.
Again welcome, should you have any other questions we can help with just let us know. You’ll see it’s a very friendly forum, with lots of people available to help.
-Deb 
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We must try not to generalise and that comes from 11 years of THS experience including 11 Christmases.
The best festive sit we had, it was the same for the owner and their two Labs, happened just 2 weeks before the holidays, we don’t recommend leaving it that close of course but our owners got excellent sitters 
Why were we not booked? It wasn’t in our original plan as we were off to Australia right after, but hey plans change.
I know many excellent sitters who wait before committing too early for Christmas because it’s historically the busiest time with many great opportunities, many last minute and many from new owners who just happened to find THS. Equally there are excellent new sitter members who join as late as November looking for Christmas sits …
Timing is a factor but there is so much more that makes the magic happen, the right sit, for the right sitter, for the right owner, for the right pets …
If your location, amenities and reviews are great you shouldn’t have any problem. We go away for a week or two every Christmas and have never had any problems finding a sitter for the holiday. Once a sitter had to cancel two weeks before the sit, and within 24 hours I had 4 very solid options and was able to secure a fabulous sitter in 2 days.
We do make sure our sitters have a wonderful holiday and decorate the house fully (including a 13 foot tree) to provide the nicest holiday experience. We are also fortunate to be located in a beautiful beach town in southern California and our home is just short bike ride to the beach. So I guess it really depends upon what your sit has to offer and how happy your sitters have been which is reflected in your reviews.
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