Too soon?
Who has already booked up their Dec holidays trips? We’ve just been accepted for a sit over Christmas in Jersey Channel Islands. I’m already thinking I’ll order the Marks and Spencer Christmas in a Box food feast! I’m hoping the pet owners will put up decorations……
14 Likes
Congratulations - we did a Xmas sit in Jersey a couple of years ago. The weather was dreadful unfortunately but we still had a great time 
5 Likes
@BonnyinBrighton - good for you! I’ve done a few Christmas/New Year sits and had them set by early summer. Including 3 sits over 6 weeks in Australia - Perth and 2x Melbourne. Height of Australian summer so some very hot days, but still a great 6 weeks.
5 Likes
Our plan when joining THS was to do sits in just 2 locations to be able to visit family more easily…. in Jersey my elderly relatives have recently moved into residential care so this will be the 1st of many sits in Jersey, a place we know very well.
5 Likes
Never too early. I’m waiting for inspiration. Somewhere hot but not too hot and good fresh fish and seafood.
5 Likes
Not for Christmas as doing a trip to Argentina and Chile but have had a repeat sit for March 2026 booked for a while.
Glad you’re enjoying housesitting
6 Likes
We stay home for the holidays but have two repeat sits scheduled for January through mid-March of 2026. We have family in the area and are happy to return. It will be year seven for one sit and year four for the other.
5 Likes
I don’t sit during the holidays and I lean toward booking only a few months out. I also rarely accept repeat sits, for variety’s sake. But do what works for you.
2 Likes
I’m trying to convince my partner to book our Thanksgiving flights soon so we can get a head start on sitters, but he’s resistant because flights are cheapest when booking two months prior (allegedly). This is what happens when he always handles all the travel logistics and I always handle all the pet logistics: he simply doesn’t appreciate how much harder it is to book a good sitter over the holidays!! 
But we do know our Christmas dates already so maybe you’ve inspired me to post those now…
5 Likes
We accepted our Christmas '25 sit a couple of weeks ago, a repeat sit of the one we did this year in Cyprus.
12 Likes
We’ve booked our Christmas sit…a return to the Tennessee mountains with a 4-pack of great pups at a gorgeous lake house. 
5 Likes
(A little side-tracked) but I am in the process of writing a short blog for owners finding sitters over the holidays. Hopefully it decreases the amount of desperate HO’s searching for a holiday sitter who post 3 weeks before Christmas and have a cover photo of their summer garden furniture and tell sitters they can enjoy canoeing, cycling and fishing… In December… in the UK… 
We don’t sit over the holidays, but hearing about everyone’s plans sounds fantastic!
6 Likes
Funny
We have completed Christmas housesits in 2023 and 2024 (US and Canada respectively). Already been approached re 2025! But seems long time away. We’re wary of commitments that far in advance, especially if Pet Parent has not yet booked trip.
Enjoy Jersey. Nice spot.
4 Likes
We have our Christmas sit for '25 - we will be spending three weeks in Hawaii (Oahu). We have never been, so when the opportunity presented itself, we couldn’t pass it up!
5 Likes
We are travelling almost full time and just confirmed the winter sit in Guernsey! Repeat sit, we had a fantastic time last year there so we’re excited to spend a few months with a fantastic pups in a beautiful house overlooking the sea. We are also planning to do more repeat sits after that, in Canada & Panama so we are potentially booked till September 2026.
Oh, and we’ll be in Jersey this summer 
2 Likes
We don’t have anything booked from Christmas 2025 yet, but our New Year 2024/5 sit was booked in January 2024. It was a repeat -by the time we did the sit it was the 4th sit that year for the same hosts & pets. At the time we booked it we had not yet done a sit for them, but had been to visit and meet the pets.
1 Like
This was our ‘plan’ to build a small list of pet owners who invite us to sit each year in the two locations rather than lots of different pet owners. It’s a different style of sitting I think to how some sitters like to do it. Perhaps sitters are in different tribes, we’re very much family focussed on two specific locations rather than sitting in order to visit locations for travel adventures.
2 Likes
We booked our 25’ X-mas sit back in October. It is a three month stay in warm North Scottsdale for the cutest little schnoodle and maine coon. Hoping everyone has a great 2025 season!
3 Likes
This has been our ‘plan’ to. We stay in southwest US and have a list of 5 pet owners who regularly travel so we have just been rotating to each one. We are actually lucky even 3 of three 5 make their travel plans around our open availability. Such a great feeling when it turns from a first time house sit to multiple repeat. We feel like part of the family and so much less stress for all parties!
4 Likes
I have had a look for a Christmas 2025 sit, but not seen any yet that suit me.
I have a booking for mid December though ending 21st Dec. It’s a repeat sit who have also booked me for May 2026.
my last Christmas sit 2024 was booked at Easter time 2024 with a pre visit, and has been one of my favourite sits so far.
2 Likes