TikTokers Are Swapping Houses With Complete Strangers As Part Of A Viral Trend Inspired By ‘The Holiday’
Making 'The Holiday' dream a reality.
TikTok With the holiday season in full swing ever since the end of November — and maybe even the end of October for some — people are diving into their favorite Christmas music and movies in order to get back into the holiday spirit.
A fan-favorite Christmas movie for many is the 2006 film ‘The Holiday,’ which stars Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet with romantic interests Jack Black and Jude Law.
The premise of the story is that the two women want to swap homes to escape their unfortunate situations and end up falling in love — well, that’s exactly what some TikTokers have started to do. Maybe minus the falling in love part.
What is TikTok's 'The Holiday' house-swap trend?
TikTokers are swapping homes for the holidays after being inspired by ‘The Holiday.’
Users have been posting videos of their homes with requests to see if anyone would like to swap places with them for a month or so.
“Anyone in England want to switch places for the holiday? I have a studio apt on Boston’s waterfront,” read the caption on Grace Gagnon’s TikTok that started the whole trend.
She posted the TikTok on December 7th and since then has posted several updates and even inspired other people to do their ‘Holiday’ swaps.
“I love seeing everyone connecting in the comments,” Gagnon said in an update video. “I think it’s been a really tough couple of years thanks to the pandemic so if this trend can bring people together across the globe, I’m here for it.”
But some of these people in the comments are concerned for that exact reason and have asked what she will be doing about COVID safety measures and precautions — especially since the Omicron variant is ramping up and causing more and more outbreaks.
“Vaccination is required for this exchange,” she said. “I’m really trusting that’ll be enough.”
Aside from that, she and the person she will be swapping homes with will be using a third-party company to help them with background checks and security deposits were anything to go wrong.
Gagnon is working with HomeExchange, the website used by the characters in 'The Holiday' to organize their swap.
HomeExchange CEO Emmanuel Arnaud, says “it is important to do it the right and safe way.”
The company recommends using their platform to finalize the details of the swap — rather than just organizing things via TikTok.
"We’ve chatted with a few TikTokers who are considering doing an exchange about what it means to sign up for our platform and finalize everything there… the guarantees and the peace of mind it ensures.”
Social media influencer Alexa Losey has joined in on the house swap trend.
Another TikToker/YouTuber, Losey, said she met up with Esther Luxey virtually and planned to do a home swap in April — Luxey would be traveling to Los Angeles, and Losey would be traveling to Paris.
However, people still aren’t convinced. While Gagnon seems to have things under control, people are unsure about all of the other people who are trying to do this as a result of the trend.
“I’m waiting for this trend to go real bad I have a gut feeling I’ll be seeing TikTok videos about this in the future,” read one of the comments on Losey’s TikTok.
Many people seem to be echoing that they should make sure they’re using a home swap service like HomeExchange that can provide liability coverage and background checks.
TikTok user Justjazzzyidk has also joined in on the trend and has already made plans and purchased her ticket to go to Surrey, England, and swap her NYC apartment with someone else.
Surrey, about an hours drive outside of London, is the location of Kate Winslet's home in 'The Holiday," where Cameron Diaz's character spends her Christmas season.
When asked if she was going to be using a third-party service to help with the home swap, her reply was “I prefer to live life on the edge,” although she did mention in another update that she would be taking precautions for COVID.
However this trend goes, one can only hope that all of the participants are safe and have a good time living their ‘Holiday’ dream.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.