Every holiday season, people everywhere cozy up to watch Iris and Amanda swap homes (and lives) in the film The Holiday, but what some people don't realize is our 17 year old connection to the movie.
Learn more about HomeExchangeHow everything started...
In 2006, Nancy Meyers introduced the world to HomeExchange in her romantic comedy The Holiday. While home swapping as a concept and HomeExchange as a brand were by no means new at this point, the film catapulted both into the general public's minds with a star-studded cast and romance galore.
What makes the link between The Holiday and HomeExchange still so strong in 2023?
In 2021, we "recreated" the film sending 2 singles on a home exchange across the pond in search of love... and the media loved it!
In 2022, rumors swirled about a possible sequel to The Holiday and our wheels got turning. What if we brought some of the movie's nostalgia to life by reuniting an actress from the film with the website that made Iris and Amanda's home exchange a reality?
Cue Miffy Englefield!
Miffy, who played Jude Law's daughter Sophie in The Holiday had received countless comments about the rumored sequel, so we decided to join forces and bring it to life... kind of! We worked with Miffy to do a home exchange of her very own during summer 2023, except this time instead of being the child around adults doing a fictional swap, Miffy would bring along her partner and daughter.
Miffy documented her exchange on her TikTok account and shared the story with press.
@miffz_ i cant be the only one who didn’t realise that @homeexchangecom was a real thing, right? its never too early to start planning for ‘the holiday’ season - travel better with Home Exchange! #childactor #theholiday #wherearetheynow #HomeExchangeHoliday
♬ Lo-Fi analog beat - Gloveity
That brings us to this "holiday" season!
We had such a blast working with Miffy we had to keep the fun going, so we decided to link back up to recreate an iconic scene from the film.
Looks familiar ?
Our PR agency in the UK, Cow PR, managed a photoshoot to make the recreation as true to the original as possible. The best part? This image was just part of a fun Solo Holiday campaign we ran in the UK and California (to pay homage to the film's locations).
We conducted studies in the US & UK that found 39% of Americans (that celebrate Christmas) and 39% of Brits have chosen to spend Christmas Day alone. Others admitted to wanting to spend the holiday on a solo vacation instead of the traditional way... with extended family.
To celebrate those spending the holiday season on their own, we launched the Solo Holiday Party Pack, which featured all of the grocery items from Cameron Diaz's shopping trip in The Holiday available for solo travelers in California and the UK to win. Who said a solo holiday can't still be festive?
Needless to say, we love the movie that helped introduce so many to the concept of home swapping and can't wait to help more people live out their romcom dreams in 2024!
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