If you’re hoping to celebrate Valentine’s Day without kids in tow, you’ll need to get a jump on finding a sitter! Booking a babysitter for the romantic holiday can be even tougher than scoring one for New Year’s Eve. Here are a few tips on how you can find a babysitter for the big night or day, so you can steal away for a romantic date with your Valentine:

Book well in advance.

Start your search for a babysitter now to get a head start on the hoards of other couples hoping to find someone to watch their kids for the night.

In addition to other parents, you’re also competing with your babysitter’s own plans. She may be hoping for a date that night, too! If your regular sitter is already taken, look to see who may be available on UrbanSitter, where you can connect with hundreds of babysitters and see their availability and send an immediate job request.

Celebrate a bit early or a tad late. 

Why compete with everyone else who is hoping to land a babysitter and likely a dinner reservation for the very same night? It’ll be especially tough this year since Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday. You’ll have a much easier time securing a babysitter the night before or after the big day, or even sometime during the week. Think of it this way – you’ll beat the crowds, avoid expensive set menus, and you’ll appreciate the time away just as much as you would on the actual holiday. 

Share a babysitter.  

If your friend or neighbor has already managed to book a Valentine’s Day babysitter, why not ask if she’s willing to share?

You can send your kids to her house (or offer to host at your place) and have the lifesaver-of-a-sitter babysit the whole bunch. The babysitter likely won’t charge twice her normal rate, but make it worth her extra effort on this popular night by paying a bit more.  If you offer a higher rate upfront, you might just entice her to accommodate your request regardless of her previous plans. It’ll be fun for your kids to have a big play date with their friends, and your budget will benefit from the deal, too.

Unsure what to pay a babysitter? Click here for the going rates for babysitters in your area.

Think outside the box. 

Who said Valentine’s Day has to be celebrated with a romantic dinner? If your babysitter has a job or plans of her own for the night, she may be willing to help you out earlier in the day in order to earn some extra money. Schedule a brunch or lunch date, or how about an afternoon hike or bike ride? Another creative approach is to ask your babysitter to come early, so you can enjoy an early dinner or cocktail hour (as a parent, you should be quite used to eating with the early bird crowd!) and be back in time for her to make her own, undoubtedly later, reservation.

It may be tricky to find a babysitter for Valentine’s Day, but with a little advance planning and creative thinking, you may get lucky and may even find your new favorite babysitter.