We’re currently* allowed to travel – but that doesn’t mean that all of us want to or can. With better weather forecast, make the most of your time off work with the perfect staycation and holiday at home. Here’s how.
Make time for yourself
If this week is designed as a holiday rather than a time to do projects, then time is NOT of the essence! Take some time to make a proper breakfast (or even brunch), particularly if this is unusual for you. Serve up some fresh fruit or scrambled eggs – anything that feels a bit indulgent and that you wouldn’t normally have time to prepare. Turn the radio on, open up the newspapers, put another pot of coffee on and get ready to settle in.
Treat yourself to a holiday purchase
If you were going to be spending the week away from home, whether that’s aboard or in the UK, you might well buy something new for ‘going away with’. Just because you’re not leaving home is no reason to stint, so if you’re in the market for a new pair of sunglasses, some expensive body cream or even a new pair of jeans, now’s the time.
Create the right environment
Transform the atmosphere of your home from everyday to special with lots of fresh flowers. These don’t have to be expensive, florist-arranged bouquets – an handful of grasses and buttercups foraged from a hedgerow works just as well. Add candles (cheap tea lights in jam jars will do the job perfectly!) and extend the ‘decorations’ to the outside as well, as hopefully you’ll be spending some time out there as well.
Create a holiday playlist
This one might seem a bit over the top but it really works! Music is very evocative, and a collection of light, fun, summery tunes playing the background will get you in the holiday mood.
Move outside
On a beach holiday, we tend to spend most of the day outside and even if it’s not particularly sunny it’s a great mood booster in other ways. Eat breakfast or drink mid-morning coffee outside, or stay out sipping a glass of wine as the sun goes down, even if you have to wrap yourself in a blanket! Being on holiday is all about breaking your normal routine, and just because you’re at home is no reason not to please yourself.
Plan meals
This week is all about not planning too hard, but the exception to that is food shopping beforehand! Stock up with lots of fresh food that needs minimal preparation, such as fresh pasta and salads. That way, if you feel like cooking you can do and if you don’t you can just throw a few things in a bowl and head outside.
Introduce cocktail hour
There’s something very indulgent about sitting down in the early evening with a drink, before you have to think about dinner. You don’t need to hit the hard stuff if it’s not your thing – just search the internet for alcohol-free cocktail recipes. Stock up with fresh fruit, juices, coconut milk, glace cherries – and don’t forget the cocktail umbrellas!
Tidy away your work life
Finally, if you work from home then make a point of clearing your desk and putting all work-related papers out of sight. Turn your computer off, and you could even go to the lengths of stashing it in the wardrobe! When you work from home it’s all too easy to ‘just check emails’ or catch up on the filing, but this will stop you relaxing completely and getting into holiday mindset. Set your out of office message, grab that cocktail and head outside.
*check the current restrictions on the Government website here.
All images (c) 2021 Pixabay
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