As a founder of We Are Travel Girls I want to say I hope you and your family are staying safe and staying home during this difficult time. While I know it can be hard to be stuck at home, I do believe one positive of not being able to travel right now is that we are forced to slow down and appreciate the little things and be reminded that just being alive is a gift.
So, while we are all stuck at home, and can’t physically travel, what better time to enjoy a staycation at your house? Below are some ways that my family and I have been able to get in “vacation mode” and enjoy some of the best parts of being on vacation without leaving our home.
1) Set Up Your Own Cocktail Bar
Vacation mode is a state of mind and with a little effort, you can create it without leaving your house. To me, one of the best parts about going on vacation is that I am free to drink cocktails and wine to my heart’s content. So if you can’t go to the topical beach bar, bring it to your house!
Set up an area in your kitchen, dining room, or even outside (if you have an outside space), and designate it as the cocktail bar for a couple of hours. This might sound cheesy but decorate the space to make it special: create a sign for your bar, put some flowers out if you have access to some, decorate your bar with anything tropical or beachy, learn how to make a new tropical cocktail, and add a special touch to your drinks like an umbrella or a pineapple wedge. All these things signal to your brain that this space and this time is now special and different. Cheers!
SOLO TIP: If you live alone FaceTime a girlfriend and enjoy happy hour at your new bar together!
2) Watch Vacation Movies
Vacation movies are one of the best ways to “go on vacation” without leaving your couch. Throw on some comfy clothes, grab some popcorn and a glass of wine (yes I’ll take any excuse to drink wine) and get ready to go on a virtual vacation.
A few lighthearted, fun movies that make me feel like I’m on vacation are 50 First Dates (2004) with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) with Scarlett Johansson, Just Go With It (2011), with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) with Blake Lively, and Murder Mystery (2019) with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler.
3) Plan Your Dream Vacation
There is no better time to plan your dream vacation than right now! Planning the perfect trip takes weeks or even months so while you can’t currently travel it is the perfect opportunity to decide on the destination for your next getaway and start planning.
I created this list of 20 Of The Best Luxury Eco Hotels In The World which is a great place to start your research. And here is a list of some of my favorite destinations to inspire your next adventure. Happy planning!
- Positano, Italy
- Healdsburg, CA, USA
- Hvar, Croatia
- Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Oahu, Hawaii, USA
- Turks and Caicos
- Montego Bay, Jamaica
- Mykonos, Greece
4) Take A Bubble Bath Or Candlelight Shower
I’m lucky to have a big bathtub but I never ever make time to use it. While you’re stuck at home what a great opportunity to turn your bathtub into a relaxing escape! Turn on some relaxing music. Pour yourself a glass of wine. Light candles. Use a scented bubble bath.
You can even add some flower petals to make your bath extra special. If you don’t have a bath find a large pot or large bowl and create a mini foot spa with the same special touches or take a candlelight shower. Now close your eyes lay back and relax and you’ll feel like you’re on vacation in no time!
5) Have A Picnic
Having a picnic is a great way to do a staycation at home. If you have a yard or patio it’s obviously ideal to do a picnic outside in the sunshine, but if you don’t have an outdoor space you can have your picnic on the floor in your living room. All you need to set up a fun picnic is a blanket, some flowers or whatever you can find to add a special touch, and of course some yummy food and drinks.
I like to do a big cheese plate with lots of fruits and nuts and several different types of cheese. Snacking foods are obviously best for picnics so you can quickly and easily put chips, pretzels, and cookies, etc in bowls and place them out on the blanket. Sandwiches or wraps are perfect for a simple “main course.” And let’s not forget the wine!
My daughter who will be three in May absolutely loves picnics. We have them in our backyard all the time and this is an easy way to make mealtime fun and help you feel like you’re on a mini-vacation. And the good thing about being at home is you can easily get more ice for your drinks as needed and you don’t have to pack anything up!
6) Have Your Roommate Be Your Butler
I wanted to title this section Make Your Husband Be Your Butler because that just sounds awesome (haha!) but you don’t have to be married to enjoy having someone at your beck and call. One of the best parts about going on vacation is the service aspect – having food and drinks delivered to you whenever you want.
Make a deal with your husband, boyfriend or roommate to be each other’s “butlers,” for a designated period of time. (This will go over better if you offer to first be their butler for an hour).
Your butler should do whatever you ask him or her to do (please bring me a tissue, please bring me a sandwich), and they should do it with a smile just like hotel staff at a luxury hotel. Hubby (snap, snap) – wine, please!
SOLO TIP: If you live on your own and don’t have anyone to boss around spend two hours doing absolutely anything you want. Give yourself a completely “guilt-free” time period to do anything and everything you want to do at your house including nothing at all.
If you want to binge on your favorite tv show go for it. If you want to Instagram stalk people go for it. If you want to sit on your couch and drink wine by yourself go for it! If you want to sleep in till 11 am go for it! Do whatever you want but the catch is it has to be 100% guilt-free, the way it would be if you were on vacation.
7) Have Your Roommate Be Your Masseuse
What better way to enjoy a staycation than getting a massage? Give whoever you live with a 20-30 minute massage then have them repay the favor. Put on relaxing music and choose a quiet, warm space in your house. Within minutes you’ll feel completely relaxed as if you were at a hotel spa getting a very expensive massage.
SOLO TIP: If you live on your own give yourself a foot or hand massage!
8) Do Yoga, Stretching, Relaxation Time or Meditation
Another great way to have a staycation at home is to do daily yoga, stretching, relaxation time or meditation daily. During our busy lives, these pleasures often get set aside – we say we’ll do them after we get X, Y and Z done but we never seem to get around to it.
Since I’ve been stuck at home I have made it a priority every day to do stretching followed by relaxation time which basically just entails lying on my yoga mat with my eyes closed focusing on breathing properly. This is also a great time to think about all the things you are grateful for in life which will leave you refreshed and energized as if you have just come home from a relaxing vacation.
9) Create A Special Space
You can transform a space in your house, yard or patio into something new and exciting. This is a great way to have a family staycation that is fun for young children. My daughter Sadie loves the beach and she loves going to playspace in Los Angeles called Under the Sea.
Since we can’t go right now I decided why not bring “under the sea” to our house? If you can’t go on a beach vacation why not create a special beach staycation area at home?
We have a lookout deck that is a bit funky and we weren’t using it for anything so I thought this could be the perfect place to create an ocean play area for Sadie. I ordered a cheap plastic ocean backdrop on Amazon and a few other ocean-themed decorations and toys.
She already had a lot of Little Mermaid stuff so I brought this up to the play area too. The excitement on Sadie’s face when she saw her surprise was well worth all the effort. You can also create a special space in your living room – it’s just about adding decorations and toys to make it feel different, fun and new.
10) Read A Great Book
Like watching a movie, reading a book is a great way to go on a staycation. If you’re like me there are so many books you probably want to read but never seem to have the time. Well, guess what – now is the time! The favorite I’ve ever read is Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. It’s so good, I could not put it down and read it in three days.
I also recently read The Woman In Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware and like it a lot. And while this is more of a self-help book, if you haven’t read it yet I highly recommend The Power Of Now by Echart Tolle. This is a must-read book for our current situation. It will help you change your perspective and be happier right now during this time spent “stuck” at your home.
Staycation Home Bliss
I understand that being stuck at home can feel stressful and isolating but I hope these suggestions will help you enjoy your time at home as much as you can. You don’t have to get on a plane to have a great vacation. You can have an amazing staycation right at your house. All it takes is imagination and a little effort and you’ll be in staycation bliss in no time. Enjoy!
Do you know of any great ways to enjoy a staycation at home that are not on this list? Please share tips or questions in the comments below.
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We Are Travel Girls Co-Founder Vanessa Rivers of GlitterandMud.com
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