It’s December, and that means Christmas! While many of us may be gearing up at this time to spend the holidays at home with family and friends, others’ December plans may have revolved around escaping to warmer climates to avoid the chill of winter.
Unfortunately, with the discovery of the Omicron variant, your winter travel plans may have ground to a halt. If this leaves you heartbroken and disappointed, then you may want to try emulating holidays at home.
It may seem strange at first, but get the whole family or group involved, and you’ll soon start enjoying it and pretending you’re on the sandy beaches of the Canary Islands.
Beach Holiday
A beach holiday is one of the most popular types of vacation. There’s something about warm sand between your toes, the sound of the waves, and the beautiful blue sky as far as the eye can see that stimulates the emotions.
A beach holiday has something for everyone; the active adventurers can surf, those in search of relaxation can suntan and sip mojitos, and children can stretch their imagination and creativity by building sandcastles and searching for unique shells. But for those for whom a beach holiday is out of reach, you can instead create your own beach holiday at home.
First of all, you need to get the atmosphere right. A beach holiday needs warmth and the distinct sound of waves crashing in the background. It’s easy enough to get the sounds right; just log on to YouTube and find a beach playlist to create the right soundscape.
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Creating the feeling of sun rays gently warming up your body may be more difficult, especially for those in colder climates.
You can try moving your beach holiday indoors where you can benefit from the indoor heater if you have enough space to do so. If not, try using portable heaters or other appliances that give off heat to warm up the venue (if it’s too cold, you may want to forego this type of holiday at home).
Once you have the atmosphere decided, get an above ground pool to emulate the sea. It may not be close to the real thing, but you can still float in the water and soak up some fun with your family and friends.
You can also tie up a hammock in your backyard or your porch to create a relaxing spot where someone can take a nap in the sun or enjoy the sounds of waves crashing. If you have young kids present, or someone partial to sand, you may want to create a sandpit where they can enjoy themselves.
If you can’t get real sand in your neighborhood, there are products out there whose goal is to help children build sandcastles at home, such as kinetic sand.
But don’t forget that an important part of a beach holiday is the drinks. For the adults, mix up some tropical cocktails in sunset colors and for the kids get some fruit juices.
Forest Retreat
Another popular vacation type is the forest retreat. The forest retreat is characterized by cozy wooden cabins or tents, nature trails, and hot drinks. It’s perfect for those who enjoy being close to nature and having a slow-paced holiday.
The soundscape for a forest retreat includes twittering birds, bumbling brooks, and swaying grasses. Once you find a playlist to emulate a forest, you can then decorate the venue to trick the eyes into thinking you’re on an exotic vacation in the woods.
If you happen to have a backyard with enough space, you could pitch a tent outside and roll out your sleeping bags for a night out under the stars. If you don’t, then just build a pillow fort in your living room and use your projector to create the visual of a night sky on your ceiling.
You can also decorate your indoor space with cutouts of leaves to achieve the ‘forest’ look, or bunch together houseplants around your pillow fort.
For food, barbeque meats in your backyard or grill, or make some hot dogs. As a sweet treat, and for the kids, toast some marshmallows or even pop tarts to recreate the camping experience. As for the drinks, pop opens some cold beers for the adults and makes hot chocolate for the kids or for those with a sweet tooth.
It may be very disheartening to have to move indoors again because of the resurgence of the virus. Many of us have travel plans which we have had to put on pause or cancel altogether.
But, since it’s likely that this is just going to be our way of life for the foreseeable future, we should start to overcome these challenges rather than wait for them to pass on their own.
So if your holiday got canceled, recreate the holiday experience at home. It may take a little more effort than just booking your trip, but it’s still a way to create memories with your loved ones.
