Ideas for a staycation…literally at HOME

[Tiredforfive45]

DH and I have decided that we don’t want to travel anywhere this year, even within the UK. Prices are sky-high and we have just moved into a house that we would like to spend money on.
However, we would like to create that ‘holiday feeling’ at home for a full week on a budget of about £500. So basically, having fun, not worrying about normal responsibilities and eating fairly badly

We have the following ideas:

Ask our regular cleaner to come and do 1 hour every day, more as a maid service than a cleaner (she is wonderful and has agreed to this already and is glad of the extra cash!)

Evening meal out / takeaway each night

Breakfasts of pastries, fruit, fresh juices and Prosecco

Lunch either at cafes or crusty bread/ cheese/ hams with watermelon and ice cream

Swimming every day. Booked into 4 different pools, so each only visited max twice.

Wearing sun cream. Every day even if it’s miserable. Just so we smell of holiday.

Kids staying up late. DH and I drinking wine from early evening.

Once kids in bed, DH and I to sit out and play cards / travel board games then watch films.

‘Day trips’ to zoo and museums and 2 mornings at the beach.

Can anybody suggest any other things we could do to recreate a holiday experience?

If your garden is big enough and it's not over your budget, you can even hire a swimming pool hydrohottubs.com/swimmingpoolpackages/

On the first night set off the fire alarm at 3am, and then have lots of confusion as to if you need to evacuate the whole house. (This actually happened to us. No fire, just someone smoking in bed)

This also happened to us. I spent 2 hours sat on a sun lounger in the middle of the night wearing a t shirt while the hotel management argued about whether it was necessary to phone the fire brigade (they would have had to pay and there wasn't actually a fire as it happened).

Budget gazebo (~£100) with a few fairy lights from Poundland, deckchairs or garden chairs underneath, Bluetooth speaker playing surf noises or tiki bar music, garden table with a tea light. Cheap fleece throws if it gets cool.

Sorry to lower the tone but… lots of sex?

Paprika flavoured crisps and/or Pomme Bears

There was a hilarious similar thread but all I remember from it was that you had to keep the door to one room closed or locked and wonder loudly what on earth was behind it every time you walked by, and hiding all the forks.
Oh yes, and making a "welcome" basket and little chocolates on the pillows!

NOT prosecco! You are on holiday, it must be champagne.

We did this, but while DC were still at school. It was the perfect, relaxed week.

We hired a hot tub, visited local-ish attractions that we hadn't been to before. Went to a local beauty spot and spent a day hiking. One sunny afternoon was a round of golf.

We didn't cook all week, a mixture of meals out, takeaways and easily prepared snack type meals.

We left ourselves plenty of time so we didn't feel rushed or stressed.

After a tough year, it was a much needed break from everything.

Your ideas sound great I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

You need ice-cubes, cocktail paper decorations and a beach umbrella. Put on a forrin tv show everyday and try to guess the plot.
'Lose' the bottle opener and get creative opening cork wine bottles.
Buy a new bikini!
Take tourist photos.
Straw hats and sunglasses.

Sounds lovely op!

Hire a car that you can't all fit in. If you can't hire a car, borrow a friend's car, give them £1000 deposit/excess cover and worry all week you won't get your money back.

How old are dc?

Get a babysitter and go out / have a break

We are going to do 'holiday week'. We have already planned to choose a magazine each, trip the pound shop for new toys, 'all inclusive' day.

Limit your clothes, no washing allowed. You need to be crumpled, slightly smelly and slightly dirty by the end of the week.

Read a saucy book.

Get up early to put towels on your garden furniture

Download the Radio Garden app as you can listen to the local radio from anywhere in the world just by clicking on the map. It's amazing! Great should you want to hop from Italy to Spain to Turkey to Egypt etc! The world really is your oyster!

Waffle maker and cheap breakfast syrup.

Buy multiple paddling pools and create a swimming pool "complex" in your back garden.

Slushy maker?

Afternoon tea with cakes from bakery & cream, jam, scones on tiered plates. Beautiful china cups. Bunting in garden. Flowers.

Go somewhere and get lost on the way. Then have a row about it. Or is that just us?

Pastries & good coffee for breakfast, restaurants or takeaway for dinner. We have an excellent Turkish kebab place that does an amazing family feast pack like a BBQ in a box. It smells and tastes of the med. the right beverages too.

After dinner walks, cheesy music and late night ice creams.

Having a siesta, after doing nothing much all morning. Just to recover.

Just enough sight seeing. A trip to a theme or water park too.

Not doing housework and ignoring work work completely.

Don't forget your afternoon nap!

This sounds amazing. I need to do this.

I might even dig the airbeds out and we can all "camp" on the floor.

Play the Buena Vista Social club soundtrack on loop - it always makes me feel like I'm in a documentary set in Spain! And skinny chips on the side of everything, but with mayo not ketchup.

We've just bought a portable archery set from Decathlon (after having a go with another family's when we went camping). It's a lot of fun. Maybe a boules set. Those things are really heavy and if you are lucky like us and play up a steep slope, it can get quite extreme.

Try the Treasure Trails website - you might learn some new stuff about your local area.

Unlimited ice cream then one child is sick having eaten it non-stop then someone blames it on the sun.

And unlimited fizzy drinks which you mix to make cocktails, you can add in some very watered down cheap alcohol and an umbrella to complete.

Pancakes for breakfast as well with nutella. Add an English breakfast on the side if you are feeling like being very healthy.

Do you have a waterpark close by?

Bingo at 5pm

Water sports if you have somewhere nearby. I'm planning on taking DC to a ski slope that they can do doughnut runs on.