What do you look forward to if you don't go on holiday?

[goodnightgrumble]

That's it really. We are not going away in the school holidays as it is to expensive and I also have a new job and i can't take annual leave in August as all booked up.
I work hard and always look forward to going away in the six weeks so I feel abit fed up that we can't go. i need to think of some fun things so that I don't get jealous when everyone else is going away. Already decided to buy some new bedsheets and have a day out at Waterstones. Any other ideas?

Can you book a holiday for October half term and look forward to that?

What do you like doing?

can you nominate a few weekends as holiday weekend ( maybes even pay for a cleaner for a few weeks to reduce the amount of housework you do at the weekend ) and then do some kind of day trip or even a couple of nights way at a campsite

Sometimes I manage a trip to the toilet without someone knocking on the door and asking me a question. That's what I look forward to.

Days out, enjoy the evenings and weekends, lots of things to do in summer. I am not going overseas, I have a lot going on in my life around work to look forward to. Hoping to go away next year on a big holiday after my daughters A levels.

Meals out, cinema, day trips,

well you have a new job, a cheaper week away in October? Could that be achievable?

Otherwise recreate what you love about holidays at home, in the local area.

Go swimming each weekend (even better if you can book into a local lido)
Put a tent up in the garden and have a garden camp, sleeping outside

Weekend daytrip to the seaside? Kids will love it, day of sand and 2p machines, ice cream for lunch and dinner!

Go for a bike ride to a takeaway cafe?

Clear all your chores in the week so the weekend is just for fun, easy food, playing games.

Book some 2 night stays and call it holidays?

Could have a couple of consecutive weekends!

Lovely ideas. We aren't going away at all so definitely home for this year. Got one going to uni so that is why finances are tight. I like the idea of seaside days out.

A day out is good. I knew someone who said that you start and end in the comfort of home and you can get a lot seen and done in between.

I once read about a couple/family who stayed home but had 'abroad' days, as in a French day, Italian day, Chinese day, American day et cetera.

I would honestly find a way to make it work. A cheap deal, a shorter city break type trip in October etc. It sounds like holidays mean a lot to you. There are some good suggestions here, but no amount of eating out locally or trips to the cinema would be equal to getting away and a complete change of scenery IMO.

We haven’t been on holiday since before Covid - we just do day trips or explore the local area.

roughly, which area of the country are you in @goodnightgrumble

MN'ers may be able to suggest some hidden gems.

I love a good day trip with a picnic. We like to get up early and out the door. Go somewhere completely new. Have a nice walk, a good mooch around a town or village, sometimes we get the picnic blanket out, We've sometimes sat in the car to eat if needs be. It breaks up the norm and it makes a huge difference.

We don't have any planned either, for a couple of specific reasons. As others have said, days out or an afternoon out after home lunch to keep cost down, home made meal with a film, long dog walks, making the most of uni age kids who are only home for a short while etc. The hardest thing is formulating a reply to all the "going anywhere nice this summer?" type questions.

Honestly, I really love the English seaside.
I’ve just had a week off where I basically did a DIY retreat, swimming at my local beach every other day, going to the gym, and doing yoga classes. It was blissfully low-key. No travel stress, no organisation stress. Podcasts on, lovely hikes by the sea etc.
I often think going away ends up being a bit stressful

Do a night or two away in hotels at the weekends?

Book fun things like spa days and theatre?

Where do you live?

Could you do home swap with someone else I'll?

Dont do "holidays ' as such now, really CBA with airports

We take the odd city break, mostly in the UK, although have ventured into Europe these past two years.

We love a city break. Often we have to come to GB to lift a car so make a stay of it , flying over to were we need to be, then driving up to Scotland to get home or heading into Liverpool for a one night/2 days before getting the night ferry home

The UK has a lot to offer and can be done really cheaply. We book cheap BnB or budget hotels ( we are there for sleeping and showering ) eat street food and weatherpoons

We are in our 60's and we still love to sit on a harbour wall and eat a fish supper from the paper :)

We rarely go away for various reasons. Pets / elderly family etc.

So instead we plan fun days out, seaside, cities, anything that looks fun and is doable in a day trip. To be honest I probably enjoy it more. There's no drama around packing and travelling and all that.

We just get up and go. Sometimes last minute spontaneous trips and some planned ahead.

Definitely days out.
Could you stretch to one night away, Premier Inn, Travellodge?

For under the week - have one planning to go to uni in September and so far she is doing the work my old cleaner normally did.

Win, win, she gets some money, I don't have the weekends to do cleaning.

I enjoy my actual life. We do go on holidays here and there, but definitely never booked in advance. I might decide a few weeks before and book something like a few days in Spain or a beach trip in the UK.

But I generally focus on doing things in life that I enjoy: hobbies, books, doing things as a family, career progression, setting goals (like training for something or accomplishing something big), learning new things.

@neverknowinglyunreasonable I'd give you the laugh emoji but unfortunately grown women get upset by it.

Op can you do a weekend away eg Friday / Saturday?

We’re not going away this year either as our dog is now diabetic so I need to inject him every night AND it’s costing a fortune.

So we’re going fun day things instead, Chatsworth house, seaside, train to Manchester for a shopping day etc!

Camping on one of the weekends , or a 2 night uk break somewhere ?