What can I do this Saturday afternoon? Looking for inspiration

[RuthEvershedforPM]

Hello all

I am looking for something lovely, restorative and ideally bucket filling to do on Saturday afternoon and am hoping you can give me some nice ideas!

for context

• I have had elderly relatives staying for the last six weeks - which was lovely but a lot!
• working / volunteering most weekends for the next couple of months
• I had a coaching session today at work which was pretty brutal. She was lovely but asked exposing questions about what I am doing to look after myself rather than meeting the emotional needs of others. I am not at all a doormat - but for various reasons the last couple of months have been about helping / serving others

I wood like to do something really nice with a free afternoon and I can’t think of anything!

a few parameters

• I’ll probably run Saturday and Sunday morning so a hike is okay but not a run
• i am not against craft but am really talentless so would need to be something basic
• I don’t have many friends(not in a bad way so much as the people I know are likely busy) - so can’t just think of someone to hang out with
• don’t want to shop as have to take my son to a big outlet place on Sunday

any and all ideas gratefully received, inclusive of how you stop being in a place where you can’t remember what you like doing😭😂 and have to ask the internet

Do you like cooking? Could you spend all afternoon either baking or prepping an amazing dinner.

Go to the cinema, an exhibition, art gallery, theatre matinee near you. Plus coffee and cake after in a nice cafe. Read a book or just people watch.

I’d do one of the following (some weather dependent):
go for a walk around a local lake and have a pizza and a pint at the end at the cute little pizza bus, either with a friend or alone with a podcast.
Go for an outdoor swim.
Light the fire, read a few chapters of a book and watch something I’ve had saved for a while.
Have a luxury bath and pamper session.
start a jigsaw.
tidy and sort my makeup and skincare drawers (I actually really like doing this!)
list a load of clothes in vinted
go and see my mum (scraping the bottom of the barrel here 😂)

All great ideas - thank you so much!

not sure how I had managed to forget that the cinema is a thing 😂

I'd be tempted to just have a really long bath and a duvet afternoon with a favourite film or book and a cup of tea. Sounds like you need to relax!

I would peruse second hand shops for a really good book. Once found - go for a hot drink and an hour reading.
tour of local place of interest.

My go-to would be an art gallery, a massage or a theatre. Or all three.

Go and see Hamnet in the cinema, I recently watched it and it's brilliant.

in addition to previous suggestions:

Hire a bike, if you don’t have one, and cycle to a nice cafe/pub

Visit a local historic site.

Go for a walk near water; the coast if you can get there but a river or canal or lake is still great.

Visit a town you don’t know well, and just wander, stopping regularly for cups of tea.

Good museum.

Such good ideas - feeling better just thinking about these ideas

If I was running both days, and shopping as well, I'd be tempted to do very little with my other free afternoon!

If its rainy - favourite treats, comfy clothes, and lounging with a film/ magazines. If its sunny, wrapping up warm and sitting in sun with a hot drink, or potter to a cafe for cake etc. Enjoy!

Practise being a couch potato. Doing nothing is bloomin brilliant.

A matinee, a massage , watch a football game , book an afternoon tea , check out museums or art galleries

Tbh I’d get some goodies in for my favourite lunch/snacks, relax in a nice hot bath after my run, then binge watch something in my PJ’s with said snacks. Don’t think I could be arsed with making the effort to “do” stuff after having family staying for 6 weeks 😳

A massage.
Or a sauna plunge pool. They seem to be popping up everywhere.

One of my favourite pastimes is to spend an afternoon solving those murder mystery case file sets or doing a jigsaw. Accompanied by some films, wine, nice snacks...very relaxing after an energetic morning!

Love the other ideas too, depends what you feel you've not done as much of as well. I.e if there is something like an art exhibition or a play you've fancied or a place to eat you've been meaning to go for!

Visit somewhere fairly nearby that you've not been or fancy visiting again. Go in some museums, galleries or just wander around, walk by the river/canal, look in bookshops or the library. Have a nice lunch or coffee and cake.

For example, I'm going to York on Saturday, there's an exhibition at the Art Gallery I want to see and I'll walk around the city a bit too, probably have lunch from one of the street food cabins if the weather is good or in a pub or cafe if not. I'm going alone as DP is working and I like doing things by myself anyway as I don't have to fit in with other people's timings, food preferences etc, I can just get up and go out when it suits.

There are a lot of saunas popping up, have a look and see if you have one close to you, often come with cold water dip

search for a sound bath or forest bathing

go swimming and steam and sauna - often Nuffield health do free 3 day passes

Do something slow. Massage, sauna, museum, gallery, exhibition, books, drawing, painting, any craft, leisurely walk around a new place

Saw Hamnet at a lovely little cinema last week- was very good.

Walk somewhere that interests you, that is a bit further away than your normal circuits. Stop in a nice cafe, preferably one with real magazines to read. I wouldn’t get pressed for time. If needed swap a run for a higher tempo walk/hills. Then home for dinner, a soak in the bath and a looong sleep.

Plus get a few well chosen houseplants in gorgeous pots. Makes such a difference to home.

Not sure if its your thing but could book a spa day? Use the gym, sauna etc ans have a massage and facial?

Or after your run, a nice breakfast and then as an other poster, suggested couch potato day.

Depends if you drink but an afternoon drink in a quieter pub and food? Or film and home and wine 😁

Thank you all, so much, this is really helping x

Don’t think this has been mentioned but if you can get to the coast you can look for fossils or sea glass, treasure hunting! Bonus points for doing something crafty with the sea glass :-)

I am doing the sauna thing tomorrow! Also second ideas of facial/massage. I had one of each on the same day last year when I felt I really needed to be looked after. It was money very well spent and felt extra decadent.
Craft-wise, I had a good experience booking through craftcourses.com. Plenty of options to choose from.
Good luck. Coaching can be powerful and brutal. Be kind to yourself. If you've been investing a lot in supporting others you are probably more exhausted than you realise.