Summer Staycation: How To Holiday At Home

As we write this, the UK government is considering allowing international holidays to be permitted from Monday, May 17th 2021. However, this date isn’t set in stone and it’s possible that it could be shifted until after summer has passed, or even until 2022, meaning that booking a package holiday isn’t the sure thing it was a few years ago. If you’re thinking of skipping your summer holiday entirely, think again: we have the perfect backup solution for you!

A fantastic plan B is to prepare for a super staycation - taking a holiday at home! It’s one ‘trip’ that we guarantee you’ll be able to make this summer. Without the help of reps and sightseeing brochures, it might be hard to come up with things to do for your staycation. That’s why we’ve come up with a bunch of staycation ideas to spark your imagination and get you in the holiday mood! From turning your backyard into a garden cinema to setting up a murder mystery game in your home, we’ve got some super fun things to do at home while you’re off. The best part? You won’t need to fight for a spot on the sun lounger or lug around suitcases filled with holiday essentials - everything you need will be right on your doorstep, ready and waiting for this year’s vacation VIP - you!

If you plan to spend a lot of time soaking up the sun during your holiday at home, you should consider starting with garden furniture. Your holiday at home will feel a lot more like a summer holiday if you spend it outside - in fact, most of our ideas for fun things to do at home are best done in your garden. Maybe you’ve never owned garden furniture before or perhaps your current set is looking a little shabby. Either way, refreshing your outdoor furniture is a great way to prepare for your staycation.

Let’s start with one of the most quintessential summer holiday activities: sunbathing. If you want to catch some rays, sun loungers should be top of your list. Lightweight and adaptable, these pieces of garden furniture usually have an adjustable backrest that lets you turn them into improvised garden seating if you need extra seats for a garden party. 

Talking of garden parties, if you’re planning on hosting guests in your garden over the summer, you can save some money by buying garden furniture sets over individual pieces of garden furniture. These sets often combine pieces of garden seating with a table that you can place drinks or snacks on. And, if you’re serving food at your garden party, a garden dining table is essential. 

Another way to make the most of your staycation is to string up a hammock. A traditional hammock needs to be strung up between a pair of trees, but don’t worry if you don’t have trees in your garden: you can buy hammock stands and hanging chairs that give you a comfy space to hang out without the hassle. With the smell of suntan lotion in the air and a fruity cocktail to hand, it won’t be long before you’re enjoying the full tropical vacation experience from the comfort (and privacy!) of your own garden.

Sitting in a crowded indoor cinema doesn’t have the appeal it once had for many of us and, even if you’re comfortable in an indoor cinema, there aren’t that many films scheduled for release this summer. With this in mind, why not recreate the moviegoing experience at home with a homemade garden cinema? It might sound complicated, but creating a garden cinema is actually deceptively simple. All you need is a portable projector to play the movie on, a projector screen to display it and some comfortable seats to stop you getting sore as the movie plays.

Thanks to lowering electronic prices, you don’t have to break the bank to afford a decent projector these days. You can find many projectors with excellent picture quality at 1080p full HD resolutions for under £100. Dedicated projector screens are even cheaper, and you can make do with a plain white bed sheet if the budget for your garden cinema is truly tight. A set of garden armchairs are the perfect choice for watching movies on, as they provide enough padding for you to sit comfortably for the whole runtime. Now all you need is some popcorn for the ideal outdoor movie experience!

If you’re looking for fun things to do at home with a group, hosting a murder mystery party is a great example. A murder mystery game is a specially scripted game in which you and a team of other players solve a puzzling murder. These games often require you to adlib and deceive other players as you work towards a personal goal, so they’re great staycation ideas if you’re bursting with creativity! Most of this type of game is designed for six or more players, with some of them suitable for up to 16 people! 

Why not take your murder mystery games up a notch and grab some period-accurate fancy dress for you and your guests? Depending on the murder mystery game you choose, you can go as a distinguished victorian detective, a noirish private eye or a suave super-spy! If you missed your Halloween party last year, these games will certainly help you make up for it!

By the time summer rolls around, the restrictions on meeting people indoors should have lifted fully but, in case they’re not, you should be able to adapt your murder mystery game to a garden party. You could totally rewrite the clues, substituting references to chaise lounges with garden benches, for instance. Alternatively, you can leave the scenario unchanged and ask your guests to imagine the furniture in their ‘theatre of the mind’ - the choice is yours!

This is a fantastic staycation idea if you’ve got young children who love the great outdoors! By 'creating a garden grotto', we mean recreating a campsite in your back garden. You can go about this in two ways. The first and easiest is to buy a ready-made tent and set it up in your garden. If you’re feeling crafty on your holiday at home, you can create your own shelter from scavenged wood and tarpaulin. Once your shelter is set up, you can decide whether to use it only during the daytime or grab some sleeping bags and camp out 24/7.

Once you’ve set up the grotto of your choice, you can string up some hanging lights or lanterns to add cozy ambience to your garden. If you want to go further in recreating the campsite atmosphere, you can safely set up a blazing campfire in a fire pit. They’re great for keeping warm once the sun goes down and for roasting marshmallows on sticks to create delicious hot s’mores!

What would a list of staycation ideas be if we didn’t mention a garden party? By the time your staycation has begun, you should be able to invite as many people as you want into your garden. This means that you’ll be able to enjoy a long-awaited catch up with all your friends and family, and there’s nothing quite like the lively bustle of a cracking party that’s teeming with your nearest and dearest! Of course, hosting a garden party means that you’ll need to provide most of the food and drink yourself.

With its distinctive taste and crowd-pleasing cooking process, barbecuing is the quintessential garden party food. Whether you choose a traditional charcoal or wood fired barbecue or a modern gas fired design, there are lots of delicious recipes to choose from. Burgers, kebabs and ribs are all popular carnivorous choices, but you can vary it up with some griddled fish or even barbecued vegetables and halloumi slices for a vegetarian feast. If you’re short on ideas, you can flip through a specialist barbecue cookbook to spark your culinary creativity.

As for beverages, if all of your attendees are old enough to drink alcohol, you can wow them by fixing their favourite mixed drinks with a cocktail making kit. Make sure to keep plenty of soft drinks on hand for your teetotal friends too!

We hope these simple (yet super!) staycation ideas have given you a great head start on planning your holiday at home. Need more help and inspiration? Take a look at our extensive selection of blogs and buyer’s guides to find a wealth of resources that are bursting with advice and ideas for fun things to do without leaving your door! 

If you want more info choosing garden furniture, for instance, why not take a look at our ultimate guide to garden seating? Want to absolutely nail your garden party? Check out our garden party hosting blog for all you need to know! With all this and more just waiting to be discovered here at OnBuy, it’s never been easier to enjoy a summer of fun from the comfort of your own home. You’ve already reached your holiday destination, now it’s time to enjoy!

Please note: the information in this blog is correct at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.