PICTURE: MARISSA PRICE
Your very own staycation
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Chances are you’re not going anywhere exotic these holidays, so here are a few tips on how to have a proper holiday amid the comfort and convenience of your own home WORDS VIVIEN HORLER
O THIS is the year you’re not going skiing in Austria or seeing the lights in London’s Regent Street. You’re not even going to be at the switch-on concert of the festive lights in Cape Town’s Adderley Street, as the city has cancelled the ceremony this year. Plus, many families are finding money a bit tight after the roller-coaster of Covid-19 and the effects of the lockdown, so that even though we’re now officially allowed to travel, we don’t have the means. This calls for a staycation. “The idea of a staycation is to
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do all the things you would do if you were to travel somewhere, but finding ways to incorporate those experiences within your own home,” says Catherine Sanderson, author of The Positive Shift and chair of the psychology department at Amherst College in Massachusetts. So, imagine you’re on holiday in your home town. Decide on how long your staycation is going to be and make different plans for different days. Remember, this is a holiday – so no working and as few chores as possible.
Some of the things you can do might cost a bit of money but seeing you’re saving on the flights, petrol and accommodation you’d be paying for on a real holiday, there may be a bit extra for treats at home. • You could start with a virtual holiday somewhere you’ve always wanted to go. Get the family’s buy-in and persuade everyone to do some research about the place. Watch a film about it, get members of the family to choose which sights they would like to see, and cook food for which the country is famous.
