7 Staycation Ideas to Stay Busy at Home
Escape your ordinary and discover new ways to break away from your everyday routine. Whether you try a new
DIY craft,
get lost in a book, cultivate your green thumb by gardening, experiment in the kitchen with baking recipes,
practice
self-care, or plan awesome kids’ activities, here are 7 staycation ideas to inspire fun days at home.
What is a staycation?
Since travelling is off the table, a staycation is a dedicated at-home break. Even though you’re staying at
home, embrace time off from work or school, unplug, and discover new hobbies, passions, and more. Plus,
don’t forget to pamper yourself with a spa day at home, or whatever self-care activities help you relax and
recharge.
1. Learn How to Make Something New
For a fun staycation idea, try a DIY craft or art
project—you
might just discover a new hobby.
Learn how to
make a piece
of clothing with a knitting or
crochet kit. Try your hand at embroidery
or
cross-stitch and
create artwork
to gift or
hang in your home. For some brushwork, try a step-by-step painting project, like a paint-by-numbers
kit. If
you love
working with your hands, explore paper
crafts, colouring books,
or calligraphy—put
you
skills to
work and
write
beautiful letters to your friends and family.
2. Get Lost in a Book
Since we can’t travel far from home, read your way around the
world
during your staycation. Dive
into
stories
that take place around the globe—no passport required. Head to Italy with Elena Ferrante’s hit Neapolitan
novels, India with Alka Joshi’s
The Henna Artist, or Mexico with Silvia
Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican
Gothic. The
only question is, where will you travel first?
3. Discover Your Green Thumb
Add some tropical flair to your staycation by starting an indoor garden. Use grow kits
to plant
flowers,
vegetables, and
herbs from seed and watch in amazement as they grow. If you’re more of a houseplant person, find
unique
planters for
your greens and decorate your space with your plant babies. Your staycation is also the perfect
time to
start planning
your outdoor garden. Dream of summer as you dig into gardening
books for inspiration.
4. Make Something Delicious
The most delicious staycation idea: spending time in the kitchen just for fun! Whip up tasty
baked goods
with baking
recipes for pastry chefs of all levels. Stock up on essential baking tools
and
explore cookbooks
like Baking
Day with
Anna Olson, Black
Girl Baking by Jerelle Guy, and
Claire Saffitz’s Dessert
Person if
you need inspiration
for things to
bake. These books have easy baking recipes, plus more complicated dessert ideas for kitchen
pros. If you’re
more of a
chef, leaf through your favourite cookbooks for new cooking ideas and try a few new dinner
recipes to make
your
staycation extra special.
5. Cultivate Self-Care
Here’s an important staycation idea—take care of yourself. Discover self-care activities that
help you
unwind. From
planning an at-home spa day to
trying a new online fitness class, to simply spending an hour
soaking in the
tub with a
good book, find what type of wellness or self-care makes you feel good.
6. Play Together
Bring on those childhood memories with games and puzzles this staycation.
Plan a family game day
at home and
have each
member of your crew choose a game. Instead of binging a TV show, play game after game together! For a
more
low-key, or
solo activity, do a jigsaw
puzzle. Turn
on some music, fix yourself a hot chocolate, and
unplug
as you
puzzle.
7. Plan a Fun Day for Your Kids
If your little ones are at home too, find staycation ideas to help keep kids
entertained.
There
are so many
fun things
to do with kids at home. Spark creativity with crafts, build with blocks,
or play
outside if the
weather
allows. You’re
only limited this staycation by your imagination.