We're a few days away from October, which means that we're about to experience a global 'pumpkin spiced latte' takeover, all of the orange woolly jumpers will be getting dragged out of the attic and your winter boots and wellies will be making an appearance for the 7th time this year (honestly, this UK weather has been full of surprises 😂)
*But who knows, we might squeeze in one more heatwave before the weekend 🤷♀️
You guys will know that back in July, I hosted a glorious Travel Addicts staycation in a Tudor cottage in Kent. It was a great opportunity to spend time with some of you, plan our next adventures, play a bunch of fun games, splash about in the pool and indulge in cheese-boards and Aperol Spritz (thanks Lucy 😉)
So before we nose-dive into cold wintery nights, 4 o' clock darkness and central heating, I wanted to share some must-do's from our staycation and give you a little nudge you to plan one with your besties:
Do a BIG online shop and have it arrive at the accommodation after check-in
This was a huge time-saving hack! It meant that there was no loading up the car, no scrambling around the supermarket like 'Supermarket Sweep', and I had a bunch of time to figure out all the ingredients we needed for each meal, every cocktail and all the snacks we could think of!
Plan a Pool Party (and bring an electronic pump!)
We got super lucky with the weather! As soon as the clouds parted on Saturday morning after a huge breakfast spread, we threw on our bikinis and rushed down to the pool house. The biggest underestimation of the weekend was me thinking that a group of hungover travel addicts would have the combined lung power to inflate giant unicorns, oversized donuts and rubber rings manually. We failed miserably, but after a quick rush around the high street, we soon blew up the inflatables, cranked up the portable speaker and splashed around like kids. I highly recommend that you plan this for your next staycation!
Host a Games Night and learn 'party dances'
The cottage had a bunch of games for us to play, but Zoe brought along a game called Telestrations (the adult version) and let's just say it wasn't long until we were all crying with laughter at the inappropriate but hilarious turn that the game made! We also had a night where we set up a cocktail-making station with all the garnishes and trimmings, turned on 90's pop music and danced around the living room in our PJ's. Many core memories were made and we all giggled the night away
Double check that your pizza has been ordered
I ordered an obscene amount of pizza on the first night so that we could eat right away without having to cook or prepare anything. Turns out that these village pizza places operate a little differently to what I'm used to, I was told multiple times that the pizza was on it's way over a two-hour period, only to then be told that they don't deliver to this location 🙄 By then we were all a few too many cocktails deep to drive and collect, so we munched on snacks until a very delayed pizza arrived from a different location. Being in a new area requires additional layers of research so be sure to double and triple check!
Have fun!!
Whenever I think back to that mid-July weekend, it makes me smile. I keep remembering little forgotten moments, beautiful conversations and the hilarious drawings from our games night! I know how easy it is to keep chugging through life, focusing on work, getting bogged down by life's (many) responsibilities... but don't forget to make time to have fun.
No matter what's on your plate, taking a step back and basking in the joy and connections that are available to you can be just what you need to keep moving forward. Having something to look forward to and making memories that go against the grain of what your 'everyday' life looks like are the moments that contribute to the richest life of all.
It's never too early to start putting the pieces together and start planning special moments and experiences with those who make you smile. I promise, you'll be blessed with memories that you'll carry for a lifetime!
