By David Saunders | UPDATED: 11:28, 23 March 2020
To interrupt the curve and contain the coronavirus as soon as possible, it’s better if we all stay at home and practice some social distancing.
Suddenly, you find yourself in between four walls… On one hand, it’s a dream scenario to finally finish reading that book you’ve been meaning to dedicate time to for ages, whilst on the other hand, it’s the biggest nightmare.
To give you some good courage and to prevent boredom, Holidu, the search engine for holiday rentals, has listed the best at home activities for you!
Push your career: free online courses
Let’s get back to some more serious business. Maybe this is the perfect time to revive your career! Learn something new or add extra knowledge.
This valuable extra time allows us to get up to speed with topics we were always curious about, but never got the chance to.
These eight renowned universities offer free online courses, ready to let you dive into a plethora of new knowledge that awaits!
Stay fit at home!
As if motivating ourselves to actually use our gym memberships wasn’t enough, now we are confined to our living spaces and staying in shape may not seem like the easiest thing to do.
If you are struggling to motivate yourself, fear not as there are also plenty of apps, online resources and channels providing you with all you need to do your favourite exercises at home.
Take part in the 30 day yoga challenge online or subscribe to an affordable fitness app like Shreddy, which has a home workout option, and comes complete with video tutorials and meal plans to guide you through your fitness journey. No excuses!
Movie night with travel films
What is the main thing that we can only dream about at the moment? Travelling! Sadly, travelling is not possible for the time being, so all that remains is to keep dreaming and making new plans for the future.
So, have a great movie night with the best travel movies and documentaries available.
On Netflix there are quite a few travel-related movies and documentaries to be found, for example: Expedition Happiness, Tales by Night, Our Planet, Wild, Elsewhere. Alone in Africa. Grab your popcorn!
Become the next master chef: bring world dishes to your home
Now that we’re all done hoarding the essentials, there’s no excuse as to why you can’t conjure up the best dishes on the table.
Finally, you have the time to fire up a meal in the slow cooker for 5 hours or to try out tricky recipes. Are you missing travelling already?
Then take the time to cook a delicious Pad Thai or prepare a Greek salad. Make a trip around the world with these 80 world recipes from Taste of Home.
Set up an indoor picnic
Spread your carpet on the living room floor (or in your garden, if you are lucky enough to have one) and prepare a delicious picnic.
This creates a different atmosphere than at the dinner table and it is guaranteed that the children will love it! If you want to give it an extra touch, build a teepee or small hut next to it.
Want to go the extra mile? Pop a tray of marshmallows in the oven, melt some chocolate, grab your cookies and make some tasty smores!
Grow your own plants
It’s time to be self-sufficient! If you have a garden, get out there and grow yourself some veggies. Not got so much space?
Buy some packets of seeds for growing smaller herbs indoors, like parsley, rosemary or mint. I promise your food will taste ten times better when you have the satisfaction of knowing the herbs were homegrown by yours truly!
Here are some tips to get you started: greatist.com/health/best-plants-to-grow-indoors
Time to update your travel bucket list
Just because we can’t travel right now, that doesn’t mean we can’t keep the wanderlust alive and start planning for the future.
So, plan and map out your next trip! You can make a first effort at learning the local language, researching the cultural hotspots or maybe read through online travel blogs to determine your perfect itinerary.
For example, you can get travel inspiration from Holidu’s online magazine: holidu.com/magazine.
Master your own cocktails!
Now that all bars and restaurants are closed, it’s really time to learn how to make that Caipirinha all by yourself.
You have the luxury that at home you manage to make your surroundings cosy and ideal for an evening spent sipping on a delicious mojito.
Look up the recipes online and create your own cocktail bar from the comfort of your own home. Cheers! brit.co/easy-cocktail-recipes
Improve your musical talents
Do you have a keyboard or piano in your house that is mainly taking up space to look good? Or maybe a guitar propped up in the corner of your room gathering dust. Well, wipe off the cobwebs and get practicing!
Practice or teach yourself a new musical instrument. Of course, this can be singing too – improving your singing skills on your own is already a good option, but it’s even more fun to share it online with family and friends.
Organise a group video call, share your screen and sing along!
Declutter and redecorate your house
We are all guilty of hoarding items over the years and never getting around to really sorting all of the stuff out. Now that you’re sitting at home more than usual, you might find yourself getting tired of your room arrangement quickly.
Time to turn it all around! Maybe you already have paint at home to get a new colour on the walls? Or time to create a vision board, go online and shop for new furniture items.
The options are endless, have fun being creative and refreshing your surroundings!
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