Holidays are usually a time of great enjoyment and relaxation. During this pandemic, with restricted outdoor activities and no travel, I kept running out of ideas on how to spend my summer vacation. We could not visit the Zoo, Museums, Theme Parks, or Indoor playgrounds. Traveling to holiday destinations was crossed out. The Summer camp activities were being offered online but I did not feel like enrolling. Hence, I came up with few ideas that kept me occupied and were fun as well. Here is a small list that can make your holidays fun!

1. Discover a fun-hobby

I have almost learned how to chop and assemble a salad, prepare a No-bake mango cheesecake, and make undercooked cakes. My friend bakes perfect cookies so I hounded her to share her secrets and then tried it myself. I smiled as I baked, and the oven whined. Finally, I thought I mastered it. I also spent many days working on a gigantic painting, doing bit by bit every day {I may have stained my entire table…}. I even spent time decorating cups, saucers, and plates with paint, stars, and glitter to display my artistry. There are many other hobbies you can try, for example, reading, singing, solving puzzles, learning an instrument, and gardening.

2. Complete Holiday homework and clear backlogs

It’s best to complete your homework in the first few days so that you can have the rest of your holidays homework-freeee! I found out creative ways to finish up my holiday homework by choosing the subjects that I love first, timing myself, and if I lived up to the challenge, reward myself with a Mars chocolate bar. The Mars bar was eventually replaced by an apple ☹ which dampened my morale. I negotiated for at least a mango or a strawberry as a reward. Clearing backlogs involved fixing my blog website, organizing worksheets, and completing pending notes.

3. Indulge in activities with my family

Usually, my Dad works, and my Mum is involved in a thousand other things. However, when they were free, I immediately seized the opportunity to persuade them into playing indoor or outdoor sports. It always ended with me rolling on the floor with laughter as my Dad pretended to cheat at every single game, and my Mum reprimanded him, as he started protesting. We played UNO, Scrabble, Monopoly, Charades, Scavenger hunts, Carrom, Badminton, etc. Board games are immensely engrossing.

As I mentioned in my earlier blog I also spent time swimming with my family. Quite often, I taught Em (my sister) nursery rhymes and basic Mathematics but that backfired as nowadays she becomes my teacher, and then she starts berating me for things I didn’t even do! Also, in the process of teaching Em some nursery rhymes, I discovered that any concept if made musical is better perceived by the brain. Em, now knows half the tables of 2 in the tune of ‘Old MacDonald had a farm’.

4. Make your living room a theater and watch a movie

This one is pretty simple! All you need to do pull the shades to adjust the lighting, bring in a comfortable seating arrangement, switch on the air conditioner, grab a bowl of popcorn, select a movie, and there you go! You can pick random movies or select a movie theme. A few movies that I watched during the holidays were Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, Independence Day, Goosebumps, Up, Jurassic World, The Da Vinci Code, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind, Back to the Future, Matilda, and a lot more.

5. Organize Playdates

Although we have a  limit, even having a few friends over can brighten up your day! After all, what’s better than spending time with friends, chatting about a million relevant and irrelevant topics, planning scavenger hunts,  simply dancing to your favorite tunes, or preparing a crazy sandwich to satisfy your cravings. Narrating horror stories at times becomes toooo creepy, so watch out! It might turn out with someone screaming😉.

Baking is absolutely interesting with friends but….

“Oy! Stop smacking whipped cream in my face!!!!”☹

How did you spend your holidays? Tell me in the comments!

Signing off….