When you think of a solo vacation, you might think of exploring the Greek isles, hiking mountains, or relaxing with a fruity drink at an exotic shoreline. Yet, during these uncertain times, travel to faraway lands or even nearby trips seem out of reach. If you’ve decided you want to take the break you deserve anyway at home, then you’ll love these staycation ideas for singles.
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CONTENTS: In this article, you will learn the best staycation ideas for singles at home, including:
- What is a Staycation?
- How to Prepare for Your Staycation at Home
- What to Do On Your Singles Staycation at Home
- Final Thoughts on the Best Staycation Ideas for Singles At Home
Staycation Meaning
The staycation definition is the concept that you take time off but rather than traveling abroad, you stay local. This is especially helpful for anyone who feels anxious traveling far away by yourself.
So, for example, you might take day trips or enjoy local attractions.
And what could be more local than your own home? You’ve already got your own staycation hotel!
Mostly, people who stay home on staycation seem to use the time to get caught up on everyday tasks that fall to the wayside as daily demands stack up.
And that’s okay.
Because staycations also give you the opportunity to get your act together.
It’s a great time to master your finances and consult budgeting websites like pigly.com. There, you can learn all different types of budgeting and financial planning.
If you use this time well, you’ll be financially stable by the time the world opens up again. You might even have accumulated a nice vacation nest-egg!
Yet, in these endless days of self-isolation, could your staycation be more than about catching up?
Absolutely.
Consider these staycation ideas for singles to help maintain your sanity and have some fun in isolation at home.
Even though a few of these fun staycation ideas might sound somewhat off the wall, in the end, it will be time well spent.
How to Prepare for Your Singles Staycation at Home
Just because you’re not “going away” somewhere doesn’t mean you don’t need to prepare for your staycation. In fact, it’s even more important, especially if you’re going it alone.
Here are some staycation essentials to ensure you have the best singles staycation experience.
1. Put Your Professional Responsibilities on Pause
You wouldn’t go on vacation without making sure you’ve covered your responsibilities, right?
The same is true for a staycation vacation.
Make sure to wrap-up everything you’re working on. Delegate or pre-schedule tasks, and otherwise handle them so you can fully disengage from work during your vacation.
2. Set Your Autoresponder to “Away”
The next thing you need to do is make sure people know you’re away.
If you’re serious about making the best of your staycation alone, turn your business phone and email auto-responder to “out of office.” Now, don’t check them until your staycation is over!
This is one of the most important staycation tips. With everyone working remotely nowadays, it’s hard to set boundaries. Worse, it’s easy to work around the clock.
3. Eliminate Distractions From Your Staycation
You could even take this a step further and put your postal mail and newspaper on hold for the week. Or, at least set aside a place where you can store your mail until you return to sort through it. (No cheating.)
If you still have a home phone that no one calls besides telemarketers, you might consider unplugging it for the staycation week. That way, you can let all your calls go to message.
After all, anyone important already has your cell phone number.
But even at that, I encourage you to put your phone on silence. Plan to only look at it once or twice a day. A digital detox can work wonders.
The idea is to simulate a vacation away but at home, So don’t worry about these distractions while on your staycation at home, either.
4. Prepare Your Home Environment
You want this staycation to be as carefree as possible. So what that means is that you want to set aside a day before your staycation begins to get everything prepped.
For instance:
- Run any errands
- Do the laundry
- Go to the grocery store
- Do a thorough housekeeping
That way, you won’t have to do the mundane tasks during your time “off.” Plus, you’ll already have everything you need on hand.
And don’t forget to put the luxury sheets on the bed and break out the good china. After all, you’d be enjoying the best amenities on a “real” vacation, right?
5. Reset Your Sleep Cycles
Finally, turn off your morning alarm settings and opt to stay up late if you feel like it. A staycation is a great time to let go of forced schedules and let your body’s natural sleep cycles reset.
It’s rare that we get the chance to just listen to our bodies and let them dictate your waking and sleeping hours. If not now, then when?
Staycation Ideas for Singles at Home: What to Do?
Now that you’ve taken care of the preparation, let’s talk about the best staycation activities.
Rest assured, there are plenty of things to do alone at home. How you decide to spend your time during staycation is a highly personal choice.
Even so, I urge you to get out of the rut you’ve been in by incorporating a few of these ideas into your staycation itinerary.
Plan A Spa Day
So, maybe you can’t spend long hours languishing on the massage table with someone pampering you right now. But there are a lot of staycation ideas for singles will make you feel as refreshed and pampered at home.
That might mean enjoying a good foot soak, a paraffin wax for your hands, a long soak in the tub with plenty of bubbles, or a soothing facial. Whatever you choose, set aside some time—or even a whole day—for your at home spa experience.
Take some extra care with your hair and brows. And don’t forget the mani-pedi! A little primping will relieve a lot of tension that’s stored up in your body.
For the full effect, you can also add some other special touches to the experience. You could try:
- Lighting some de-stressing candles
- Aromatherapy
- Dim the lights
- Play soft music
This will set a relaxing tone.
After you’ve pampered your body, take the next step and cleanse your mind. You could get comfortable, close your eyes, and listen to guided meditations to round out your staycation at home day spa experience.
By the time you’re done, you’ll be fully rejuvenated—and look and feel pretty darn good, too!
Indulge in Your Hobby
Maybe it’s the memoir you’d always hoped you’d start writing, but keep putting it off.
Or, you’d like to create some fine art.
Perhaps you’ve been wanting to crochet that baby blanket.
Or take piano lessons online.
If only you could spend all day researching your genealogy.
Whatever hobbies to do by yourself that you’ve been putting off because it’s “not important” in the scheme of things, now is the time. Just do it!
The most important thing is to give yourself permission to commit and immerse yourself in your hobby. Remove any time limits and let go of feeling even a shred of guilt.
Once you find a passion project, you won’t wonder what to do on a staycation alone anymore.
Break Routine and Challenge Norms
So there’s no fancy hotel room or Airbnb to luxuriate in on this vacation. What elevates the experience is using the space in ways that break routine and challenge norms,
While you can sit on the couch and read a good book, go ahead and take it a step further.
This may sound a little “whacked,” but when was the last time you built a pillow-fort…for yourself?
I’m serious.
If your answer is “never,” then today just might be the day.
Hear me out.
Grab some blankets and sheets; gather every pillow and cushion you can find. Bring them to the most open space you have and build a fort. Stack your fluffy parapets high, build your Egyptian cotton drawbridge.
Now, sit upon your ironed throne in your linen castle. And then read a book, eat ramen, and watch Lifetime Christmas movies all day, if you want to.
It’s your staycation…break the rules a little!
The point is, your things don’t have to stay where they are in your home if you don’t want them to.
You can be adventurous and mix it up a bit.
If that means dragging your big comfy chair into the kitchen beside the sunny window or even outdoors for a backyard staycation, so be it. Sleep in the guest room. Build a castle. Live your best life.
Whatever it takes, challenging norms is one of the staycation ideas for singles that can be very freeing.
Eat Cake & Other Delicious Foods
While a trip to The Bahamas may not be happening on this staycation (unless you’re reading this from The Bahamas, obviously), there’s probably nothing more transportive for people than food.
If there was ever a time to break a diet, it’s during the solo staycation.
So, there might not be a trip to Italy, but you can likely find an Italian restaurant with Neapolitan Pizza and Tiramisu that delivers.
For the more industrious staycationer, this can be an excellent opportunity to try making a favorite international recipe. You might even go as far as scheduling a meal delivery service like Hello Fresh or plan international takeout or delivery for your staycation week.
Whatever decision you make on dining and staycation food ideas, be sure to treat yourself.
Find a wine that pairs with a nice, quality cake. Order in, if you want. Indulge and spend a little extra. Get the appetizer and the dessert.
Finally, use the good china. Why the heck not?
The point is this: Don’t worry about breaking the norm to maximize your relaxation. Self-care is king here.
If it’s strange but creates happiness, then don’t judge yourself. Indulge yourself.
Immerse Yourself in a Culture, Virtually
Along the same lines, if you were dreaming of a vacation in Paris, but it’s off the table now, do Paris anyway. Virtually, that is.
Here’s what I mean.
- Listen to French music.
- Binge-watch Jack Pepin and Julia Child reruns.
- Make Beef Bourguignon.
- Indulge in boxed pink macarons for dessert.
- Read books and watch movies set in or about France.
- Practice conversational French on Duolingo.
- Take a virtual tour of the Louvre online.
- Scout out the webcam on the Eiffel Tower.
- You might even dress in chic Parisian outfits and order that Louis Vuitton bag you wanted as a souvenir.
Far-fetched?
Not really. In fact, I’d say it’s one of the great staycation ideas.
When things don’t work out the way you’d planned, plan to work them out some other way. The good news is, virtual experiences have come a long way (Baby).
Final Thoughts on Staycation Ideas for Singles
The best part about a planning a staycation at home is that so much of this is shareable as well. People might get jealous when they see the oh-so-common picture of feet on a beach taken by people in their lounge chairs.
But don’t be shocked by the similar jealous yearnings people feel when they see someone indulge in their often-overlooked sense of whimsy by creating an epic pillow fort.
Related Post: Looking for more stay-at-home fun things to do in winter? Click here.
Got room for two? Then look to these couples staycation ideas for more inspiration.
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This article is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links. As always, all opinions expressed are my own. For more information, please see the following Disclosure.
Photo credits: Book & Tea Cup: Sofia Iivarinen; Do Not Disturb Pillow: Wunderela; Cucumber, Lemon, and Oils: Seksak Kerdkanno; Louvre: EdiNugraha; Yellow Place Setting: Terri Cnudde – all courtesy of Pixabay