50 Ways to Survive, Thrive & Have Fun at Home

So this Christmas is going to be different.  Let’s have fun at home and not make it bad different, let’s make it good different.  Let’s embrace this time we have in our homes as positively as we can.

Being positive and taking care of our mental health is very important during this time and keeping ourselves busy is paramount.  Whether you’re currently furloughed, shielding or working from home here is our bucket list of things to do.  You can, however, use this as a guide.  Why not make your own festive bucket list?

Whether you live alone, with family, or as a couple here is our list of how to have some fun this Festive Season.

 

50 Way to Survive, Thrive & Have Fun at Home this Season

 

1 Book an online Theatre Production or Panto

This Friday evening Justin, the girls and I have booked tickets via the Bristol Old Vic to watch a performance from the comfort of our homes.  Theatres around the country have live or on demand performances.  Even Panto this year has gone online.  We’ll be plugging in to watch Jack and the Beanstalk starring Blue Peter legend Peter Duncan this year with the kids!

 

2 Run an inhouse or virtual Come Dine with Me

Such a fun idea.  Get dressed up and give each other scores.  We will be doing this in our household soon and will even get the kids cooking too!

 

3 Treat yourself to an Online Workshop

With so many online courses out there at the moment, you can learn a new skill.  Why not book into one of our own virtual Candle Making Workshops where we will send you a kit to make candles via our live interactive classes.

4 Whip up a lockdown bath

Baths are luxurious and are good for the soul!  Why not add some bath oil or try our Lavender Bath Salts to add a health and scent twist to your deep and steamy bath.

 

5 Go on a walk in your local area that you’ve never been on

Go on that walk you have always thought about but never actually done.  Do it, we all have one!

 

6 Light a candle

At this time of year lighting, a candle doesn’t have to be in the evenings.  If the Swedes light candles for breakfast then why can’t we?  Buy our candles as a bundle and save, they will last you all winter long (maybe)!

 

7 Board games

Firm fav’s in our house is a game of Scrabble and a competitive game of UNO. 

 

8 Organise your Photos

Always a job we want to do but never do it.  Go organise those photos into folders or get the best ones printed out.

 

9 Take an Online Course and learn something new

From Photography, Coding, Web Design and Cooking there are so many online courses you can do.  Have a google.

 

10 Organise your beauty kit

Have a sort out of your make-up and beauty products lurking in your cupboard.  That Lippie that hasn’t been worn in years, get rid!

 

11 Look into your Ancestry

A fun job for anyone – how far can you get back to?

 

12 Do Yoga and improve your posture

We love yogadownload.com however there are simply so many yoga teachers who have gone online since March.  Also, look on YouTube for some free classes.

 

 

13 Listen to a podcast

We are loving Deliciously Ella, Catherine Langman Productpreur, GOOP, and Scaling it Up, mostly food and business podcasts however you can find literally anything you are interested in.

 

14 Make a smoothie

Make a smoothie packed with good health.  We love to add Wheatgrass Powder, Spirulina Powder and Macca Powder into ours!

 

15 Organise your cookbooks

Any that haven’t been used in years, give them away to someone who will use them.  Or even better have a look and pick a recipe you’ve never cooked before.

 

16 Download an audiobook for your walks

Audible by Amazon has a great collection.  Educate or Listen to a story while your out in your local area walking or running.

 

17 Do a home workout

Joe Wicks is fantastic even if he is a little cheesy 🙂

 

18 Try your hand at making your own Pizza Dough

Have a look on the LT Blog for Laura’s Pizza Dough recipe.  A homemade pizza is FAR better than a shop-bought one.

 

19 Live Stream a Beach Cam

Have a beach in the background and watch the waves lap on the beach, breathing in the calm.  Try Skyline for some super beach cam watching.

 

20 Order a Takeaway from your local Restaurant and support the hospitality industry

Support your local Restaurant.  They need us.  Badly.

 

21 Have a Fondue Night

Love a cheese fondue.  Bring them back!

 

22 Have a go at Virtual Karaoke

Or buy a karaoke machine.  Pour a glass of wine and sing your heart out…

 

23 Bake a Cake

Yip we all baked banana bread in 2020, now take it up a notch and find another cake to make.  Just let them eat cake…

 

24 Start a Scrapbook on something you are interested in

That trip you went on last year.  Make a scrap book or start a virtual scrap book or book you can have printed.  Our pick for printed books is Once Upon.

 

25 Play virtual Bingo

So.  Much.  Fun.

 

26 Throw a Virtual Party

Organise your girlfriends and host a ZOOM Friday fizz.

 

27 Set some Positive Goals

The simple act of writing your goals down allows the brain to digest and manifest them in the background.  It’s so powerful and works.

 

28 Make your own Ice-cream

Homemade anything, in particular, ice cream is just SO good.

 

29 Create ‘100 things I want to do before I die’ List

Spend time making your list and visualise yourself doing those 100 things.

 

30 Paint a wall or room in your house that needs a freshen up

We all have one.  Just buy the paint and get to it.

 

31 Create a ‘Books I wish to Read’ list

You could create categories such as novels, business, educational…

 

32 Do some batch cooking

For those nights when you just don’t have the energy to cook.

 

33 Get a head start on your Christmas Shopping

Have you seen our Laura Thomas Co Christmas Gift Guides?  Shop indie this year and avoid the big chains and Amazon.

 

34 Read a book at a time of day you don’t normally sit and relax

Such as after breakfast. Because why not?

 

35 Learn a language

This will make your next French trip all the more fun 🙂

 

36 Book a Course for 2021

Book a face to face course for 2021 and enjoy knowing you have something to look forward to.

 

37 Organise your wardrobe

If you haven’t worn it in the last 2 years should you still own it?

 

38 Create a perfect home ‘mood board’

Want to renovate your home, room, or office?  Create mood boards and get those creative juices flowing with ideas.

 

39 Plant a Herb Garden

This can be done indoors.  Grow your own herbs which will be great for cooking, add a scent to your kitchen and look great on the window sill.

 

40 Repair your Clothes

Get darning those socks!

 

41 Become a Wine Expert

Take a wine-tasting course and get to know what you like and what you don’t like because life is too short to drink rubbish wine 🙂

 

42 Write a Journal

Add a paragraph a day.  Great to look back on in years to come.

 

43 Learn Calligraphy and make some Christmas Presents

Around a decade ago I bought a calligraphy set and make all my family and friends a little picture which I then framed and gifted to them for Christmas.

 

44 Create a travel bucket list

Create a travel list to slowly work through for when we can all travel again.

 

45 Clear out your Kitchen Cupboards

Get rid of those out of date sauces and spices that have lurked around there for years!

 

46 Complete a Jigsaw

Can you beat a good jigsaw?  No way get puzzling!

 

47 Write someone a letter

This is a wonderfully old fashioned thing to do these days, however, it is so well received. Write a letter and brighten up someone’s day.

 

48 Bird Watch

Sprinkle some seeds somewhere outdoors that you can see the birds arrive and eat them. Great reality TV.

 

49 Organise your sock drawer

A very satisfying job indeed.

 

50 Get in the Festive Spirit and decorate your home

It’s 2020, anything goes right?

Words + Images  |  Laura Thomas

 

Love Laura xx