It's always good to have an idea of what you're doing in the upcoming months. Organisation is key to being able to do all of the things you want to do in life. If you leave everything last minute, you can often find yourself wasting precious time planning, mulling over things and not actually being able to get around to doing anything - either because you've used up your free time thinking or because the things you wanted to do are fully booked or sold out and now unavailable. With summer fast approaching, now is a better time than ever to start creating your summer plans to make the most of this great time of year! Here are a few suggestions that you might like to work into your schedule.
A Beach Holiday
One of the things people most want to do during the summer is having a beach holiday. Beach holidays are one of the best ways to relax, recuperate and really let your hair down. This is great time taken away from work where you can really disconnect and spend some time purely enjoying yourself. Now, there are countless beaches across the world, so the world really is your oyster when it comes to choosing your beach holiday. If you live in a country with a coastline, you could stay relatively close to home and visit some of the seaside towns near where you live. If you've got more of a budget behind you and you'd like to visit somewhere with a different climate, for example, you may want to head overseas to some foreign beach holiday destinations. Shop around for some good deals. Also make sure that you look into visiting restrictions if you're heading overseas (some destinations require vaccinations or PCR tests). Finally, make sure that your passport is in date. Many people haven't checked their passport over the past couple of years, as travel has been out of bounds, so just give it a quick check to determine if you need to update or refresh it or not.
Camping
Another popular option is camping. Camping is an alternative form of holiday that allows you to disconnect from the city or suburbs and spend some real time enjoying yourself while immersed in nature. Of course, camping isn't for everyone. You don't get all of the comforts that you get as part of holidays in hotels or B&Bs, but there are a few ways around it to make it work. If you want some home comforts, you can visit a campsite that is a secure and monitored complex with even ground and facilities like toilets, hot showers and electric charging ports. If you want something more out there, you can consider camping out in the forests or other locations. Just make sure that you're not on private land and that the area is safe. You don't want to encounter cliffs, wildlife or other potential hazards. If you do go camping, make sure that you are fully prepared. You will need a good quality tent, tent pegs and a mallet to fix the tent in place, portable chargers for your phone, coolboxes for drinks and other items. A first aid kit is essential too. Also make sure you are up to date with basic camping safety, such as storing food away from your tent, not lighting heat sources inside your tent, knowing how to properly put out a campfire, not crossing rivers or other bodies of water and more.
Picnics
If you're looking for an enjoyable daytime activity that you can return home to after, you may want to consider a picnic. Check the weather forecast to find a day with good weather and reach out to people you want to attend. Choose a good location - parks tend to be ideal - where you can eat freely and where you can also have good access to public toilets, meaning that people don't have to leave solely to use a toilet back at home. Invest in a good quality picnic blanket. Options with plastic backing tend to be ideal, as this prevents damp or dew from soaking through and causing people to be soggy or uncomfortable. Then, make sure you have a picnic basket to carry your food and disposable or plastic, lightweight plates, bowls and cutlery. Remember cups too. If you want to go all out, you can invest in a cool box, which will be able to keep drinks cool. Choose a good range of foods that can easily be eaten without too much mess and make sure that you're meeting everyone's dietary requirements. You may need to consider vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free options, as well as taking any allergies into account.
Lunches and Brunches
Lunches and brunches are on the rise. They offer a great opportunity to meet up with your nearest and dearest without having to make a full day or night of it. You can arrange your own, heading to a favourite cafe or restaurant, or there are now many planned brunches where you get a set menu, bottomless drinks and music as an actual event. Look for options in your local area and see when the people you want to spend time with are free. Often, it's a good idea to book in advance to ensure you can definitely get a table at your chosen destination.
Volunteering
Many of us like the idea of volunteering, but don't find time around our jobs and hectic daily routines. Summer breaks offer a good time to be able to actually engage in volunteering projects. Think of a cause you'd like to support and see what help you can offer. This might be something like reading to the elderly in a local care home, working in a soup kitchen or food bank on a weekend or even ongoing volunteering programmes, such as heading overseas to help at animal sanctuaries.
Hopefully, some of the plans outlined above will help to keep you occupied and entertained during your time off in the summer.
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