How To Enjoy the May Bank Holiday Weekend At Home

While this May bank holiday might be nothing like what we’re used to, we can still make it one to remember.

Only yesterday I feel like we were celebrating the Easter bank holiday weekend. People all over the country were trying their utmost to make things feel normal, especially for parents with young kids. While we wanted to make it through Easter relatively customary, why don’t we switch things up for this one? Instead of seeking normality this weekend, pull out all the stops and make it a bank holiday like no other. Every one of us were hoping this would be the weekend we could get back to loved ones, but we can still make the most of it if we try.

Here’s some ways to enjoy your May bank holiday at home.

Cook a BBQ

Food is one of the best ways to bring the whole house together. Plan ahead and give the entire family a day to look forward to. The weather looks good for Saturday at least, so a BBQ could brighten everyone’s moods. And there are plenty of amazing recipes around to try out. My favourite site to use is BBC Good Food. They’re great for segmenting different types of food, cuisines and even rating recipes on how well they’ve gone down with readers.

A lot of us could do with relaxing after the stresses working from home all week can bring. Tesco are offering deals right now on BBQ kits, ingredients and even €20 deals on a bottle of Aperol and a bottle of Prosecco, a bargain and a half! (And nothing says BBQ like a home-made Aperol Spritz).

If you’re not exactly the cooking type though don’t fret! Most restaurants have improvised and adjusted their service to deliver food, contactless delivery and all. So you could always spoil the family to restaurant quality meal instead, without having to leave the house. I’ve been so inspired by all the creative date nights people have been sharing, it’s so lovely to see people remembering to celebrate during these times.

Virtual Wine Tasting

Yes, this is really a trend right now. While everything is becoming virtual, why not organise your very own wine tasting event with your friends? Crack out a little cheese board if you’re feeling extra fancy. If wine isn’t for you there’s always whiskey, or even beer with some friends over video chat. You’ll also have a great catch up. It’ll be just like hitting the town, nearly. The only danger you could get so drunk to forget about this whole pandemic, so maybe put some notes on the doors to remind yourself to stay at home. Better safe than sorry!

Transform Your Home In To a Festival

With all the creative ideas flowing, many people have begun converting their houses in to make shift events. Some ideas have included music festivals, food festivals, or why not even a fashion show of your latest quarantine haul for your mates? I loved the music festival idea personally, I thought it was sheer and utter genius.

The renovation could include making one room was a bar (this could be the living room or conservatory if you wish. Another room could be designated to food so ideally the kitchen would work here. Obviously then the other rooms could conjure up diverse music styles. This would probably work better for a larger family, but fun and different nonetheless.

If this doesn’t sound like your thing you could always do an international food and drink festival, different rooms designed to different cuisines. Italian pizzas, pastas and wine in one room. With German sauerkraut, pretzels and beer in another. The perfect way to make up for that trip you might be missing out on. Bring the holiday to you. For kids, you can always add face painting, picture drawing and board games, if you’ve a tent handy all the better.

Baking

Baking has been my answer to everything since the start of Covid-19. Feeling anxious? Bake away your trouble. Feeling bored? Pick up that spoon. Feeling giddy? What harm could a sugar boost do? This is especially great for anyone with kids as it can fill up an hour or two of the day. Why not enjoy a day of baking and eating delicious treats? Given the weather forecast Sunday or Monday might be the ideal day for this, so you can munch into your creations and have a little duvet day without the guilt.

Self-Care

Haven’t taken much time for yourself these past few weeks? Or even if you’ve done more face-masks lately than ever before. Why stop now? Spoil yourself with some you time. Take a nice relaxing bath with all the best face and hair masks you can. A little glass of red on the side and you’ll be like a new person altogether.