Hiya there! This post is coming to you on Friyay, Good (how ironic for this time?) Friday – because instead of my usual Sunday posting, I wanted to come at you with some Easter weekend-friendly content to bump up the sunshine vibes for the one Easter where pub beer gardens, family barbecues and Easter egg hunts (if you’re like me and don’t have a private garden) are a no-go. I hope the Easter bunny will be coming your way this weekend, so I surely hope it’s a Bank Holiday fuelled with chocolate and e-numbers, but if you feel you need a little more positive vibes-inducing fun, here are some ways to make you feel like you’ve had a jam-packed weekend of exploring right from your sofa:
To substitute the pub beer garden fun: homemade pizza and cocktail night
It sounds trivial, and who cares about the pub when there’s a global crisis going on, but it’s true that having our lifestyle upturned overnight has had a big effect on our wellbeing. As much as we want to say we’re not missing the pub and we’re dealing valiantly with just staying inside, it’s okay to admit you’d rather be in the sunshine, sipping on a beverage in your local pub beer garden. I know I would. So, an idea to spice up the isolation fun factor could be to do a homemade pizza and cocktail night.
It’s a special occasion, Easter is here, so why not spend an evening this weekend getting creative in the kitchen? Honestly, most of us have a bunch of ingredients lying around in our fridges and cupboards, and it could be the perfect time to use up those veggies you haven’t got around to eating. Throw them on a wheat wrap to make a tortilla pizza or grab some pre-made dough from the supermarket when you do your big shop, and you can create your very own pizza with your own toppings fuss-free. As for the cocktail part, BBC Good Food has some incredible easy cocktail recipes that take just five minutes to make, and can maybe even help you use ingredients you’ve had lying around in your kitchen. If you don’t have a cocktail shaker (who does?) just grab yourself a mason jar or sports bottle. Get your creative hat on and the end result will feel bougie as hell – and it’ll make the sting of not being able to visit that beer garden a little easier to cope with.
To substitute the Easter egg hunt: instead hunt out some international treasures from your sofa
I don’t know about you, but it just feels wrong to be buying Easter eggs right now. Easter is supposed to be a celebratory holiday, and the general mood doesn’t feel all that celebratory right now. So, if you’re not quite feeling doing Easter how you usually would, but still want to do something special so it doesn’t feel like it’s just any other weekend, how about you instead hunt out some international treasures from the comfort of your sofa?
So many sites of natural beauty from around the world are streaming virtual tours currently, so that you can transport yourself someplace else when you’re isolating. You can feel yourself reach a state of zen by viewing the sunset off the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland through a virtual tour. You can take a virtual guided walk through the leafy canopies of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. A unique opportunity to discover virtually a new place, and a chance to spend your weekend doing something different.
To substitute the family get-together: virtual quizzing galore
Depending on the vibe you’re going for, get your loved ones on a Zoom video call and host a virtual Easter-themed quiz, perhaps play an online Cards Against Humanity (although this one may not be for your nan) or get Paint up on your laptops and try your hand at a virtual game of Pictionary.
Me and Sam spent a good few many hours (of which we are embarrassed to admit) actually enjoying compiling together a PowerPoint quiz for all our pals – which we spent three hours of Saturday night having a blast with. You may not be able to be physically with your loved ones, but you can still spend quality time together – and for a lot of us, that’s what Easter is all about.
To substitute going anywhere to do anything: get dressed up to sit in your living room
Psychologically, this one works, trust me. I can’t explain how much better I feel after forcing myself through the painful act of having to choose to wear anything other than my pyjamas, actually brushing my hair and potentially even putting on a spot of makeup. Once I’ve gone and done it, I feel a million times better and like I’m ready for the day ahead. Although I 100% stand by the simple fact that pyjama days should be compulsory during these lockdown times, allowing yourself time to feel like you’ve got ready for a lovely Easter day will help your mindset a lot.
To help forget about the fact that you’re in isolation: just pretend you’re going out with the help of a few clicks of a button
Fan of musicals? Just get all dressed up and pretend you’re going to the theatre with a 7-day free trial of BroadwayHD. On the streaming platform you’ll find the best shows in theatre recorded for you to binge. Even give yourself an interval and get some ice-cream. From your fridge – I know it’s not the same, but at least it isn’t extortionately priced – so who’s the real winner here? You, obviously.
You can take a virtual tour around some of the world’s bougiest opera houses to pretend you’re on a bougie date night. Monterey Bay Aquarium in California is live-streaming its animals’ daily lockdown lives so you can literally zen yourself to sleep by watching a jellyfish livestream, or hold back the happy tears as you watch the penguins waddling in their natural habitat.
And if you’re missing the euphoric feeling of being at a gig, Manchester and Liverpool-based music venue and snazzy restaurant and bar, Jimmy’s, are hosting daily isolation gigs at 9pm every night from their Instagram channel. It’s a great way to find new music and feel like you’ve got something to look forward to in your evenings.
And if you’re having a difficult time and can’t bring yourself to make a bougie deal of it this weekend – here are some small things you can do to brighten your day:
I completely understand that getting dressed up, listening to a livestream gig or making homemade pizzas might not be what you’re feeling doing at the moment when times are incredibly challenging. Let’s be completely real here – getting out of bed and having a shower are big enough achievements for this time – and however you want to spend your weekend is completely good enough. When I’m feeling anxious or overwhelmed, finding small tasks my mind can settle on really helps – so here’s a couple in case these are things you might fancy:
- Cosy up for a book day. Read a novel or cosy up with a magazine and escape into an imaginary world ALL day.
- Lie in bed and stream Disney+. Get your 7-day free trial, binge all your fave Disney movies, and escape into the world of High School Musical (would recommend).
- Grab a takeaway. Can’t bring yourself to cook? Sometimes when you’re feeling lethargic, you just need to treat yourself. And it’s good to support local businesses right now. If you’re Bristol-based I’d very much recommend Pizza Workshop.
Let’s be frank, this current difficult period absolutely sucks, for all of us. Whatever we’re facing and experiencing right now, it just bloody sucks. But it can suck less if we think of some unique, fun things to do to pass our time – and hopefully this Easter will be the best one we’ve had in isolation yet. (And hopefully, our only one lol).
