Now that Christmas spirit is slowly dying down, you might be in a creative slump as to how to spend the remainder of your holidays. Given the recent lockdown in the Netherlands, the amount of places to go during Christmas has greatly thinned out. However, that does not mean there aren’t enough fun things to do during the holidays. Here we have for you a very authentic and uniquely cooked up list you won’t stumble across anywhere else on the internet.
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Challenge yourself to master a skill you had never thought of before
Have you ever considered practicing yodeling? If you’re noise sensitive, we recommend learning juggling instead. There’s a ton of skills out there you can learn. They might not seem useful now, but they’ll still give you a sense of achievement and perhaps come in handy when you need to be entertaining in gatherings in the future.
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Set a Guinness World Record
In the same vein as above, you can carve out something exciting out of a mundane skill! Go set the record for the fastest T-shirt folding, for example. Call the Guinness inspectors and watch your name enter the famed hall of glory.
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Make a dish worthy of MasterChef
Why salivate at the screen when you can have it all in front of you? Challenge yourself to recreate a difficult dish. You’ll learn some skills that will serve you well both in the short and long term. Who knows, this might give you new career ideas as backup if Econometrics fails.
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Play Covidopoly
Covidopoly is essentially the Covid-19 version of Monopoly Deal. For those who are not familiar with Monopoly Deal, it is a card game loosely related to the original game monopoly. However, unlike the Monopoly game, this is quick. A round lasts at most 30 minutes. Covidopoly is the online version of Monopoly Deal which can be played with as many people online. There’s also a cheap version if you do not own a real Monopoly Deal.
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Home spa/Self care
Let’s face it! It has been quite a stressful year. Though you have time to be at home, have you really had time to take care of yourself? Depending on where you are currently, most countries are still quite strict in opening up beauty shops, salons, spas, etc. so why not make one in the comfort of your own home? By lighting up some candles, spending a bit more on fancier shampoos and soaps; just little things to improve your mood!
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Go call your friends and relatives to wish them this holiday season
Don’t just text them. Christmas and New Year are all about the joy of giving. Try and give your loved ones your time. Strike a conversation and catch up on what you missed. Texting is fine, but the sense of attachment in it is limited. Instead, when people hear each other's voices, the bond you share gets stronger.
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Start/resume your fitness journey and manage those calories
These holidays, try and ensure that you exercise regularly and balance your diet to remain healthy. Mix around the ingredients at home to prepare good, nutritious food that will keep you up and running throughout the day.
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Binge on tv shows you have watched years ago
Revel in nostalgia and take a break from the year 2020.
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Virtual concerts
Covid-19 has forced artists to shift their live performances online and you can enjoy concerts in the comfort of your bed now.
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Read a book
Check out our Readables articles for some suggestions!!
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Go and discover the city by foot!
If you do not want to walk the same route as you already did a thousand times during the previous lockdown, you can participate in a great initiative called ‘De Stadswandeling’ (the city walk). They prepare a route for you in the city of Rotterdam and this route passes through 4 different food places from which you can get typical Dutch treats with a discount, completely corona proof. This way you will also be supporting the locals! Remember: participate on your own, and not with a full group of friends. If you want to know more, look at @destadswandeling010.
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Have a board game night with friends or family
Some fun recommendations: Ticket to Ride, Twister, Ludo, Risk, Cluedo, Monopoly, Scrabble, Jenga, Cards Against Humanity.
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Write letters
This is about as personal as it gets in this quarantine and definitely stands out from the usual text conversation.
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Revel in nature
Take a look on google maps, find some greenery and just bike there. Whatever happens you’ll have seen some new places outside of your bedroom.
We hope you'll try out some of these tips and manage to have a fun holiday!