By Land and SeaThanksgiving is here and before we know it, Christmas will be here too. Thanksgiving brings the busiest travel days of the year, with more and more people heading to various location. We do not travel over Thanksgiving break; instead we use it as a time to catch up with friends and family, as well as enjoy and/or work on other things we may not have time for otherwise. If you are also planning a travel-less holiday and not sure what to do to pass the time, here’s a few thing you can do to survive a no-travel holiday break.
Play catch up
I don’t know about you, but we are a super-busy duo! We both have full time jobs, and keep busy with a variety of things including our dogs, homeownership, school, friends, fitness, and many other elements of life. A travel-less holiday break allows a great opportunity to catch up on things that have been put off. For example, I still have not had time to unpack from our last trip in October. It’s been over a month and I really need to get on it! It’s refreshing to get a few things off your to do list!
Explore your own town
Last year on our Thanksgiving staycation, I wandered around town to some places I don’t normally go in the winter months. This gave me the opportunity to see the waterfall that is in the mountains just south of our town completely frozen over. Believe it or not, this was the first time I’d ever seen it frozen. I also went to a cocktail infusion class that I normally wouldn’t have been able to attend due to my work schedule. This year, I’m excited to be able to attend a special yoga class taught by a guest instructor visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday from Turkey. So, check out your town and explore it the way you might if you were visiting!
Treat yourself
Isn’t it nice when you go on a pampering vacation and you treat yourself to a massage? Why not do that during a travel-less holiday break!? You’ll pay a fraction of the cost that you would in a tourist destination, support your local economy, and alleviate some of the stress the holiday season brings on. I scored a holiday promotion for two one-hour long massages for $98.00. That’s less than the cost of one massage at a resort!
Plan your next trip
Planning your next trip can always help to lessen the post-travel or travel-less holiday blues. It is a great distraction from the fact that you are wasting paid days off sitting at home and also gives you something to look forward to. It’s great to think of all the places you could go and anticipate your next trip! The best part of this is, especially around Thanksgiving, many companies offer deep discounts on travel for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Are you traveling this holiday or planning a staycation instead? Share your holiday plans or favorite tips to survive a travel-less holiday in the comments below!
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Happy Thanksgiving!
These are some great trips. I have a week off after the first December weekend and am planning to do some of the things you mentioned here. And then I have another week off in the last week of the year, and I plan to travel for that. 🙂
Glad you found the tips helpful! I hope you’re heading somewhere fun the last week of the year!
I’ll probably not be able to leave during the next Xmas holidays. I’ll follow your advice and start planning my next big trip: Costa Rica I hope!
Costa Rica sounds amazing!! You’ll have a lot to look forward to. Happy planning!!
Yes! Excellent! Well done! When I do get some free time I keep thinking of travelling but as it happens you can’t always travel. Now you’ve given me some ideas to fill up my time better (except planning another trip, always doing that!)
We’re always planning our next trip too!! Never a dull moment with the excitement that brings!
Good tips especially the spa idea! To be honest the travel planning part is the thing I love doing when we are not travelling, we are always looking for a bargain online! As yes as you say it’s Black Friday so will start looking today!
I had my massage yesterday and boy did it feel good to get all the knots and kinks worked out of my back! We haven’t found any major deals yet, but we will keep looking through Cyber Monday!
Great Tips! This will be me this year exploring around where I live this holiday. I love the idea to plan ahead for the next trip. Must go online and look for the best deals! Great waterfall shot and Thanks for sharing 🙂
I spent the first 2.5 days of this break running around and haven’t gotten nearly as much done as I wanted. Today will involve some major planning I think!
Great tips! Always be planning for the next trip – gives us focus and something to look forward to!
Yes, indeed it does!
This is a perfectly timed post what with all the holidays coming up! People may feel pressure to go away somewhere but actually, when you lead a busy life as you two do, it’s really nice to slow down and do nice little things you don’t usually get the chance to do so this is perfect! In England, I am a sucker for Afternoon Tea, that’s a lovely little treat for me with little finger sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, little bite sized cakes and traditional tea/coffee – a great way for couple time or to catch up with friends 🙂 Hope you enjoyed your staycation, the yoga and holiday planning sound perfect! Happy thanksgiving 🙂 x
A proper Afternoon Tea is so high on my bucket list as I have a major obsession with tea!
It is so true what you say about exploring your local area, we have done this and discovered some great things. You don’t always have to travel far to have a great experience. Great post!
Thanks for commenting! Yes, you can find some great things by not going too far! Its fun to get out and explore the way a visitor would. Have a great day!!
Good tips! Nice to slow down and catch up. In Ohio it’s always up to weather what we can do anyway this time of year, so sometimes doing nothing or planning your next trip is great.
We’ve been lucky with the weather over our last two Thanksgiving breaks. Christmas is a different story – the harsh winter storms have usually started by then. Fireplaces and trip planning are on the agenda!
Sometimes taking a break from travelling is beneficial! As you say, it provides time for catching up on other things and time to plan the next trip is always welcome! I am travelling before and after the Christmas holidays but will definitely enjoy a few quiet days with friends! Thanks for sharing
Hope you have some exciting adventures planned! Can’t wait to read your posts on them.
Great tips! I can’t stay in one place unless i have my next adventure lined up! Although most of the time my plan is just the place and nothing more to it I just show up and see what happens!!
Some great tips here Jenn. I’m a big believer in exploring one’s home town and venturing into parts you normally wouldn’t see. Big fan of planning things too, gives you that sense that you will be travelling soon even if its ages away or not likely to happen.
Our planning paid off and we scored a great deal on a trip for next year!
Great tips here! We especially loved the massage/spa treat and the planning of a next holiday! Visiting your own town is definitely a great one too! Well done 🙂
Had my massage over the weekend – it was great! And, because of the deal I found, I still have another massage to look forward to!
Planning a new holiday is always the best way for me to calm my self down when I just want to drop everything and go again. It is hard, but going on day trips to do hiking or being a tourist in my own city helps out too! Thanks for sharing!
I agree, it’s hard but it helps! I struggle exploring my town this time of year because it’s cold and wintery out. I force myself to get outside and go!
Planning a new holiday is always the best way for me to calm my self down when I just want to drop everything and go again. It is hard, but going on day trips to do hiking or being a tourist in my own city helps out too! Thanks for sharing!