Imagine, you’ve booked a wonderous vacation to Greece and when you’re almost there with a Mitos in one hand and your sunglasses in the other, the world falls apart. The taste of fresh calamari slips away, and all your planed adventures fall into nothing. How the hell are you going to enjoy yourself if your biggest trip is going to be from your bed to the toilet? #FML
Sounds familiar? Of course, it does. Stop longing for the perfect vacation you had planned and start to take action in your own hands! Keep on reading and I will tell you how you can bring your planned vacation in Greece to your very own home.
First, I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but clean your room. Trust me you are about to make a mess. Plus, you don’t want to be remembered about the essay you had to write when you are having your staycation in “Greece”.
You cleaned everything? Even washed your dishes who were growing legs from bathing for a week in your sink? Good. Then we can move on to the next step.
Now everything is out of the way we’re going to Greek-up your room. Greece is known for their beautiful nature that grows everywhere. So we are going to bring a little bit what the Greek nature has to offer to your own residence. Here is what you need:
-A plant
–Plant pot (preferably a terracotta one)
–black paint
-paintbrushes
This DIY is very self-explanatory. Paint the pot in any Greek mythology story, let it dry and stick your plant in it (if you’re not a plant caring type go with a succulent or cactus). You can make endless variations. You can even paint some old (or new whatever floats your boat) plates, fruit baskets etc. Not really a good painter? Just grab some blue and white paint and paint the flag of Greece on there. The Greek never can get enough of the blue and white combination in my opinion. Tip: If your paint doesn’t stick, first coat it with a layer of wood glue this will create a sticky base for your paint. Do let it dry first..
Next you want to use your new decor items to fully get into the Greek vibe. For this you are going to use some blankets or other kind of big fabric, a wire and a ton of closet pins.
Hang 3 wires across your room. 2 need to be parallel to each other, the other one needs to be higher and cross these wires. Try to hang the wire in a way that it is sturdy enough for a blanket to rest on it and try to create a roof. (look at the picture if you don’t understand) You can close the sides with more blankets which can be attached to the outer two wires with the closet pins. Congratulations! You’ve built a tent. Fill it up with pillows and a small table. This is going to be your Greek home base. You can decorate your tent with your home-made pots. You can also get some seashells and vineyard leaves at the dollar store to decorate it even more. Go crazy with it, better spend the money you saved for your vacation in your staycation. If you live in a dorm room and your roommates are as cool as you, you can even create different kinds of tents so you can go on adventure in your very own house discovering places you never been before.
When you’re done creating a place to chill out, you need something to do in your little Greek paradise. Now that tinder isn’t an option in a lockdown and you need to occupy yourself in some way during a lockdown, let’s do something the Greek are known for: Drinking! Although the Greek prefer their liquor pure, I can imagine you do want to reach the end of the day. (or night, again, whatever floats your boat.) If this is indeed the case, let’s create a Greek inspired cocktail! Which goes by the name of: Ouzo Lemonade.
For one glass of ouzo lemonade you’ll need:
60 ml ouzo (room temperature)
45 ml lemon juice (more if desired)
3 mint leaves
1 teaspoon honey
90 ml cold water
How to make this refreshing beverage:
First add the ouzo into glass. Next add the lemon juice and crunch the mint leaves into the glass to free the flavours. Afterwards add the honey and mix until it dissolves. Lastly, add the water into glass.
Tip: If you’re not a big ouzo fan you can always add more honey or lemon juice to cover the flavour. You can also replace some of the water with ice to make It more refreshing and/or dilute the alcohol.
Enjoy!
You can drink this refreshing beverage alone, with your roommates or with your family (trust me seeing your parents drunk without anyone in reach to embers you for is a treat). While drinking and chatting you can put on some Greek music on and I assure you, you will get into the Greek vibes!
Not much of a talker? I’ve got your back. Put on one of the most famous Greek vibe movies: Mama Mia! You can enjoy the movie, but if you had planned a party vacation there is of course always the option to take it up a notch. A drinking game! Pick some images or words out of the movie and every time someone says them or the are in the picture you drink! You can fill an afternoon with making your very own drinking game or just use this one:
Were you planning on reading on the beach? Then I’ll have a great staycation-proof solution for you. Grab that book you were planning on reading and simply lay in your garden or on your balcony. Don’t have either? Go to the park with a blanket and lay down. A little sun and oxygen will do you some good. You can even bring along some of that Greek ouzo lemonade with you, with or without liquor (seriously you do not want to be that creepy drunk person in the park so drink responsibly). Is it too hot? Put on a pool or fill a bucket with cold water to dip your feet in every once in a while. Don’t forget the tanning cream! Besides the fact that you probably do not want to look like a lobster, nothing screams more vacation than the smell of some good old tanning lotion.
Tip: Grab a tanning lotion with a bronzer. You will get twice as brown without missing the protection. Everyone will ask if you did go on a summer holiday.
Lastly, your Greek staycation would not be complete without some nice snacks to… well, snack on. Grab your facemask and roam around the supermarket for the perfect Mezes (a small dish which is served in Greece with ouzo or raki). An easy option would be some lovely olives, a couple of meatballs in tomato sauce, bread and of course lots and lots of tzatziki! But you can go wherever you want to with this, whatever your budget is. As long as it is tasty.
To summarise, create a place where you want to chill. Do some good old do it yourself to spice the place up (and keep yourself bussy in the process). Fix yourself up with a well-deserved beverage and snacks. Last but not least, have some fun. Use all these tips and I will assure you you’ll have a good time. I know it is not the same as going on vacation and spending time with your friends and meeting new people, but we must make the best of it. Try to create some adventures and make some memories you’ll never forget; how small they might be.
What if you miss your friends? Facetime them! Make everyone have a Greek staycation and have a lot of fun together. Put on a How to do the sirtaki video on YouTube after you have watched the Mama Mia! Film with the added drinking game I will assure you there will be some laughs.
Wanted to wear that awesome new shoes you bought for the holiday? Put on those new kicks! Take some pictures in your little Greek paradise and now you even have vacation pictures! You can even take this to the next level and do a fully greek photoshoot, chiton (these are the white garment the greek used to wear) and all.
Lastly, a plus side is that all the restaurants are delivering during the Corona time, so if you miss the food you can even order in some of those calamari you saw yourself eating on the beach. Rather eat something a little cheaper and (yes it truly is) healthier?
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Hope you’ll stay save and still have a great vacation!
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