Holidays can not only be expensive but also sometimes stressful… The packing, unpacking, being in a different environment, the travel involved. Have you ever thought that a holiday doesn’t necessarily need to be away from home? I love home. I feel safe, cosy and happy. Why wouldn’t I want to enjoy my home when I have free time? Sometimes life gets too hectic to actually appreciate your own environment and the activities and walks you could actually do right on your own doorstep. Why not take a moment to calm the chaos and take a slow pace of life for a few days?…
The Plan
A few weeks ago, I was on a mission. It was a secret mission (although I did tell a few people) … My mission was to turn my home into a hotel and surprise my boyfriend for the weekend. He had already taken the Monday off so all I needed to do now was get to work on the surprise. I was inspired by our time at Chewton Glen which was a dream to stay at for my 30th birthday. However, I didn’t have the budget for that, but I did have imagination! I wrote a list of the little touches they did and catered ideas to our style. It was so fun planning, preparing and buying bits and pieces for the weekend. I did spend a bit of money, but it was actually so much cheaper than a weekend away and a lot more special.
Preparation
Preparation was key to my secret weekend. I needed to be sneaky (which I quite enjoyed). I created spreadsheets of things to do, things to order, cleaning that needed to be done, food shopping that needed to be delivered on the day, and extra touches that I picked up on the day such as patisserie cakes and fresh fruit for the fruit bowl.
Little Touches
The following ideas are things you can do some of or all of. I really hope you like them!
- Cleaning (if you don’t have time to do it all on the day start by cleaning a room sneakily over the week and give it a quick hoover to freshen it up on the day). If you can afford it, why not get professional cleaners in?
- Fruit bowl filled with fruits you wouldn’t normally have.
- Pre-make meals for the freezer or buy ready meals. I got some frozen meals from Cook who make homemade dishes, so they are actually healthier (and tastier) than the standard supermarket ones.
- Put together a treat box of yummy snacks for the weekend. I choose a mix of healthier and not so healthy treats and ordered them online from Ocado.
- Put some lovely beauty products out like hand creams, diffusers and candles.
- Make an activity corner – I put a jigsaw, some DVDs and some duet music to play (we play the violin).
- Buy some flowers – we were conveniently given some flowers which looked perfect.
- Buy some mini cakes to eat on arrival.
- Order a takeaway for the first evening.
- Arrange some treats in the kitchen like tea and hot chocolate in jars. I also put wine, luxury granola and teacups ready too.
- Do a food shop of items you might need such as milk, bread etc.
- Create a magazine area.
- Put chocolates on the bed and put a fresh set of bedding on.
- Save some luxury bath products and lay them out neatly in the bathroom.
- Buy some luxury toilet paper and fold the corners to make it look fancy.
- Treat yourself to some luxury hand soap / soap bars.
- Fold flannels in the bathroom like hotels do and place fresh towels ready for the arrival.
- Place a tissue box in the bathroom.
- Order a breakfast hamper to arrive in the morning. I ordered ours from Gail’s Bakery to last us over several days
Home Sweet Home
This may seem a bit over the top to people but I’m a bit of a perfectionist so when I commit to something I have to go to town! I’m so pleased that the weekend was a success and I hope this has inspired you that with a little hard work, you could actually do this too! Maybe you prefer being at home like me, maybe you have a family and going away is difficult… This is the perfect solution in my book and the perfect surprise to anyone (friend or family) you wish to share it with.
Have you ever created a hotel at home before? If not, will you be creating one soon?
