It’s hard to believe that next weekend is the first long weekend of the ‘’summer’’ here in Canada. I know summer doesn’t officially kick off until June but there is an unofficial kickoff with the long weekend in May.
Though I love me a good long weekend, it’s also easy to feel like you need to keep up with the Joneses and do more than you potentially want to do or have budgeted for. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good meal out, a beer on an outdoor patio with good company or a weekend away at a cabin but if you’re not careful with your budget, it is so easy to blow through a lot of money in a few short days. Instead of jam packing your weekends with restaurant meals out or expensive getaways in the name of ‘’it’s a long weekend’’ try saving some money and do some free or frugal activities instead.
Stay Home, Don’t Make Plans
My experience is that people are always looking to do things outside if the home. Go out for dinner, cottage weekends, meet for coffee somewhere. When did just staying home and enjoying an extra day at home become such a bad thing? Dig through your family games, look up sites like gametwist, sip coffee in your own yard/deck/comfy spot or crack open a new book to read (bonus points if borrowed from a friend or local library). In a society that is constantly on the go, have an unapologetic weekend at home doing things you love…you can even stay in your pjs.
Complete that To-Do list!
I personally hate the feeling of going into a weekend with a mile long list of things to do but the reality is that if you keep delaying these things your list (and anxiety) will just grow. Spend your long weekend trying to get some things done. My personal list is starting to get unruly and have already made plans to take an extended weekend with backup childcare to get some of these necessary things done. I know nothing will feel better that starting a fresh week with a shorter list!
Support Local
Check out local events for free events. Family picnics, outdoor evening movies, sand castle competitions…there are often local events that get overlooked that can be a great long weekend filler. I know I personally don’t pay enough attention to local events and have missed out on what ended up being really fun events, usually because I was out of town- for something to do.
A lot of the advertising I see for long weekend plans are often weekends away ($$), at fancy cottages ($$) that requiring gas money to get to ($$) and extra food to buy either in the form of groceries or eating out ($$). Though these ads certainly make me want to be there, there is nothing wrong with not doing any of that and staying home instead.
What are your favorite ways to spend a long weekend? Have you ever stumbled upon a great free local event by chance?
