Long overdue holiday- any ideas for stayvaction?

Book yourself into a local spa for the day and have a few treatments.
Visit a lovely hotel or cafe that does afternoon tea.
Spend a day binge reading or catching a box set.

Don’t decorate. DIY decorating expands to fill the time available IMHO. Reading, mild TV watching, meeting friends, sleeping later. All will be relaxing. Like retirement but time limited. ?

Spend the money you would have spent on a holiday paying someone skilled to do it for you ( unless you really like decorating.) Book an advisor in a big department store and plan a makeover. Go for long walks. Take a train to somewhere (fairly near) you have never been before. Visit a gallery or a museum, and have lunch there. Go to a matinee concert or play. Walk around your neighbourhood, noticing things you are usually too busy to notice: architecture, gardens, shops. Go out early and have breakfast.
Actually, that sounds like my week!

It's surprising that we go away and visit attractions in different parts of the country but often neglect those on our own doorstep.

Leave the decorating and go out and explore your local area, catch a bus or a train to a nearby town, go to a museum or art gallery (even small towns often have them).
Relax and enjoy yourself.

No DIY allowed in my opinion. Book tickets for theatre or cinema. Phone a friend for coffee/lunch. Get your hair done (and your nails maybe). Buy very expensive shower gel and shampoo and use copiously. Go to bed early and don't set foot outside the bed until at least 9.30 a.m.

Sleep as long as want......go to bed late, wake up at about 11am, have brunch. Take a drive to the beach, if it's fairly near. Watch the waves beat on the shore, breathe in a lot of ozone. Then, watch your favourite programmes on TV.
When you're not by the seaside, visit friends and family and have a catch-up.

Now ineedamum has set me thinking. I work none stop - almost. Stop for a bit of TV or rather iplayer and some chat pages such as Gransnet.

I fancy learning a new skill.

Did that many moons ago. I had a very stressful but rewarding job but for my hols I went away with my daughter and family or by myself seeking the sun with swimsuit and a good book in hand. One year I decided to book lots of different craft classes instead of a 2 week hol. Oh Boy! Did they help with putting work to the back of my brain. + I met some fantastic people.

One amazing craft was stone carving on Portland for 5 days.

So thank you ineedamum.
I'm going to look for a day or two
Learning something new to do.

I feel a limerick forming !!!

Thanks, some great ideas. I'll leave the decorating.

I rarely watch TV- any ideas what is good?

I love walking, especially by the beach (a ten minute walk for me!) and am arranging a walk with a friend.

Afternoon tea is a great idea- last time I done that it felt luxurious- and i'll combine that with the museum.

What ever you do enjoy it! And don't forget it's your holiday so indulge!!!

As somebody who finds cooking an absolute bore, I'd eat out or have takeaways EVERY night! But, I do realise that there are people who actually like cooking and if you're one of them perhaps you'd enjoy trying a new recipe every day. (Fortunately for me, my DH likes cooking or I would have starved to death long ago!)

All those ideas sound so nice! We needn't always have to plan a week away to lay in the sun when there are options to laze away a week at home! A day trip to a nearby city, or see a museum or gallery you haven't been to. Catch up with friends, or lovely walks alone.
I love a sleep in and spend an hour with a cup of coffee and book or newspaper.

Make yourself a schedule - e.g. no housework after 11 am. That way you have the afternoons free to do holiday type activities.

If it were me, I would

- go to local sites of interest, as Calliestemon suggested. Join a guided walking tour of your home town, visit a museum

- go to the cinema.

- go to a concert - there are lots of summer festivals on at the moment, some involving picnics in parks

- Just make yourself a picnic and go and eat it somewhere nice.

- Take yourself to a cafe for an ice cream. People-watch, Read a book, write a letter whilst you're sitting there.

- Take a bus or a train to somewhere you don't go to very often and take yourself for a walk

- Go for a cycle ride

- Go to a zoo, or something that you would normally only do with children.

- If the weather is nice, don't bother with the TV. If you want to spend the evening at home, listen to the Proms on Radio 3 or watch a DVD or read a book.

I always love a nice boat ride on holiday, river or sea. I went on a very exciting and fast rib from Southwold last year, fantastic.

Also I like a wander around a stately home or gardens. This site looks interesting, though I've not tried them yet. www.historichouses.org/tours/invitation-to-view-upcoming-tours.html

If you can use coaches, see if there are any day trips departing locally to somewhere interesting.

Have a 'pyjama day' where you don't have to go out of the house at all.

DoraMarr/JackyB..... Excellent contributions.

Definitely like the idea of a pyjama day for perhaps the first day.
Book a pamper treatment - doesn't matter if it's just a manicure or pedicure or massage. I can recommend reflexology - it will help you sleep.
Make the most of not having to watch the clock - have a wander round your local town / country park/ museum, or go to another town nearby - catch a bus, it's surprising what you miss when you're driving ! Finish with either afternoon tea or an early dinner and spend the evening either reading, watching a dvd or just a couple of tv programmes.
I'd also book a few days away at the coast - if you stay at home, you'll only find yourself doing things that can wait and not getting that break that you need.

Anything that lets me spend time with my wife

There is only me and one son left in our wee family. I don't keep well so holidays are pretty much a no-no. However, at his birthday this year he had a week off work. I organised a 2 night hotel break on Groupon at a place not too far from my home which had a leisure centre attached. Luckily, I live near Loch Lomond so it is a beautiful part of the country. We had a fabulous couple of days together, with lots of good food, some exercise and pampering and a lot of rest. I was even able to nip home to check up on my cats! Afterwards, he went to Manchester to meet up with some friends and had a great time with them for the rest of his break. We both won out of this deal! I'm suggesting maybe one or two days away just to chill and maybe visit some friends you haven't seen for ages.

Great suggestions everyone. Love them.

Join the National Trust and visit some local ones

I need to get away from home to really relax so I would plan a short stay about an hour or two drive away, staying in a Hotel in an area with lots to explore.

I live in Devon now & there's lots to explore, friend should be coming to stay soon who knows South Devon coast which I don't & I live on the edge of Dartmoor, an area they don't know, I feel like lots of exploring coming on, no housework as I'll have a guest, plenty of chances to eat out. That will be a "holiday" for me.

What about lunch and a cinema matinee? I am looking forward to the film about LS Lowry and his mother, played by Timothy Spall and Vanessa Redgrave and out at the end of August.

Try GeoCaching. Either in your area or further afield. A nice way to discover new places and often learn new interesting info about places you may already know.

I haven’t heard about that film Edithb Sounds great and will look out for it. Some good suggestions for chilling out ineedamum and if you work so hard, sometimes time at home just doing whatever takes your fancy when you wake up is really relaxing. I hope you have enjoy whatever you decide to do.