Life

11 Ideas If You Don't Have Holiday Weekend Plans

by Kaitlyn Wylde
reading, park, nature
Jazalayyin/E+/Getty Images

As a holiday weekend approaches, a nervous plan-making frenzy takes over. Three-day summer weekends inspire people to round up friends and lovers, get out of the city, the hit beach and make memories. And we twentysomethings feel a particular pressure to have a perfectly patriotic and picturesque weekend each time. Because if we don't, we have to suffer through some of the most intense FOMO, as exacerbated by social media. So what do you do when you haven't been invited anywhere, don't have anyone special to spend it with and don't have the money to treat yourself? It's the predicament many of us find ourselves in, despite the fact that we feel like the only ones in the world who are experiencing it.

It's not like a regular weekend where social media posts are slow, and if you decide you want to spend the weekend by yourself, you're not made to feel like you're missing out on a party that the rest of the world was invited to. Holiday weekends don't roll in and out unnoticed. But not having plans doesn't mean you're required to throw a pity party for yourself.

I've spent so many holiday weekends home alone in my apartment, looking at my friends and their lovers make memories in the sand. Instead of focusing on myself and what I do have, I spend my weekend pining for what I don't have and obsessing over the details of other people's fun. But not having plans is not a big deal. One day, when you're older and your social circle is larger and your family has increased, you'll be wishing you took more advantage of the time you had to yourself. This holiday weekend, blow out the candles on your pity cake and spend your weekend doing one of these more progressive activities:

Visit Family

There's no shame in spending your adult years hanging with your family. Link up with your parents or your siblings and spend the weekend catching up. It's not lame, it's meaningful.

Read A Whole Book

Get yourself a book that you've been dying to read and commit to spending the weekend tearing through it. Bring it to the park, bring it to a bar, take it with you everywhere and devour it.

Unplug

Worried about social media ruining your peaceful weekend in loner town? Shut it down! Seriously, log out of all your apps, and leave your phone at home. You don't need to watch what everyone else is doing, pay attention to yourself.

Take A Day Trip

Look at the bus schedule and take a trip somewhere semi-local. Maybe it's a historical landmark, maybe it's a famous ice cream place, a river, a museum, a farm. Get up early and take the bus there, spend the day and feel full and proud of yourself by the time you make it home.

Redecorate

Have you always wanted to paint your walls or move your furniture around but never had the time? Well, now you do! Go nuts, change the way your home looks, and remember this weekend as one you spent bettering your environment.

Go On A Hike

Check out your local and state parks and plan a day hike. Pack some snacks the night before, head out early, and enjoy the wonders of being alone in the wilderness.

Cook Yourself Feast

You don't need company to cook. If you dreamed of having lobster and corn on the cob this weekend, make it yourself. It doesn't taste any less delicious if you eat it alone.

Catch Up On Sleep

You probably weren't willing to admit how tired you are and how long it's been since you've had a quality night's sleep. Nap your brains out. Meditate. Be peaceful.

Binge Watch A Show

This is your weekend to do whatever you want with no judgement. If you want to wear a face mask and pajamas and watch TV all day, do it! This is your chance!

Learn How To Bake A Treat

Treat yourself. Literally. Learn how to make some elaborate treat like gelato or macaroons. Chances are it will take you the better half of the day — and then you'll have treats to keep you company for the rest of the weekend.

Get To Know Your Empty 'Hood

Some people think it's eerie the way a town empties out on a holiday weekend. I happen to think it's incredibly serene and a perfect time to wander in and out of businesses and try places that might otherwise be too crowded to endure.

Images: Giphy, Jazalayyin/E+/Getty Images