10 Fun Things To Do For Free, On Holiday
6 minutes well spent
Spending time having fun with your family or friends is high on the list of aims for anyone’s motorhome lifestyle. Spending time kicking back and coming together during the day or in an evening is one of life’s true pleasures. Spending time outdoors playing games is an amazing way for a group to bond and enjoy themselves. Perhaps you’ve got a VW campervan with a little less living space than a larger family motorhome – so you’re going to concentrate your ‘fun activity time’ on the outdoor stuff you can do.
Even on those occasions when the weather might have ‘turned’, there are still things you can do when staying in the vehicle to make the most of your time together. In this edition of our blog we’re looking at some of the things you can do – indoors or outdoors – to provide some holiday cheer, whether you’re in Auto-Trail campervans or Weinsberg motorhomes…
1. Card Games
This is where all of your saved up pennies find a natural home. Before you go on holiday, empty out that jar you’ve been slinging small change into, and there’s your stake for some inter-family gambling. You could even set up an evening-by-evening league table, which would add a bit more spice to the daily banter. Card games don’t have to be difficult to be enjoyable – there are plenty of games anyone and everyone can play. Don’t forget to take a pack of cards – and if you don’t want to bet using money, you could always use matchsticks!
2. Board Games
If you don’t mind a bit of rampant capitalism then maybe Monopoly is for you. Or if you prefer murder mystery there’s always Cluedo. For the wordsmiths there’s always Scrabble and more quiz-oriented games like Trivial Pursuits are popular too. Classic board games that the family already regularly enjoy can be a great way to import some of your actual home into your home from home and keep the camaraderie flag flying.
3. Painting/Sketching
A more individual pursuit, painting the environments you holiday in rather than plastering them all over your Instagram offers you a really unique set of souvenirs which become more special over the years. Painting is a very relaxing way to while away some time, and it helps you appreciate your destinations a little more due to the attention you’re giving individual details as you paint them. That tree – beautiful. That lake – beautiful. Those ducks – beautiful.
Take your sketchbook or a small fold-away easel with you, plus some paper or canvas, paints and whatever brushes you need, and you’re away. You’ll be our next Gainsborough or Turner by the time you’re back from that week in Norfolk!
4. Cricket
One of England’s greatest games, if not the greatest. Cricket is a fantastic way for people to unwind in a way that is competitive – but ‘fun competitive’. We wouldn’t advise using a ‘proper’ cricket ball for any motorhome, caravan or campervan games, as you’re likely to do some serious damage if you knock it for six – particularly if your name is Jonny Bairstow or Ben Stokes! A soft ball of some kind, or perhaps at the most a tennis ball, will be sufficient.
You can break parties up into two teams if there are enough of you, or you can set up the game so that each batsman is an individual playing against the field (i.e. everyone else), with each of you taking it in turns with the bat to try and rack up a score. Never mind what you’ve heard them say about football. It’s cricket, really, that is the beautiful game. Having said that, swing ball comes pretty close too!
5. Music
You might be a musical couple or family, or group of friends. So how about a jam evening? Get your instruments out and start fiddling, twiddling and blowing! There’s nothing as warming as the connection made between players while playing, and if a few beers have gone down too it can feel very special indeed.
6. Reading
Again, a solitary pursuit – unless you intend to become a living audiobook for the duration of your break, reading aloud to your family. If that’s the case, you’d better be sure to have dulcet tones! A life hack might be to invest in some audiobook CDs, or an audiobook streaming service and let the professionals take care of it all for you.
If you’re taking along a book or two and intend on investing in some quiet time alone to read them, we salute you. Imagine sitting in a camper chair outside your vehicle, in some beautiful spot next to a lake or in a forest and enjoying a session with your favourite book. What a wonderful way to relax!
7. TV
You don’t go on holiday to spend time sitting in front of a TV set – or maybe, actually, you do. It might be the only time you can indulge in the goggle box without interruption, meaning you can finally hunker down and catch up on that TV series or film you’ve been meaning to watch. Dependent on the internet in your vehicle, and the way that is set up, you might not have access to streaming services. If that’s the case then make sure you take along a DVD player and discs with whatever it is you want to watch on them.
8. BBQ
It’s the outdoor activity that you get some food at the end of! If your vehicle has an exterior BBQ point then all the better, but whatever the set-up, you should be able to enjoy some time indulging in an al fresco meal cooked right there in front of you. If your BBQ is in the evening, even better. There’s nothing quite like sitting around sharing stories while the sun goes down. A beer or two often helps the tales become taller, adding to the fun!
9. Geocaching
A great one as a way to keep walking and keeping fit more interesting. Geocaching (if you don’t already know) is when players use their mobile phone GPS to start tracking down finds. In a way, it’s a global treasure hunt – even though the treasure itself is often only token. Often the cache is a small waterproof box containing a logbook and pen. Finders mark their details in the logbook and return the cache to the spot they found it. In a way this makes geocaching a good walk with a specific purpose. It really is the taking part that counts!
10. On the road spotting
The great thing about going on holiday in a motorhome, campervan or caravan is that your time (other than the travelling itself) can be pretty much anything you want it to be. In fact, there’s even a game for when you’re travelling. Each member of the family nominates a car colour or car type and keeps tally (i.e. a score each time a red car goes past, or a Smart car etc).
At the point you reach your destination, the person with the least ‘spots’ of their designated colour or type has to do some sort of forfeit – setting up the beds for the night, or cooking the evening meal, or whatever. It’s not the greatest game in the universe and it won’t give Carol Vorderman a run for brain power, but it’s a pleasant thing to keep running in the background of conversation, and a way to pass the time when you’re on the road!
Remember, life on the road is about the people you’re with as much as it’s about the places you go. Making sure that you have as much fun as possible, however modest the method of getting the fun, is important. We hope that the things we’ve listed in this blog give you a few ideas, or that you’ll let us know when you come up with some of your own. In the meantime, remember that here at Don Amott we stock a vast array of quality vehicles, including new and used motorhomes. Have a browse of our site, get in touch, and we’ll sort you out with something sweet for your on the road adventures!
