STAYCATION

Our 2020 vacation plans were quashed by Covid-19, including my husband’s 50th birthday celebrations - and like many other birthdays during the lockdown it just passed.

To be honest it wasn’t going to be a huge bash anyway, as all he wanted was a weekend away. However, I felt guilty that we didn’t really mark it. At the time we were hardly leaving the house and arranging home deliveries and although he said he wasn’t bothered; I felt a sense of guilt for not marking his milestone birthday.

The Coronavirus hit us all like a tsunami: we knew it was coming but had no idea the intensity and impact that lay ahead and it’s all been so surreal. It made us all nervous and it felt like we became prisoners in our homes. We didn’t order a takeaway or eat out for three months and were shopping online for pretty much everything, including food.

During the lockdown we built a bar in our shed, and we shared the progress on my Instagram account. We called it Bar Corona and since we were stuck at home we went to town with it - purchasing a Juke Box, drink optics, ice box, coffee barista, hanging pub card snacks and it’s ended up looking like a proper bar.

I was inspired by movie actor and director Paul Feig’s daily cocktail hour. Every day at 5pm throughout the lockdown, Feig would dress up and dance around his Burbank home mixing drinks such as “Drunk Funcle” a persona he's developed over the quarantine period. He would be joined by his wife and this was shared on his IGTV (worth checking out).

We’ve have had parties (just the four of us and the dog) in our very own Corona bar and perfected the espresso martini.

We also use it as a coffee shop during the day and as coffee shops were shut it felt like another place we could visit without actually leaving home.

So now that we seem to be adjusting to the new normal, I felt I wanted to do something to make up for the lost time and celebrate my husband birthday! A mini break without actually leaving our little home oasis.

The next purchase was an inflatable hot tub, the plan had we have gone away would have been a lodge with a hot tub. We’ve used it during the evenings and when hot weather was predicted we turned the heat down and used it as a plunge pool.

Then I spotted a new company on Instagram who set up during the lockdown in the form of luxury tee-pee’s and then the idea came to me.

Parti Ti-Pi started off as sleepovers for children before progressing to a bell tent. They also offer luxe picnics and this great company was set up by mum of two and part time teacher Delyth Roberts. We hired a tent for two people which included a hamper with treats. We also added a picnic table so that we could dine inside. A £50 deposit is paid upon booking and it’s all set up for you. The attention to detail was fabulous with a boho theme and it was super cosy.

We ordered a bistro-to-go takeaway from Tremfan Hall. The restaurant usually serves modern British food with both French and Italian cooking influences led by their talented chefs using only the finest and freshest ingredients.

We had a duck starter, followed by belly pork, thai green curry with side portion of veg and salty chips and a cheese platter for dessert.

Our bistro meal was washed down with wine then followed by more wine in the hot tub, before we retired into the tee-pee. The weather was great too, which was an extra bonus.

The benefits of a staycation is that it’s all set up for you and there was no packing involved. We changed and washed in the house, so no toiletries to carry, and we were able to enjoy a mask free experience from the luxury of our own home.

For anyone not wanting to travel but wanting to do something special I would highly recommend this type of staycation.

You can find out more about Parti Ti-Pi on:

Instagram & Facebook

or you can contact them on the information below:

partitipi2020@gmail.com

07748 964 760