Spain (Spanish Edition)

We were lucky enough to get to Spain for a holiday this year, but while on holiday the government imposed a quarantine which has certainly stopped many others from taking their holidays here, or indeed taking a holiday at all. As you know – we love pretending to travel the world and so here is a run down of some ways in which you could recreate a Spanish holiday, all while staying at home! (I think we will be doing this for the 14 days when we get back).

Food

Spanish food is delicious and there are all types of ways you could reproduce it at home – from cooking up a Paella, to making a family meal of tapas, to making a simple Spanish Omelette. Penny would mostly like to try and make Churros on our return and so I’ve been looking up some recipes! If you are no cook, or fancy a treat there are lots of other options too: You could visit a Spanish restaurant – in Liverpool where we live there are lots of Spanish themed restaurants serving delicious tapas! Or if you are on a budget you can buy a frozen Paella from most supermarkets (I’ve had them from Aldi and Iceland) which you can cook up in a matter of minutes and pretend you made yourself!

Souvenirs

It would be fun to make some Spanish souvenirs for your pretend trip and the easiest by far is the fan! Easy to make and to decorate and if you wanted to you could look up a flamenco masterclass on youtube to use it with! If you are feeling every more crafty then you could design some tiles with sharpies or even make a pot or a bowl out of clay! Another option is to make Spanish dolls clothes for a Barbie, and if you have an old Spanish kids dress in your toy cupboard this could be a pretty easy and fun thing to do! If you fancy dressing up (and dancing) and are not feeling crafty – you can pick up a Spanish kids dress from ebay for about £5. You could also make a family travel scrapbook.

Subscription box

We were lucky enough to be sent ‘Our Little Globe‘ Spanish themed subscription boxes before we came to Spain. These are perfect for a Spanish themed day at home too and had crafts and a recipe, as well as a passport and lots of cool information about the country. It definitely added a laid back and educational dimension to our holiday and made teaching Penny all about Spain very easy indeed!

Visiting a Catholic Church

When I was little, wherever we went we would visit the local church or cathedral and we would light a candle for my nana. I still do this now, everywhere from New Zealand to Italy. Being a Catholic country, Spain has some very beautiful churches and grottos and it would certainly be fun to visit your local Catholic church and to light a candle for someone who is important to you. This year, the churches in Spain have all been closed, but like this little grotto here, you can still peep in and still light your candles. The candle Penny and Freddie are lighting is for my sister who died in 2016. I think it brings her closer to them!

Donkeys and Horses

For me, Spain is synonymous with donkeys and horses. There are loads of ways to have this experience from home and I have researched most of them over the last year or so! If you are very lucky you might find some horses you can go and pet for nothing close to home as we did in pretend Argentina. Another option is to pay for a taster horse riding lesson or you can see if there are horse or donkey sanctuaries near to you that you could visit. I don’t know if you can still ride a donkey on a British beach – I suspect not.

Paint like Picasso!

No matter what your skill set (or lack of) you can have a go at painting like Picasso! I simply printed off some of his works for the kids to colour in, but you could definitely take this much further and learn all about his art if you had older kids. If you hate the idea of getting your own paints out then take a virtual gallery tour and enjoy learning all about his work.

BBQ sardines

For the record I am the only person in my family who likes these! But BBQed fish is definitely a way to bring the most Mediterranean vibes to the most English of gatherings. From little fish on sticks to a really big fish to feast upon this will make you feel like you are on holiday for sure, especially with a white roija or nice cold little beer to wash it down! Invite the family round and put on some Spanish tunes. This recipe looks like a winner and I might make it all for me!

beach day

And finally, the easiest way of all to feel like you are on a Spanish Holiday is to head down to your nearest beach on the first sunny day you can. As one who lives near a popular beach I’d advise you to go early or even wait for a cloudy day and to make sure you take all of your litter home.

And if you really want to feel like you are in the Spain of 2020, don’t forget your face-mask!