Itching to Get Out? Try These Easy Last-Minute Mini Adventures Close to Home

Spontaneity has become a huge trend in modern times. Whether it’s thanks to COVID and people being frustrated that they were stuck at home for some time or to TikTok-ers posting super quick silly videos that everyone wants to get in on across the world, last-minute mini adventures are at the top of the travel trends for 2023.

Perhaps, the best part about these mini adventures is that they require little planning, can be done anywhere close to home, and can have you going out to experience adventure and still sleeping in the comfort of your own bed. Plus, they are affordable for all (many are free!), and, well, easy! These mini adventures can also help you to be free to be who you truly are, as many of them don’t require too much structure, allowing you the freedom to express yourself and celebrate the spirit of adventure in your own unique way. Have I piqued your interest? Good! Let’s talk about some of the most fun, trendy, and liberating ways you can head out on a last-minute mini adventure.

Midnight Escapes

Timing can play a huge part in defining your adventures. And since we’re all mostly working on specific schedules, shaking things up can help add a bit of spice back into your life. Sometimes, when you get stuck in a routine, the best way you can experience a real adventure is to break out of that routine- even if it’s just for a night. Something I love most about travel is that is puts me on a completely different schedule and forces me, in turn, to break out of many habits. An easy and now trending way for you to do that at home is to venture out on a midnight escape!

Midnight escapes can come with a variety of ideas, and really, the sky is the limit. Do you like stargazing? Think about rounding up a group of your friends at midnight, driving to a cool, open spot, laying back on the hood of your car, and staring up into the sky. Think about throwing a midnight party somewhere with a killer, neon black-light aesthetic or try going out and making cool photos with glowsticks. Really, the possibilities are endless. What do you like to do?  Perhaps, you can do it at nighttime instead? Maybe you like visiting the beach? You could try doing this at night with a campfire. Laying out on the beach at night stargazing is another really fun thing you can do to shake things up on your last-minute mini adventures.

The only addendum to note about midnight escapes is that the world is very catered to those who work in the day and go to sleep at night, so be sure wherever your adventure is that you are respectful of those who may live nearby and be sure to pay attention to the hours of the locations around you. Some beaches and parks are open 24 hours but many are not, so be sure to pay attention to those details while out adventuring.

Afternoon Tea Parties

If you’re more of a daytime adventurer, think about throwing a last-minute tea party with your friends at a nearby park or even in your own back yard. You can get a charcuterie board, some crackers and brie, some nice flavored teas, or even some coffee and juice and set it up on a blanket in your yard or in the park with a cute picnic basket. If you have a pergola, think about setting it up under there. All you really need for this is a nice atmosphere (a slightly warm, breezy day), some tea or something to sip on, tea cups, napkins, and some finger foods or snacks if you want to step it up a notch. You can really put the whole thing together within a day or two, so it can be pretty impromptu, or you could hire a service that exists for planning picnics and outings. Additional things to think about adding to your tea part could be cushions to sit on, flowers, matching tea sets, and vintage décor if you really want to step it up. Perhaps, think about turning the event into a photoshoot for an even more glamorous ordeal. Or if you’re just truly more of an adventurer at heart, think about doing this at the most beautiful spot of your favorite hike. That could be a great way to go.

Adventure Time

Something I feel like I must mention is the idea of ‘adventure time’ (this was coined before the show-by the way- so that could date us). This is something that my husband used to do with his friends that is really fun for those who want to just get out (specifically at night), drive around, and see where the road takes them. It’s harder in today’s time with cell phones and gps everywhere, but that doesn’t make it impossible. Just shut off your phone and your brain for a while.

To have this type of adventure-time experience, you get in the car with your friends, preferably when it’s dark, and drive out somewhere random until you have no idea where you are or where you are going. It’s best to just shut off your brain and try to tune out any compass that exists inside you. Eventually, you will begin to have no idea where you are. And this is where the fun begins. It’s exciting to drive around a new area without any idea where you are and look for exciting and fun finds. Its can be fun, in itself, in the daytime if you’re looking for new stores you would have never found otherwise, new places to eat, or activities that exist outside of your normal comfort zone. It can be even more fun at night when you want to just explore in the dark and see what the world holds around you.

I feel like, now-a-days, Randonautica really helped popularize this type of idea, as it’s very similar. You say your intention, and the app gives you random pinpoints to go to. These are more intense last-minute mini adventures.

A New Edge on Jenga

For those thrill seekers looking to throw a party who just don’t want a traditional get-together, think about throwing a ‘Dread’ party! It can be done anywhere, and if you’re really up for a wild adventure, think about doing a game while on your midnight escape! What is dread? It’s like dungeons and dragons meets a scary thrill ride. Basically, you have a game master who comes up with pre-determined stories (there are some already created out there or you can develop your own). You have people create their characters by asking them a list of simple questions (more so they can create a character that is fleshed out) and then put them all together in a horror story. From there, people make decisions on how to proceed when scary things start happening in the story. For each decision they make, they have to pull a piece from a pre-constructed jenga tower. The riskier the thing they want to do is, the more pulls they need to make. If someone knocks the tower down, they die. If they decide to sacrifice themselves heroically to save someone else, instead, they can do that and knock the tower down, forcing the game master to rebuild the tower. Each time the tower falls down, a death occurs one way or the other by the person who caused the tower to fall. And the game master has to reset the tower. Our friend and usual dungeon master discovered this a few years ago and created a Scooby Doo variant game of this for me (he is such a good friend. Haha) since it’s been a Halloween essential for our friends’ group. It’s something you can do any time, though, and it’s a great option for people who like a little bit of edge but who don’t love being outright scared.

All in all, these are some fun, last-minute mini adventures you can throw into your life to add a bit of spontaneity and adventure into it while also breaking out of your regular routine. By shaking things up in your life, you may very well find that you are both much happier after adding this bit of spice back into your life.