Finding Peace During the Holidays at the Lake Cabin
Are you dreading cleaning and preparing your home for a house full of people for the holidays? Or is the hosting home too inconveniently located or appointed? Maybe it’s time to celebrate the holidays at a cozy lake cabin!
Holidays at the Lake Cabin —Less Mess, Less Stress
Family fellowship and favorite foods often characterize the holiday season, but just those two elements, not to mention all the others (The shopping! The decorating! The wrapping!), make up a very messy, and often stressful, “holiday”. As I think of all the traditions that our family enjoys this time of year and what goes into them, I have to admit I’m dreading it all a little. My life is already too full, owning and running a family lake resort in northern Minnesota. You may not own a resort, but I’m sure you can relate to the stress of the season.
So how do we make the holiday season less of a dreaded chore? Over the years I’ve watched guests celebrate the holidays in our lake cabins and have listened to stories about their up north cabin winter get together. I’ve seen that when done right, holidays in a north woods rental cabin can be less stressful and less work, yet more memorable and fun, than hosting at a home.
Lake Cabins: Perfect Accommodations for the Holidays
Lake cabin accommodations vary so much and the “perfect” place depends more on what is important to you and your group than the place itself. So how do you choose the “right” north woods lake cabin or resort to host your holiday celebration (or heck, any time of year)? Based on my guests’ and personal experience, here are my 10 steps to picking the best fit for your group:
- Quick brainstorm the amenities and surrounding area activities that you personally want and what you think others joining you want. These ideas can also be adjectives like “cozy”, “woodsy”, or “nostalgic”.
- Create a text group for your group and ask them to pick their top 3 from the list you made and text that back to you personally, not the group
- Tally each choice and make sure at least one of your desires is part of the group’s top 5 most popular amenities/activities, even if none of your choices made the cut (hey, you’re planning this thing, you get to have at least one fav!)
- Decide if those amenities can only come with a resort versus a rental cabin. Rental by owner cabins can be cheaper and feel more private sometimes, but your amenities are limited to just that cabin and the owner is not on the property should something go wrong. I’m biased, of course, since I own a resort, but I’ve also traveled the world and stayed in both resorts and VRBO/Airbnb’s. Whenever possible due to location, I always choose a resort because there is so much more to do and assistance is always available.
- Ask family, friends, and/or colleagues if they personally know of a place that fits your groups top 5. If they do, skip to #8.
- If no one has a suggestion, put your 5 activity and amenity words with “cabin” or “resort” into your favorite search engine and see what locations pop up.
- Avoid booking sites like VRBO, hotels.com, etc, especially if searching for a resort, and go right to their website to get a better deal.
- Spend some time perusing at least 3 sites. Check availability 1st to make sure they have the dates your group has available before you go too far and waste a lot of time.
- Call and ask questions. You can usually get a good idea of what a place is like just by a phone conversation.
- Narrow your list down to 2 places that you like and have the amenities your group wants. Share the website links for those 2 places with family members and have them vote on their favorite. Tally the results and make the reservation!
Start your holiday lake cabin research here!
Friends and Family: Making the Holidays at the Lake Cabin Fun
So you’re now committed to going somewhere that everyone involved (hopefully) had a say in choosing. The date of your lake getaway is coming up fast, how do you have an enjoyable time at the lake with all the different personalities in your group? Short of making everyone read an entire book on interpersonal communication before you go, the next best way to have fun with a group on vacation is to have BALANCE.
Be yourself, but don’t let it all hang out. Think about whether what you’re going to say or do is something you’d want to see/hear another person say/do.
Allow time away from the group to be alone. Even you extroverts need a little time away! Or maybe the group needs time away from you?
Love them. Most people confuse love for a feeling, when it’s first an action. Do kind things for others in the group, without expectations of anything in return.
Avoid getting into arguments or debates. If any discussion is going there,
Nip it in the bud. And not just conversations going sour, but attitude and gossip. Nip it. Just nip it in the bud. (Wise words, Barney Fife)
Communicate calmly and cooly (not really a word, but you know what I mean). If someone hurts you, and it’s just a little isolated thing, forget about it, but if it keeps happening, pick a time after you’ve cooled off and you can pull that person aside and calmly ask them if they know you are upset by something they did. With leading questions, get them to understand what was not cool.
Enjoy each other! How? Look for ways to connect over a new activity, book, movie, etc to learn more about one another.
Outdoor Activities at the Lake Cabin: Explore!
Going for a walk in the woods and sitting around a fire by the lake can be done alone to help you relax and recharge, especially if you need a break from people, or with others to make those new connections. At Campfire Bay Resort, we have a half mile lollipop loop in the woods behind the rec center as well as many rarely used country lanes near Fish Trap Lake that I love to walk alone to recharge or with others to spend time in conversation (without having to look people in the face–a neat trick if you have issues with making eye contact!). Wherever you’re at, don’t be afraid to just go outside and explore! Take “the road less traveled”. One of the 1st things I do after I unpack and get organized in any new “home away from home”, I take a lengthy walk around the area. I’m always surprised to hear from seasoned guests that they have never walked the beautiful lake road connected to the resort in favor of the concrete one they drove in on simply because they didn’t notice it or didn’t think they could. If it doesn’t look like or say “Private Property”, I’m checking it out. You should too. :)
Relaxation at the Lake Cabin: Start the Day Right
Besides going for a walk on my own, one of my favorite ways to relax while on vacation with family and friends is to get up earlier than others and make my favorite tasty dairy free and sugar free mocha latte, snuggle up with a blanket near a window, and watch the sun rise while having “a quiet time”. Without this time to be alone, read the Bible and/or other inspirational books, and pray, the rest of my day feels more stressful. It can be harder to get up earlier than others or find a quiet spot in a cabin all together, especially if there are kids involved. Tell your peeps the night before what you want to do the next morning, and what the overall plan for breakfast is, to help make sure it will happen. Bring some books (audio, hardcover, or activity options) for any kids, make them a hot drink while you make yours, and tell them to have a quiet time, too!
If you’re staying at Campfire Bay Resort, you can just walk to the lodge for a delicious mocha latte, but if not, I’ve got you covered. Here’s my easy peasy recipe for a dairy free and sugar free mocha latte that only gets a mug and frother wand dirty for an equally easy clean up!
Easy Dairy Free and Sugar Free Mocha Latte
Ingredients:
~1 to 1 1/2 scoop Chocolate Collagen Powder
I like Vital Proteins Chocolate Protein as it doesn’t have any sugar or sugar alcohols and is good protein. You can get it at stores like Target and Costco or online through this paid link here.
~2-3 shots of espresso
If you can’t get espresso, make a really strong small pot of coffee (about 1/4 cup of grounds to 2 cups water) with really good beans you ground right before the trip. It won’t be a true latte, but will still taste close!
~½ to ¾ cup oat or soy milk
I’ve tested just about all alternative milks out there and Trader Joe’s or Costco’s soy milks and Oatly Oatmilk froths the best. You can get Oatly at Target in shelf stable or refrigerated versions or the shelf stable carton online at this paid link here. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Instructions: Put milk in a mug and microwave on high for 30 seconds. Alternatively, you can use a milk frother to heat and froth for you. I love my milk frother! It froths up certain plant based milks just as well as dairy. You can get it via a paid link here. If you don’t want to pack a small appliance, then bring a frother wand, it’s super small and mixes all kinds of powders into liquids well! They’re also cheap. I’ve gotten them for around $1.99 at IKEA in the past, but if you don’t have one nearby, here’s where you can get one via this paid link here. They tend to go bad easily, so don’t waste money on an expensive one. Add the collagen powder to the liquid slowly while you use a little frother wand. Add your espresso, froth again and enjoy! If you want a cappuccino like I made in the photo, you’ll need to use 2 mugs and froth the milk separately in one and then scoop/pour the frothed milk on top of the espresso mixed with collagen in the second mug. Feel free to add some chocolate sauce and crushed cookie for a garnish! Yum!
Enjoy Nature: Just Be
Besides not having to clean your house before or after, one of the other ways that celebrating the holidays is less stressful at the lake cabin is the natural environment. By default, a cabin in the woods on the shores of a frozen Minnesota lake is quiet and peaceful. The snow, sparkling in the moonlight, deadens sound and if it’s a windless night, you can hear your ears ring, it’s that quiet. When I bundle up and take time to just stand in silence outside, time stands still and worries are forgotten, especially if you stay out long enough for your toes to go numb with cold. Then you just think about cold toes. And that’s okay, since that’s your cue to get back inside and enjoy being with friends and family, in a cozy, peaceful cabin on a lake.
