The world is an amazing, wondrous place that should be experiencedand enjoyed by all; but sometimes this isn't possible. Holidays FromHome is a social enterprise, run by volunteers, whose aim is to increaseaccess to the world for people who are unable to experience it first hand. This may be due to illness, disability, advancing years, financial or environmental reasons. We create virtual experiences that allow the user to have a holiday without ever leaving home - in essence you Arrive Without Leaving
Who We Are?
Well we used to be the "royal we" - meaning it was just me, Claire Wade, a 28 year old, who had an idea while I was bed bound for six years with ME/CFS and wanted to see if I could make it happen.
I also have help from my Mum, Anita. She does things like posting letters and parcels, takes me to meetings and is generally there to help do things my health won't let me. Now though "We" is becoming an actual group of people and that's really exciting - Holidays From Home is run solely by volunteers and recently we've had lots of people getting in touch wanting to help out, either by writing or researching our virtual holidays, helping with admin and also getting involved in the sales side - it's all really exciting! I love meeting new people and getting their input and feedback, because I truly believe that the more variety of people involved, the better the holidays and Holidays From Home is.
The big idea of virtual holidays- where did it come from?
The question that people always ask, after I tell them about what a virtual holiday is, is how did I come up with the idea? It seems rather off the wall and not something I would ever have come up with, if I hadn't been physically unable to go on holiday. It came because I was so upset that there wasn't any other alternative.
I was 18 at the time and suffering from severe ME. I was completely bed bound, living my whole life in a darkened bedroom because I was too ill and sensitive to sunlight to even be able to have my curtains open. I was unable to read, listen to music or even watch television. Life was hard and there was so little that I could do, that boredom and frustration were constant companions.
Out of the blue, I found out that some of my family were going to Menorca for a week and that Mum and I were going to be left behind. I was really upset and finding it hard to cope, the thought "Why can't I go on holiday?" kept going round and round in my head, coupled with intense anger and sadness; but somewhere along the way the question shifted to "Why can't I go on holiday?" Subtly different; but it made me think about ways I might be able to have a holiday. I decided that if I couldn't travel literally I would travel in my own way, using my imagination.
My Mum and I put together a holiday to Greece, a place I had always wanted to visit. We found pictures to put up round the room, so I could look at them while I lay in bed. We borrowed items from friends, who had taken holidays in Greece like cups, plates and coins - it was incredible to hold items which had come from the real place. Next we thought about things that were associated with Greece that would bring the country to life, mainly what we could do or eat - an essential part of any holiday.
We had a brilliant week while our family was away, living on feta, olives and Greek yogurt, making mosaics out of coloured paper and paper plates, plate throwing (paper plates again - much safer than china) and paddling in the Aegean, also known as a foot spa.
It was so much fun trying to find ways to bring the holiday into our home and we laughed a lot. It was much better than the alternative of being really sad for the week.
Looking back it seems amazing how far that one idea has taken me!
Holidays From Home in the media
See what the media have been saying about Holidays From Home and our virtual holidays and parties. Click here to see Holidays From Home in the news: on television, the radio and in the newspapers.
Including The Daily Express, The Daily Mirror, Reader's Digest, BBC 1 and Radio 4.
If you are a journalist who is interested in doing a piece on Holidays From Home, please contact Claire on +44(0)1603 322 159 or email
Claire Wade.
Founder