So now it's official: no holidays for Maltese this year. We've severely cut down on our holiday budgets and, according to a Eurobarometer survey, more than 60 per cent of us haven't travelled or won't be travelling at all this year.

Prospects don't look bright for next year either. Seventy-five per cent of the Maltese survey respondents say they'll be unable to go on holiday unless they get into debt or work incredibly hard.

You know what? Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Maybe staying put will make us realise how the best things in life do, really and truly, come for free. We don't even need to cross over to Gozo for a break. We can have little holiday breaks right here and now, in Malta, in our homes, just as we're going about our routine called daily life.

Fun doesn't need to be a costly business at all. Here are some things we can do for simple pure pleasure, and they won't a euro cent:

Take a bath
Forget the power shower. Whatever happened to the simple pleasures of a long relaxing bath? Linger in a steamy bath till your fingers become all wrinkled. Top up with hot water every now and then by turning the taps with your toes because you are on 'holiday' and too lazy to sit up and use your hands.

Look at maps
So you can't afford to go abroad. So what? Dig out your old atlas or that old tatty world map and just look at it; then look some more until you get lost in the lure of the unknown. My daughter and I spend hours drifting off to countries we may never see but they become places of princesses and pirates and mysteries and freedom.

Stroll through Valletta
We're so used to rushing that walking slowly seems almost unnatural. But ambling in our city is such a pleasant break. Don't shop, just stroll and observe the passing life. Linger and take note of the conversations going on overhead, across the balconies, notice the little baskets for bread dangling from the windows and those secret little doorways.

Sit on a wooden bench in San Anton
And listen to the soundtrack of the garden: birds twittering, ducks quacking, cats mewing and the joyful sounds of children's squeals as they play. You can read, eat your sandwiches, or just sit and stare. A world of peace is there for the taking.

Go to the beach
There is nothing like the beach in autumn. It's practically deserted. There are so many pebbles on the wet sand that you can skim stones forever. It's a tad too cold for the likes of me to jump in for a swim but one can always dip those toes in a rock pool.

Have face pulling sessions
Get together with your friends and family and make comical faces. And laugh. Laugh with your heart and smile with your eyes. There's nothing happier and sexier than that.

Squeeze bubble wrap
The simplest, most perfect antidote to stress.

Lie in the fields
Go to Girgenti and walk all the way up to fields in Siġġiewi next to Salib ta' l-Għolja. Then lie on your back in the fields, look at the sky and watch the unfolding drama of cloud formations. Is that an elephant? An umbrella? Or a knight in shining armour?

Dance
Put the volume up and skip up and down and whirl around to the Beatles, Louis Prima or Elvis. Who cares if you're not the coolest dancer? There's no one there to see you jigging like a drunk spider. If you've got kids, twirl them in the air. Scream with them. Make merry. When you're all tired slump on the carpet and eat ice cream.

Gaze at the stars
At night, just before you go to sleep, wrap yourself up in a fleecy blanket and hop onto your hammock in the garden or on the roof. Lie there and get lost in the starry night sky. Feel tiny. Ask questions but don't bother with the scientific answers. What are the stars? Is there anyone living on that one, right over there? Does our planet look as twinkly from far away?

Get wet in the rain
What's so wrong with getting wet in the rain? We have rain showers every other day in October. Put your wellies on and go out and get so wet that rain water will be trickling down your hair to your face.

Then run dripping inside, remove your sodden clothes, take a lovely warm bath (see first 'holiday' idea) and wrap yourself in a dressing gown. Sit on the sofa with a mug of steaming hot tea and a packet of jammie-hearts biscuits.

Happy holidays.