Summer vacations happen to be one of the things that make summer stand out. Now let's say you've been planning to go out of town with your friends or family for the last few months, when all on a sudden, one of them gets caught up with some 'important work' and you have to scrap all your plans. So what do you do in town, other than stay at home in your bed and have an absolutely lousy vacation that you'll regret when school starts again? Here are a few ideas:

Take up a summer job or volunteer
The easiest option is to volunteer to teach the kids in your neighbourhood or a cousin. Set up a regular routine when they could come to your place or you could go to theirs. Looking up their studying topics and preparing their coursework would occupy much of your time and you might even get paid for it! Money's nice, right? You could also volunteer to work with the numerous charities that assign teenagers and young adults and do something worthwhile.

Learn new languages or a new form of art
Before your vacation starts, visit the language centres and get to know about the type of courses they offer. Enrol yourself in a suitable one and you'd be using your time well, learning a new language. You could also get yourself enrolled in an art school, where you could take up an old hobby that you gave up or something that you always wanted to do but never got around doing. Painting, music, dancing – it could be anything. You could continue with these even after summer is over once you get the knack of it.

Try out new restaurants around town
Vacation is all about living a little (or a lot). With cafes and food carts mushrooming everywhere, it wouldn't be a bad idea trying out new places every week. Even if you're not necessarily a foodie, you could ask your friends to accompany you, and together you might end up having a good time. Of course, the budget matters and you don't want to be broke at the end of the month, so it would be wise to save up or keep a certain amount of your allowance separate for vacation beforehand.

Make good use of social media
Get to know about upcoming events like exhibitions, competitions etc. and participate in them. You could also find out about the events that your university or prospective universities are hosting if they have an active social media account and join them. Involve in group activities of your choice, and if you'd like to keep it simple, just follow the trends. There's no end to the countless challenges and trends on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Just take up one.

If you must stay at home
If you love to do nothing and stay at home, there are still plenty of things you could do. Redecorate your room – give your walls a new look with some cool wallpapers that you could make, shuffle your furniture, add some more if you wish. You could even start a small garden in your balcony and hone your gardening skills. Look up easy DIY ideas on the Internet (or just keep an eye on SHOUT's “Trash to Treasure”), and keep yourself busy with making something new every day. And if you must stay in bed, binge watch all the seasons of your favourite shows and don't forget to have some ice-cream while you do. Ice-cream makes everything better.