Create Your Own Spectacular Staycation

Wintertime offers the perfect excuse to cozy up close to home—and, this year, it’s a safe choice, too. Happily, there’s plenty to do in and around Cambridge to keep you warm, comfortable, and content.

Prefer to curl up at home with a good book and a fire? Order from MEM Tea in Davis Square, served at Boston’s best restaurants, for the perfect warming tipple: Pick up globally sourced teas on Tuesdays through Saturdays beginning at 11 a.m. from their dispensary in Davis Square. Regular drinker? Sign up for their $20 teas of the month service at memteaimports.com [5]. Then discover the lost art of letter-writing at Tiny Turns Paperie (shop.tinyturnspaperie.com [6]), a haven for indie designers and cheeky stationery. Bonus: cozy candles, like the Cuddle Weather. Light them before enjoying a sudsy bath courtesy My Urban Kitchen, an Allston studio known for handmade, plant-based, succulently scented soaps and butters. Their whipped shea butter is the perfect salve for crackly wintertime skin; get it at myurbankitchen.com [7]. Finally, slide into bed with a good book from Harvard Book Store, which offers daily curbside pickup from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. Order your chosen tome at harvard.com [8].

Photo courtesy of the Charles Hotel

If your New Year’s resolutions include self-care, start at Cambridge Naturals, which offers curbside pickup and delivery: Stock up on essential oils, skin brushes, bulk herbs, supplements, and even fuzzy socks. Order at cambridgenaturals.com [9]. Then recalibrate with Cambridge Zen’s ongoing online roster of meditation groups and retreats, including daylong sessions on January 10 and February 14, with a full day of chanting, circle talks, and meditation. Enroll at cambridgezen.org [10]. Or flex a bit with Down Under Yoga (downunderyoga.com [11]), which offers daily livestreamed classes for new parents, beginning and more advanced yogis, and even kids and teens.

Finally, if your plans are to treat yourself—because it’s a pandemic, so why not?—check out Joanne Chang’s Sunday evening “Flour Love” baking classes. The Flour pastry guru hosts live baking sessions on Instagram; pick up a kit from Flour in advance, and work alongside Chang as she creates a sweet treat. Order at flourbakery.com/flourlove [12]. If savory is more your speed, visit Harvard Square’s new Smoke Shop, run by pit master Andy Husbands, open daily from 12 p.m. until 9 p.m. This is comfort food at its finest: ribs, wings, cheese fries, mac-and-cheese bites, and banana pudding. Order at thesmokeshopbbq.com [13]. Or visit the brand-new Wachusett Brew Yard for local blueberry ale, fried pickles, and strawberry ale compote for dessert. Visit wachusettbrewingcompany.com [14] for the latest hours.

Photo courtesy of Peter Crosby

For a change of scenery, book an overnight at the Charles Hotel. They’re offering 20 percent off rooms, with proceeds benefitting the Greater Boston Food Bank. Grab a cocktail on Noir’s heated patio or take Benedetto’s handmade, seasonal pasta to your suite for a relaxing treat. Reserve at charleshotel.com [15]. Don’t forget your Harvard blanket from the Harvard Coop around the corner (store.thecoop.com [16]). A few blocks away, 907 Main hotel—home to the globally inspired Dial restaurant, run by Gordon Ramsay-trained chef Justin Urso—offers a Winter Wonderland package, with 15 percent off rooms and special cold-weather cocktails. Book at 907main.com [17].

And if you’re ready to break out of quarantine for a “state-cation,” consider Tourists Welcome in bucolic North Adams, just three miles from MASS MoCa and the Clark Art Institute. (Visit touristscheckin.com [18] for a comprehensive rundown of their safety measures.) The quirky hotel’s 80-acre campus is perfect for artsy exploration: an adventure coordinator leads waterfall meditations, forest-bathing trips, and star-gazing expeditions complete with ’Smores. There are also snowshoeing trips, hikes by headlamp, and even alpaca-petting excursions. They’re open Thursday through Saturday for two-night minimum stays—the perfect socially distant, culturally curious escape.