The Easter long weekend is looming, and while you may not have plans yet, we know it won’t be long ’till you start scrambling to find somewhere to get away to.
Whether you’re going to a festival (Bluesfest is a top choice), camping, or a beach house, there are a couple of things conducive to a good time that you’ll need to bring. To help you get your act together, here’s our definitive list of long weekend essentials.
A Portable Speaker
Ok, so the first thing you’re going to need is a good portable speaker. One of these bad boys is an absolute necessity. We’re putting this above food on the list for a reason; a long weekend trip with no good tunes is not a trip worth taking at all.
Our recommendation? It’s hard to go past the JBL Link Series of portable speakers. The Link 10 is perfect for a weekend away. It boasts two powerful 8W speakers (more than enough to annoy your neighbours), 24bit/96kHz sample rate, a juicy 5-hours of battery life and wireless connectivity.
It’s also completely waterproof – in case of rain/beverage spillage – and is voice-activated, meaning you can pair it with your Spotify account and yell drunken song requests at it to your heart’s content. What more do you want?
A Premium Spotify Subscription
Now, there’s not much point of having kick-ass speakers if you’ve got no tunes to pump through them. Spotify’s $11.99 a month premium subscription will sort you out. If you haven’t made the jump yet, what are you waiting for? We update the Happy Mag mixtape weekly. Winner.
Pack of Hot Cross Buns
Would it really be Easter without a few steaming buns? No.
Make the right decision and pick up a six-pack of hot crossies. Get them from Woolies, Coles, Aldi, Franklins, the local baker, or anywhere. Slap on some butter, and you’ll have pure joy sitting right there in the palm of your hand.
Or if you’re staying in this Easter long weekend and want to try your hand at making your own, this recipe is super easy.
A Decent Camera
With any luck, there’ll be a few memories worth capturing this Easter long weekend. So instead of capturing them with your stupid smart phone, buy yourself a camera and do it like a pro.
If you’re looking to get into film photography like the good hipster you are, we recommend the Pentax K1000. It’s easy to use and its snaps look a million bucks – perfect for pros and beginners alike. These things were in production from 1976 to 1997, so you won’t have to look far to nab one secondhand. There’s about 100 on Gumtree right now.
A Good Read
Pick yourself up a nice book – one you can really get into. No doubt, you’re going to have some spare time on your hands. What better way to spend it than enriching the mind?
Get something classic. Woolfe, Kerouac, Salinger, Hemmingway – you can’t go wrong.
A Good Bag
Dump the dorky backpack, and get yourself a bad-ass, yet classy looking satchel. Satchels are good ‘cos they are low profile but have plenty of room to fit a whole range of items (such as those listed above) without sacrificing your stylistic integrity.
The Dr. Martens 7″ vegan leather satchel is a great choice. It’s made from hard-wearing materials that use no animal products at all and is the perfect size for a weekend getaway. Dr. Martens also opened their first Australian store, which you can suss out at Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, and their AU online store.
