Five Things to Do at Home on a Hot Hamptons Day

August, it won’t surprise many readers, is the hottest month in the Hamptons, historically speaking. Last summer, heat indices, a number that combines air temperature and relative humidity to determine human-perceived equivalent temperatures, were often well over 100°F. Some people think that’s the perfect beach day. Others think it’s the perfect stay-inside-and-crank-the a/c-to-sub-zero kind of day. If you’re one of the latter, or someone just looking to spend time indoors with the family, we’ve put together a list of things to do when days sizzle. Or when the rain falls.

Alphabetize your bookshelf
Don’t have a bookshelf? Go buy some books! The East End is full of great bookstores. Most East Enders don’t even have to leave the comforts of their village to find one. If alphabetizing seems blasé, how about organizing them in more creative ways. Feeling artistic? Start with your red-spined books and organize them, red through violet, by color. Feeling historic? Organize your books by original publication date. Or, if you’re a history buff with lots of nonfiction books, organize them by the date of the subject discussed. American Revolution books first, then Civil War, then WW II and so forth. If all that sounds like too much work, just read a book. That’s always a good option.

Yoga at home
There are countless online yoga classes and many are free. Roll out your mat floor, dust off the blocks and get in shape when just the thought of going outside gets your chakras in a bunch. Most East End yoga studios, including Dan’s Best of the Best winners The Yoga House and Good Ground Yoga, both in Hampton Bays, and Ananda Wellness and Yoga Center in Southampton, offer private classes and will travel to your home. Prices varying depending on studio, number of students and locations, so call one up today.

Play a board game
Families can have fun together inside too. This one might take some pre-planning, though. Head down to Dan’s Best of the Best toy stores Stevenson’s Toys and Games in Southampton or East Hampton, Kites of the Harbor in Sag Harbor, Goldsmith’s in Greenport—or wherever your favorite place to get your board games is—ahead of time and pick up some classic and/or new board games. You don’t want to be stuck inside on a rainy day with nothing to do, do you?

Puzzles
Maybe you’re one of those people who doesn’t like the beach or the heat (we exist!), but everyone else is determined to make a 100° day a successful beach day. Wave goodbye to your friends and family, pour yourself some chilled rosé or a cold glass of local beer, crank up the volume on your favorite album and spread 1,000 pieces out on the floor. You might be surprised how fast time moves while you’re doing a puzzle—and how good it feels to put that last piece in place. (See above item for places to buy your next puzzle.)

Binge watch your soon-to-be-favorite show
Certainly the least preferable, but certainly the easiest, and, with some suggestions from us, the option you have to think least about. We recommend the following shows starring East Enders: Santa Clarita Diet (Drew Barrymore, Netflix), Grey’s Anatomy (Ellen Pompeo, Netflix), A Series of Unfortunate Events (Neil Patrick Harris, Netflix), Law & Order: SVU (Mariska Hargitay, Hulu), 30 Rock (Alec Baldwin, Netflix), Horace and Pete (Louis CK, Hulu), Stranger Things (not starring East Enders, but originally sold to Netflix titled Montauk and based on legends surrounding Montauk’s Camp Hero, Netflix). Or, if you’re visiting from the City and have a New York Public or Brooklyn Library card, head to nypl.kanopystreaming.com or bklynlibrary.kanopystreaming.com, where you’ll find thousands of feature films, including hundreds from the Criterion Collection, all brought to you by your local library (where you can also check out puzzles and board games).

Voting for this year’s Dan’s Best of the Best Awards is now open at DansBOTB.com