There is no greater guilt for Aussies than when you’re trying to impress someone visiting and the weather is shit. It’s December in Sydney and I’m still using my winter doona, wearing ugg boots and tempted to put the heater on in the office. La Niña you’re a bitch! Just ’cause you’re not ‘bikini ready’ for summer you’re spoiling it for the rest of us!

Seriously though, it’s an embarrassment. Particularly because a lot of my overseas friends will be visiting or returning home this summer. They arrive off the plane in their thongs and Bonds singlets expecting to be greeted with blue skies and balmy nights, and this is what they get?

• “I’m so sorry about the weather, it might clear up next Tuesday?… Oh, you’re leaving then.”
• “If you’d come last week it was really sunny and warm”
• “I swear it doesn’t normally flood this much!”

How am I to convince my friends living abroad to return to Oz when the weather is such a shambles?

To all family, friends, and tourists visiting Australia, we’re sorry! We can do better.

Now, practically if you do have friends visiting you may have planned a lot of ‘outdoorsy’ activities. While there’s still hope this summer can turn it around, you may want some back up plans.

Here are some suggestions of things to do if you’re at a loose end for some indoor entertainment in Sydney:

• Active fun indoors: Strike tenpin bowling, karaoke, & laser Skirmish at Moore Park Entertainment Quarter. They have cool combo deals so can be a cheap and fun night out, details here. And YES they are licensed.
• For something memorable and a little bit fancy: Dinner at my favourite restaurant, Porteno, Surry Hills. Amazing food, drinks, atmosphere, and some of the best service I’ve ever had. You can read my review of it here.
• Get cultured: The Picasso exhibit is showing at the Art Gallery of NSW. I haven’t been yet but this exhibit should be pretty amazing. You can book your tickets online.
• Sit in THIS pub and get drunk. Britain is the home of miserable weather and they endure it by kicking back with a pint and a pie. Sitting in the pub is a tried and trusted way of coping with bad weather, plus this pub rocks. And if by any chance the sun does crack through the clouds you could wander down the road for a bare foot bowling session
• Get your nerd on: at the Harry Potter exhibition at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum. You know you want to!
• Donate blood! Ok so if you’re showing guests around they might not be too keen to get drained. But, if you’ve got some free time they are really low on blood and you will get that Good Samaritan feeling. You can find a donation centre and book an appointment here. Plus, you get a free milkshake.

Do you have any suggestions for cool things to do when you’re entertaining and the weather has let you down?