Staycation – Tips and Hints for traveling families
We LOVE vacation!
Vacations have wonderful benefits:
*Seeing new things
*Learning
*Making memories
*Building family bonds
*Having fun
*Taking a break from the usual routine
As much as we love travel, and we DO, far flung travel isn’t necessary to have a wonderful time and strengthen your family bonds. You can have fun and make memories from your own house – with a STAYcation.
Create a fantastic STAYCATON at home!
Staycation – Forget the clock.
Lose all the regular routine. Eat when the group is hungry. Stay up late till everyone is sleepy and sleep in the next morning. Who cares what time it is? Cover up the clocks and don’t wear a watch.
Staycation – Relax.
Snuggle and read together. Kids never get too old for story time.
Get out the old family albums and remember.
Pull out the board games! Monopoly? Battle Ship?
Staycation – Get outside.
Bike the neighborhood. Throw frisbees or play tag at the park. Get the blood moving!
Staycation – Explore your hometown.
Be a tourist in your own city. Google and see what there is to see! Roadside America has some very quirky destinations.
I’m always amazed when people live in a tourist spot and don’t see the sights. Now is your chance. What would someone visiting for just a short time want to see? Make those spots your destinations.
Staycation – Plan ahead.
Clean the house – not spotless but the places that bother you. I would have a hard time looking at dog hair on the floor all weekend so I would vacuum!
Make food easy. Order in! Or buy whatever comes in the freezer section that is super easy. Consider meal delivery!! Who wants to cook. You are on vacation!
Splurge a little. Since you are not spending money on transportation or lodging how about a few little splurges? Would fresh flowers make you smile – buy some! How about pay per view movies or a new DVD. How about buying a new board game or book for the weekend? How about having someone clean the house before your holiday begins?
Staycation – Rainy or foul weather?
If the weather isn’t good enough to get out then stay in! Have a movie marathon! Get out the popcorn, oreos, and marshmallows and watch an entire series. Enjoy a tried and true like Harry Potter and Star Wars. Introduce the kids to some old favorites like The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, or I Love Lucy.
Staycation – Shake it up.
Put a blanket on the living room floor and have a picnic for dinner. Eat pancakes and scrambled eggs for dinner and spaghetti for breakfast. Have pj day and stay in those snuggly pjs all day long!
Change beds! Have all the girls in one bed and boys in another. Get out the sleeping bags and all sleep in the living room. Get out the flashlights and tell spooky stories in the dark.
Staycation – Laugh and be silly.
Tell stories of when you were little. Google ‘minute to win it’ and play some really goofy games!
Staycation – Do NOT make these mistakes.
Do NOT be tempted to do ordinary normal stuff. Do not do laundry. Do not grocery shop. Do not wash the dishes. Do not pay bills.
Think of all the things you love leaving behind when you go on vacation: Errands, schlepping kids to and fro? Whatever is on that list – DON’T do it while on staycation!
Turn off the cell phone. Pretend you are out of cell phone range. Ignore emails and texts and Facebook.
You make memories every day. Make them wonderful!
Happy travels – near and far,
Natalie, The Educational Tourist
Great ideas! We also like havjng a chunk of time to go geocaching! It’s fun to take a day and explore and do this modern day treasure hunt around your own town!
That is a great idea! We need to give that a try!
Oh I better remember to do that. “Think of all the things you love leaving behind when you go on vacation: Errands, schlepping kids to and fro? Whatever is on that list – DON’T do it while on staycation!”. What a great idea for staycation.
Super easy to do…slip back into the regular routine, but so worth leaving it behind for a few days to really enjoy each other and be tourists in your own backyard!
Oh I love this!! With my husband so busy at work, Staycations are sometimes all we can do, but I still love them! These are great tips! Thanks for sharing!!
Relaxation – whenever and wherever is great for the soul! Glad you are taking the time to enjoy. Thanks for stopping by!
Such a wonderful list! I’ve never had enough discipline for a staycation, but really would love to try it. I think I would splurge on hiring a cleaning service to clean our house everyday while we’re out being tourists. 🙂
Maybe not every day but how about at the end of your staycation? Then you could have a nice and clean house to resume ‘regular’ life!
I love staycations but somehow cleaning always interferes lol Sometimes I need a staycation just to organize and clean sadly.
It is really easy to get caught up in the chores, but it is worth trying!!!
I could use a staycation! I have been putting in so much time on my blog, that I could use a break. My problem is pretty much all of the “do not make these mistakes”. When I give myself a day off from my blog, I still tend to social media. I think I need my husband to hide my ipad and computer!
Sometimes great creativity comes after a break, right? A little free time from the screen is a good idea for everyone. give it a try!
I have never taken a staycation, whenever I try I get too wrapped up in my normal routine and I start working. I know that is like a sin of staycationing, so I just pretty much gave up. But I want to try again!
It is so hard to stay in the same place yet do something different, isn’t it? But we should totally keep trying!!
These are great tips! I love the idea of turning off your phone and completely unplugging!
We don’t do that nearly enough, do we? It feels so good!
Thanks for sharing these tips! We are planning a staycation soon, and we are very excited:) These definitely helped!
Enjoy!! Relaxation and time together is great no matter when or where! Thanks for stopping by!
I love this! We love vacations but our schedules don’t allow us to do it as much as we like. I am always looking for new ways to make memories with our kiddos!
These are great tips- and staycations have such a great benefit of saving valuable dolla dolla bills! Cheers.
So true! Save that money for more….travel!! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!