When you have young children, vacationing is not as glamorous or relaxing as it used to be. Not only are you trying to plan a kid-friendly destination, but you are also dealing with a tighter budget, bedtimes, routines, picky eaters, complaining, hot weather and crabby family members. While most of us want to give our children the gift of vacation and relaxation, sometimes we just want to throw in the towel and stay close to home. If this sounds like you, then you may want to start planning your very own staycation, where you can embrace all the good parts of a getaway trip, all in the comfort of your own home and hometown. Check out our list of ways you can make your staycation the best vacation yet.
1. Make A Plan
Just because you aren’t booking flights and reserving rental cars, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan out what places you want to visit, special activities you want to do and where you want to splurge and eat out. If you don’t plan anything, then it’s likely you’ll fall back into your regular routine and you really won’t be staycationing at all. The more you plan, the less likely you are to let other people hone in on your time with family as well!
2. Embrace The Vacation Attitude
When you’re at home instead of out of state, it’s easy to just return a quick email, text your boss or resort to running errands since your husband’s at home and not at work. But you probably wouldn’t be caught dead doing those things if you were lying on a beach in Cancun! As difficult as it may be to change your mindset, both you and your family will appreciate your commitment to a vacation and relaxing. Research has shown that we American’s tend to have a hard time resting. In fact, over 42% of us did NOT take a vacation at all in 2014. It seems the Europeans, who typically take up to 20 day off a year are on to something. So sit back and relax!
3. Decide On A Budget
One of the most common reasons people elect a staycation instead of traveling out of town is to save money. You don’t have to pay for a hotel, rental car or a dog sitter for Fido. You also save money on food and admission to theme parks, etc. That being said, if you set out on your vacation without limitations, you may find you will spend more money than you thought you could. Decide which places and activities you are willing to pay for and do research on free events and museums you can visit. While it’s tempting to eat out all the time, it will end up costing you plenty. Besides, when you’re away on vacation, remember how quickly you crave a simple home cooked meal?
4. Get A Little Crazy
Staycations are the perfect time to wear your pajamas all day, camp in the living room, dye your kids a (temporary) funky color, so live a little! Use it as an excuse to buy extra candy for the movie you’re going to, or maybe pay for multiple movies and stay at the theater all day! When you’re on vacation, everything is a little more relaxed and just, well, fun! You know your family best, so let your hair down and party like it’s your staycation.
5. Make Meals Easy
Even if you love to cook, everyone always deserve a break from slaving away in the kitchen. Yes, you want to save money on your staycation by not eating out all the time, but you don’t need to be Julia Child either! Keep the meal part of your vacation simple by using your BBQ, having sandwiches for lunch and eating out occasionally. It’s your vacation, so you shouldn’t be worrying about making 4 course meals.
6. Agree On Staycation Guidelines
If you’re married, you know that men and women have different opinions on practically everything and that includes your definition of “relaxing.” Before you set to on your wonderful staycation talk to your spouse and kids about what your expectations are for your at-home vacation. For example, will you be allowing friends to come over, or is this a family-only event? What kind of chores are you able to let go for a week while you rest? Is this a social media-free week? If you set your expectations about your staycation ahead of time, you will all be more likely to enjoy it.
7. Splurge On At Least 1 Thing
Yes, you are staycationing but you may not be doing it just to save money. That being said, make your time off a little more special by giving yourself the allowance to splurge on at least one special thing. Maybe it’s a day trip to an amusement park, a really nice dinner with your family, one night in a hotel, or great seats to a sporting event. Staycations are not just about resting, but about making wonderful memories with your family, so make some great ones!
8. Make Day Trips
Just because you’re staying at home, doesn’t mean you have to be AT HOME all day. Plan a few trips that may take up your entire day, like driving down the coast or a few towns over to go to a special park or museum. If you plan in advance, it will give your family something to look forward to. You can plan home days in between, and you will get the best of both worlds out of your staycation.
Karly Wood
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Karly Wood
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