Planning a Staycation

There's No Reason You Can't Have as Much Fun When You Stay Home

Vacations taken at home, "Staycations," are more popular than ever. There are many reasons you might choose to plan your vacation at home this year, including the elimination or reduction of travel hassles and expenses. Families with young children may find it easier to operate from home base rather than worry about going through airport security with a toddler, or keeping children happy throughout the inevitable delays of air travel. As an added bonus, you won't have to pack for more than daily outings. An even better reason to take a Staycation is to explore and enjoy all of the recreational possibilities that are close to home, but you never take the time to do during your daily grind.

Approach your Staycation like an "away" vacation to ensure you get the maximum benefits of spending time with your family and take a complete break from day to day responsibilities.

1. Treat your Staycation as you would a traveling vacation by committing to specific dates for your trip. Request your vacation time at work and don't allow your dates to be changed to accommodate work emergencies any more than you would if you had paid for airline tickets.
2. Don't be available for calls from the office. It doesn't matter that you're only 30 minutes away, this is your precious vacation time and you need to make it clear that you can't be disturbed.
3. As with any vacation, set a budget for your expenses that week. You don't want to defeat the purpose of economizing with thoughtless spending.
4. Don't do any housework beyond that required for basic comfort, such as throwing away your trash and washing the dirty dishes.
5. Plan to go out for, or take out, most of your meals unless cooking is a recreational activity you enjoy on your vacations. This is a great chance to check out all of the local restaurants you've been meaning to visit. In fact, purchase a Zagat guide to your area just as you would when visiting a new town.
6. If you're a stay-at-home parent, remind your family that this is your vacation too, and you expect that any light chores during the week will be shared by all.
7. Stay-at-home parents should take a break from normal home routines, whether that's going to the gym, carpooling with neighbors, or handling the daily mail. Make fitness a family project this week; let the answering machine handle all calls; and leave the mail in a tidy basket until you "return" from your Staycation.
8. Just as you would prepare for an away vacation, wash and put away all of the laundry prior to your Staycation. Then ignore the piles of dirty clothes until after your vacation is done.
9. Unplug yourself and your kids. There's no point in taking vacation time if everyone's eyeballs will be focused on their own electronic device, whether that's a computer, television, a cell phone, or video game.
10. Remember to take pictures of all the fun things you do on your Staycation. When you look back at these photos someday, and remember the great times, you'll see your hometown in a whole new light.

When you take a vacation "away", trips often fall into a certain theme. For example, if you're traveling to a city, you think about it as a cultural and historical adventure. For a trip to a state park, you look forward to exploring nature. And when you go to a beach you'll be thinking about water fun, amusement parks and arcades. In the same way, you can plan a Staycation that follows similar themes.

Visit the National Register of Historical Places to find places of historical interest in your area that you may never have known about before.

Call ahead to your local museums to learn about any special exhibits that will be happening during your Staycation. Plan to visit those museums and explore in depth all they have to offer. If you're taking children with you to the museum, look into whether the museum offers any self-guided family tours that will make your visit interesting for all ages.

This would be a great time to take the kids to the "please touch" or science museum that their friends have been talking about. Going mid-week will help to avoid some of the overwhelming weekend crowds and give the kids better access to exhibits.

Get a walking map of the historic district in your city and plan a leisurely tour on foot. Pack plenty of water for this adventure, and ideally a picnic lunch. Plot a course that will end in a public park area where you can enjoy your picnic and "people watch" the locals.

Check with your county Parks Department to see if they have children's events scheduled during the week. Magicians, puppet shows, and animal demonstrations are often scheduled in parks throughout the summer, at no charge to the public.

Go window shopping at some of the more upscale retail stores in your town. What's a day of vacation without a little bit of wishful shopping in stores you don't normally visit? Maybe you can create a little room in your budget for souvenirs from these special shops.

Does your town offer any interesting transportation, such as cable cars or horse and buggy rides? Be a tourist and treat yourself to one of those rides.

Buy tickets to see a special show or concert that is scheduled for that week.

If you love visiting State Parks and spending your vacations in the great outdoors, here are ways to enjoy those activities a little closer to home:

Plan a day or two of fishing at a local stream or pond.

Find the hiking areas in your part of the state and plan a family hiking adventure complete with a picnic lunch and snacks.

Get in touch with the wildlife by planning trips to your closest zoo or aquarium.

Look in your paper to learn about organized nature hikes or bird watching outings that will be led by your local nature clubs.

Take a swim in a local lake.

Make s'mores in your own backyard by using your barbecue or fire pit. Afterwards, stay up late telling campfire stories and singing songs.

Set up a tent in your yard and sleep under the stars.

Buy or borrow a telescope and spend a night with the family stargazing and identifying stars and constellations.

Does your family love hanging out on the beach and eating cotton candy on the boardwalk? Here are ways to have that kind of fun on your Staycation:

Take day trips to your local beach, lake or splash park.

To enjoy candy apples, kettle corn, and other boardwalk goodies, go to your closest state or county fair. These fairs usually offer arcade games and amusement park rides as well.

Is there a pool club in your area? Sometimes pools will offer trial memberships at a reduced rate to entice new members to join.

Make summer festivals part of your plan. In the summertime there's often one or more festivals to be found on the weekends. Blueberry season, corn picking, tomato harvest... any of these are good excuses for a festival that might include musical entertainment, food, games and craft vendors.

Create your own splash park at home by turning your yard into a water fun zone. Fill wading pools with water; lay down a "slip 'n slide" mat on your lawn; give your children water guns and splash balls; set up a target for water gun shooting or a bucket for splash ball toss. Serve boardwalk food throughout the day such as hot dogs, french fries, cotton candy, popcorn, pizza, ice cream or any other favorites.