20 Easy Staycation Ideas For Families
There’s always one week of summer where everyone is home from camp and work but we aren’t going away. We need things to do so that we feel like we’re really on vacation, and so we don’t spend the week organizing closets, answering email, and watching Annie on an endless Netflix loop. With help from my Facebook friends, here are 20 ways to make sure your staycation really feels like a vacation.
1. Hire a cleaning service mid-week. Don’t think about cleaning otherwise.
2. Take a day trip. Check something off your bucket list.
3. Take a hike. A long walk in a woodsy park qualifies.
4. Go to the beach—even if it’s not hot.
5. Go to the Movies! Even better, make it 3-D. Better still, make it IMax, which is like a two-hour getaway.
6. Camp in the backyard (or the living room). Tent, sleeping bags, flashlights, ghost stories and all.
7. Armchair travel: Pick a different country for a day: Eat food, plan crafts, activities and events, and listen to music from that country.
8. Play tourist in your hometown. Fill in the sentence “I’ve always wanted to…” Then go do it!
9. Plan a date night. A staycation should include a vacation from parenting.
10. Stock the bar: Nothing says vacation like margaritas in the blender.
11. Cook out! You need food to go with those margs!
12. Eat dessert every day! Eat ice cream twice a day
13. Go on a picnic.
14. Say three words— breakfast for dinner!—watch the kids go nuts.
15. Eat breakfast at a diner. Scrambled eggs and pancakes are better when someone else cooks and does the dishes. Better still, have brunch! And yes, order the mimosa.
16. Nap! You’ll need to after that mimosa.
17. Unplug. Follow the same rules for checking in that you would if you were actually away.
18. Stay up late. Have a Family Game Night! sleep in.
19. Have a pajama day.
20. Take lots of photos; make an album. Better yet, let the kids make one.
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19 Comments
Midweek cleaning service. Gold. Other suggestions good too but none trumps the cleaning service. (as I type this I am procrastinating some housekeeping by perusing blogs)
Glad we are inspiring so much avoidance of domestic chores! no one’s last words were ever “I wish I’d vacuumed more.”
This is a fantastic list!! Especially the part about the cleaning service 😉
that seems to be the popular suggestion!
I know lots of people hate the term or concept of staycations, but I love them! Great tips!
They are a necessity once you have kids. Can’t travel for every break/vacation day, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a vacation frame of mind!
Such great ideas. I love how you can do these no matter where you live.
Eileen, Great list! I love pampering myself when I’m home.
Yay! #wkendtravelinspiration team!
Yes! facials and at-home mani-pedis. I’m all over it.
I love this! My favorite is picking a country for the day. How fun!
Great ideas!! We love staycations!! It would definitely be fun for the kids and a great time of family bonding!!
Popping over from the Weekend Travel Inspiration link. I posted about staycation many moons ago. It’s a wonderful idea, and I’ve actually done it a couple of times. The one thing I didn’t do was to hire a cleaner. I’ll add it to my list! 🙂
I like your ideas! However, I’m wondering if I’m living a vacation lifestyle as I often take naps and eat dessert daily — sometimes twice. That last suggestion, letting the kids make a photo album, is my favorite one.
I think you have the right approach to life.
Great ideas, although I wouldn’t eat dessert every day on any vacation, especially if I were already eating ice cream – twice. And, as we are a homeschool family, we have pajama days far too often. 🙂
That was mostly for the kiddos. though i know plenty of parents who would be happy to join in. And why not? I’d rather have margaritas twice a day, but alas I rarely do.
Great article, I am also doing a staycation post for couples and also started off with hiring a cleaning service because who wants to come back to a mess and ruin the entire staycation.
These are great ideas, even if you don’t have kids. #14 is a great one – pancakes for dinner. Can’t beat that!
There is something incredibly indulgent about it.