In recent years, staycations have become more popular for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you’re looking to spend less money this summer, or maybe you want to take advantage of the activities and attractions in your own community. After all, a staycation does afford you the opportunity to support local businesses. No matter what your reason is for choosing a staycation this year, you can follow some guidance to plan the perfect local experiences for your family.
Choose Consecutive Days
Going on day trips here and there throughout the summer is fun, but taking time off from work randomly doesn’t feel quite like a vacation. Schedule the staycation just as you would any other vacation. In other words, determine how many days you want the staycation to last for. Then, make sure to take off of work for all of those days. Also, be certain that your children’s calendars are free from social obligations, athletic events and other activities. If the staycation is consistently interrupted by daily obligations, no one is going to feel as though they are on much of a trip.
Don’t Cook Too Much
Eating out for every single breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack is likely to get expensive, which is a problem when you’re trying to save money. However, spending too much time in the kitchen is going to make your staycation feel like a chore. As you’re deciding what activities to do and what local sights to see, make a plan to try out some new eateries. If you’re willing to do the research, you can likely find plenty of restaurants in the area that will be kind to your budget. Think about what meals your family tends to eat at home too. For example, if you usually make breakfast at home, going to a cute spot with great bacon and eggs will likely be an exciting treat.
Make Your Home An Oasis
Think about the delight of spending the day out sightseeing on a vacation and then coming back to relax at the hotel. While you won’t have a hotel to go back to on a staycation, you can still make your own more of a paradise. When you are looking to spend a bit more money, you could research custom swimming pool builders to add a spot for the kids to cool down in the yard. Custom swimming pool builders like Reliantpools.com can work with you to bring your vision to life. Another less expensive option is to hire a one-time housekeeper so that you don’t have to clean on your staycation. You could also simply cancel chores for the week and allow everyone to enjoy that extra leisure time.
Research Local Outings
As you are starting to solidify your plan for your family’s staycation, you’ll want to research local outings. You might think that your community doesn’t have too much to do. However, as you start to really explore the various options, you may very well find out that you’re incorrect. The local recreation center might have classes or activities that your family could attend together. Chances are that some historical sites, museums and beautiful natural spaces exist within driving distance. Instead of simply giving up and saying that your neighborhood is boring, think of this staycation as a challenge to find all the great activities that exist in your own community.
Expand Your Scope
Keep in mind that you are not required to stay only in your specific neighborhood for the staycation. While you likely don’t want to exhaust yourself during this relaxing time, any place that is within driving distance could work out. If you decide to allocate five days to the staycation, for example, you might want to select one of those days on which to travel to a destination that is an hour or two away. Sharing the driving with the other adult members of your household can help.
Vary The Activities
Whether you’re planning to walk to the spots that you’re visiting or you are thinking about hopping on a train, you want to make sure to vary the activities. Get input from everyone in your family. Your kids might have been dragged to too many places on vacations that weren’t interesting to them. Involving all members of the family in these decisions also helps to get everybody excited for the staycation. Consider the fact that when you first tell your children that you aren’t going on a typical vacation this year, they might express some disappointment.
Set A Schedule
Think about how easy suddenly feeling lazy at home is. You might pick a few days for your staycation and later decide that you would rather stay at home lounging on the couch. While that relaxation might feel good in the moment, you are probably going to later regret having wasted your staycation. Making a schedule for your staycation can help you to get in all of the activities that you want to. If you are used to making schedules for typical vacations, use the same approaches this time. If not, make a list of what activities you want to do each day, schedule out the times for each event and make sure to leave enough room for traveling between locations.
Know When To Revise
Having a schedule is an important part of embarking upon a successful staycation. However, if the schedule becomes burdensome, you need to know when to revise. For example, after going to three stops on the second day of the vacation, your kids might feel exhausted. Skipping one of the stops and saving it for another time can give your family members the space to rejuvenate. Don’t feel the need to stick so strictly to the schedule that everyone ultimately ends up having a miserable time.
Take Plenty Of Photos
When you go on a typical vacation, you probably make sure to take plenty of pictures and post them to social media. You might also make albums or scrapbooks for each of your vacations. You shouldn’t skip this enjoyable part of the experience just because you’re doing a staycation this time. Taking those photos and sharing them with your loved ones are two actions that can help the family to feel as though you are truly on vacation.
A staycation really is a wonderful idea that can help you and your family members to better appreciate the community in which you live. It’s true that planning an incredible staycation does take some time and effort. However, when you are willing to put in the work, you are likely to be quite pleased with the end product.
