So, you have decided a "Staycation" is the right option for your family this year. How can you make it into a real vacation without leaving home. A very important step is to stop the mail for the week, just like you would if you were going out of town. This will eliminate temptation. Let your friends know you are on vacation for the week. The next thing to do is to turn your home into a "hotel" or "campground."
If you enjoy camping, set up the tent in the backyard and live out there for the week. The only time you should be in the house is to shower, use the facilities, and use the kitchen if you must. It will be much more authentic if you treat the back yard just like a campsite and do all of your food prep, cooking, and dish washing outside. Personally, I would take advantage of the fridge in the house instead of messing with a cooler for a weeks worth of food. The great thing is if a storm moves in that is beyond safety in the tent you can move indoors. Otherwise, treat it just like you would at a campground and go inside the tent and play cards. A screen room or canopy is great to set up as well as the tent. If you have a nice covered deck you could skip that step. The key is to treat the week just like you were camping away from home. Plan activities for the day like a slip 'slide or blow up pool if you don't have one. Check you're local rental store to see if the have one of the super pools with a slide to rent. Set up a volleyball or badminton net, horseshoes or croquette and have a tournament for the week. Plan some day excursions in the area like we talked about yesterday. By staying home to camp you can use the money you save to purchase the fire pit you have been wanting or a new lawn swing or the pool with the slide. :)
If you are like my husband and believe, "roughing it is slow room service," camping is not your favorite activity. So when we take a "staycation" we move into our 4 season room for the week. We close the doors to the other rooms in the house and live in the 4 season room, using the kitchen and bathroom as well. We don't go into the other parts of the house except to get clothes out of the closet. We close down the rest of the house just like we do for vacation with timers on the lights and the drapes pulled. We sleep in the 4 season room, just like a vacation away. If you don't have a family room, basement, etc., just set up in the living room. The kids will love sleeping in their sleeping bags and not having to make their beds for a whole week.
Just because you are staying in your home does not mean you should do any of your normal household routines. I don't do any other laundry than I would if I was on a vacation, so that is very little, no mail delivery eliminates the temptation, closing the doors to the rest of the house helps eliminate the temptation to go in them. Have your kids pick out the toys they would take on a regular vacation and close the doors to their rooms. Set up games and activities in the yard like I suggested for "camping," plan your activities for each day before the week begins just like you would a regular vacation. The only difference will be the money you will save on gas and hotel rooms. Explain to the children that you will be able to do more during the week because you have saved that money. This is a great opportunity to teach your children, and yourself, how much fun you can have on a small budget.
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