Many families invest a great deal of time and money planning their vacation, only to come home with memories dominated by dirty hotels and lost luggage. On the other hand, your hometown has restaurants, museums, and activities you never have time to explore on the weekends when life gets in the way. With the same amount of planning and half the budget, your family can enjoy a vacation at home, what some trendsetters have labeled a “staycation.”
Cheap Lodging Ideas
If you coordinate your stay at home vacation with another family, you can switch dwellings for a twist on the cheap vacation rental. This is ideal if you live in a large city that features different attractions on the far side of town. Switch homes with friends in a distant suburb, and you’ll be close to dining and entertainment options you normally wouldn’t patronize.
Camping used to be one of the most economical ways to take a family vacation, but high fuel prices have changed that. Your family doesn’t need to travel hundreds of miles to experience a camping adventure. The campground at the outskirts of town may feature a lake and scenery that rivals a campsite hundreds of miles away. Camping in your backyard is a great way to introduce your youngest children to sleeping outdoors, with the child’s bed nearby if the experience proves too overwhelming.
Shopping Ideas
Don’t return to the same stale mall or shopping plaza you’re familiar with during your stay at home vacation. Discover a new favorite shop in your town, by starting in the yellow pages under your favorite sport or hobby. Pick a local business instead of a chain, and support your community with your dollars.
You can combine shopping with entertainment by taking your family to an auction. Check the want ads in your local newspaper for a listing of auction houses and upcoming sales. Once your family makes sense of the auctioneer’s chant, you may find yourself bidding on anything from vintage toys to artwork or furniture.
Dining Out
Dining out is a central part of taking a vacation, and when you vacation at home you can devote a larger part of your budget to visiting restaurants. Have a simple breakfast at home, so you can splurge on your favorite sandwich shop or ice cream parlor at lunch.
At dinner, look for restaurants that combine dining and entertainment. Some restaurant concepts combine dinner with music, theater, or animated figures that make you feel you’ve traveled to another time and place.
Free or Cheap Entertainment
Major holidays are the best time to plan a vacation at home. Not only does your family avoid paying premium holiday lodging rates, but most communities plan festivals and events to coincide with holidays. Check your newspaper to find free outdoor concerts, county fairs, or art exhibits happening around town.
Be sure to include an outdoor component to your stay at home vacation, no matter the weather. Consider public pools and local nature trails in the summer. In the winter, visit an outdoor ice skating rink, or go to the zoo to watch the animals get frisky in cooler temperatures.
Day Trips
When you save money on accommodations by using your home as lodging, you have extra money to take day trips on your vacation at home. Treat these short trips as last minute travel opportunities, as you can easily shift your plans if illness or some other unforeseen problem interferes. Contact your local travel and tourism division for some day trip ideas, and ask for a visitor’s guide or trip planner.
When you plan a stay at home vacation for your family, you can dedicate a larger part of your travel budget to shopping, dining out, entertainment, and day trips. Realize the savings that come from being a tourist in your hometown, and create a wealth of staycation memories with your family this year.
