Has your family ever tried a staycation? They can be a great budget-friendly alternative to pricey vacations, and usually require a lot less planning. YAY for spontaneous adventures and quality family time!!
Here are a few ways to make a family staycation even more special.
Note: For those in the Southern Hemisphere, some ideas for Winter staycations can be found here.
1. Take Advantage of Target’s Summer Clearance Sale — Right now at Target, you can find Summer water toys, sprinklers, and other seasonal items on clearance for as much as 75% off! One water slide and sprinkler made a fun homemade “water park”, provided HOURS of active play, and kept us cool during a record-breaking heat wave.
2. Homemade Water Park — Speaking of “water parks”, be sure to have a sponge bomb bucket toss as part of your homemade water park fun!! Other water park ideas include a DIY slip and slide, water balloon yo-yos, or a potion lab! Even more water play ideas here!
3. Make Breakfast Special — Just because your vacationing at home, doesn’t mean breakfast has to be boring. Try some French Toast …….
…. or some Mickey Mouse pancakes…..
…..or a pajama breakfast picnic to start your day with a smile!
4. Check out Local Events — We were so lucky to be gifted with tickets to a local minor league baseball game during our staycation. (Thanks, Yelena!!) Check with your local township for free Summer concerts, or other events for some budget-friendly fun!
5. Treat Yourself to a Restaurant Meal — While breakfast may be quick and easy to prepare, it is nice not to have to cook every meal when you’re on vacation. To save on restaurant meals, check out Restaurant.com for discounted gift certificates to restaurants in your area. Between now and July 31st, you can get $25 gift certificates for just $2, or 80% off using promo code “SAVE” at checkout. You may want to stock up on these because they never expire, and they make for frugal date nights as well!
6. Pitch a Tent in the Backyard — All the fun of camping, with the convenience of being in your own backyard. Now that’s my kind of camping!
Have fun!!
I linked this post to:
Sunday Showcase @ Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas
Dear Valerie,
Just make sure not to pitch the tent in the same place as the backyard water park!
Love,
Mark
Just a note, all my Restaurant.com gift certificates have expiration dates one year from purchase.
Shanna,
This may have been true in the past, but it looks like it is no longer the case.
Shanna,
One more link: “Restaurant.com Gift Cards do not expire.”
Mark
Great ideas. Our town recreation dept. has free concerts weekly during the summer. We also love free days at museums and events (like puppet shows) hosted by our library!
We are big fans of staycation considering where we live. In fact we plan one a couple of weeks from now, and we have already planned a lot of day trips and relaxing evenings together.
Gas prices sure do encourage the creativity in finding awesome local things to do! Staycations rock!
Looks like a blast!
We’ve spent our summer taking staycations too, and I’m so glad you mentioned the Target sale. I wasn’t even thinking end-of-summer clearance yet! I’m going to head up there today and see what I can find. 🙂
I have never thought to do a breakfast picnic! Fantastic- Thank you for linking this post up to The Sunday Showcase!