Whoever said that you have to travel a long way or spend a lot of money to make memories with your family did not know what they were talking about. The staycation, which is a vacation you take without leaving home, can be just as fun, meaningful, and refreshing as any other trip. Especially if you plan it with some creativity and togetherness in mind. A family vacation is a fun way to spend time together without having to pay for airfare, deal with busy schedules, or plan and pack. You can do it in your own neighborhood or your living room.
And this guy, you’ll find helpful ways to plan, fun, relaxing, and budget-friendly activities for your family. You’ll find ideas for themed parks, backyard, fun, and cozy indoor adventures. The best part is that you don’t have to worry about checkout times, delays and travel, or souvenirs that cost too much.
Make Your Home A Resort
Give your home a quick makeover to start your staycation. You can do a few things to help your family get into vacation mode and set the mood. Imagine fluffy towels in the bathroom, room service, breakfasts, and comfortable places to relax outside.
You can make it feel like a resort with candles or diffusers that smell like coconuts, citrus, or ocean breeze. Make a DIY spa station with facemasks, manicures, or relaxing music. Prep fluffy robes and slippers for everyone. You can even print out an itinerary of fun things you’re going to do that week.
Make it a rule that you won’t do any chores, send any emails, or deal with any real-life responsibilities for a day or two. Even if you’re only a few feet from the laundry room, act like it’s invisible and treat your staycation like a real escape.
Camping in the Backyard
You don’t need a forest to have a wilderness experience. Try setting up a tent in the backyard, or make a blanket for it inside if the weather isn’t great, and get some marshmallows.
You can make your backyard an adventure with a fire pit or a campfire for roasting s’mores, flashlights for ghost stories or games at night, or stargazing apps to find constellations. Try making a simple list of nature scavenger hunts for an extra fun game as well.
You can also have a fun picnic breakfast in the morning. You can use string lights to look like stars, tell stories with a flashlight, and play Nature Sounds in the background if you’re inside. These are fun and safe ways to have a cozy time without screens.
International Theme Days
Go on a trip around the world without leaving your house. Pick a country or culture to learn about every day, along with food, music, crafts, and even some language lessons.
For example:
Mexico Day: make some tacos, decorate sugar skulls, and dance to mariachi music
Italy Day: make pizza from scratch, learned some Italian phrases, and watch an Italian travel video
Japan Day: makes sushi, makes origami, and host a tea ceremony
Let each person in your family pick a place to go and plan things to do there. Plus, it’s an activity that is both fun and educational.
Make Your Own Water Park
Cool off with a fun staycation activity. If it’s warm outside, you can use things you already have to make your yard a water wonderland.
Try some of these ideas:
- Use a tarp and a sprinkler to make a slip and slide
- Fill up water, balloons, or water guns for fights in the backyard
- Turn on the hose and play old-school games like duck, duck, splash
- Make a water obstacle course, using hula hoops, kiddie pools, and buckets
To finish off your summer vacation feel, make frozen treats like fruit, slushy, or homemade popsicles.
Movie Night with a Twist
Make movie night a family event that everyone can enjoy. Pick a theme and plan the whole night around it, including food, decorations, and costumes.
Here are some fun ideas to try:
Jungle night: watch Jumanji, put up fake plants, and serve animals, snacks like banana, bananas, and popcorn
Superhero night: dress up as your favorite characters, make hero fuel like trail mix, and vote on the best costume.
You can use a projector to set up an outdoor screen, or just use a laptop with speakers. Add blankets and fairy lights to make it cozy. You can even make tickets, give people jobs like making popcorn or ushering, and enjoy movie night with a little extra magic.
Family Game Tournament
Have a day of games to bring out your competitive side. Play a mix of board games, card games, and games that get people moving to keep everyone in the family happy.
You can try: keeping track of scores and giving out small prizes
- Playing games with your family, like charades, trivia, or scavenger hunts
- Adding Minute to Win It challenges for a quick and silly
- Create your own game by making a trivia quiz based on family history or inside jokes
At the end of the tournament, give everyone a ribbon, a medal, or my homemade trophy. Having a family game tournament not only produces good quality time for your family, but also gets you doing something different.
Local Explorer Day
Being a tourist in your own town. There are probably places nearby that you’ve never really seen. You can plan and do some research to make an adventure that feels new and exciting without going very far. You could try exploring a museum, a nature trail, or a botanical garden. Take a self-guided tour of public art or murals. Find out about local historical sites or odd roadside attractions. You can even do a food crawl, where you eat small bites from a number of local restaurants.
Make sure you take your camera and act like you’re writing about your trip for a travel blog. You might be surprised by just what you find down the street and how much fun you have.
Cooking or Baking Challenge
Let everyone be the chef for the day. Cooking together not only saves money, but it also teaches useful skills and brings the family closer.
Challenge idea:
Chopped-style cook-off: give everyone a mystery ingredient to use
Bake off: compete to decorate the best cupcakes or cookies
Breakfast bonanza: Let kids plan and make breakfast
Food from scratch: try making ice cream, bread, or pasta by hand
Let everyone be involved and taste test to vote on their favorite dishes. This makes it fun and allows your family to work together to make a meal with a theme.
At Home Art Studio
Let your creative side out with a day of art. An art session at home is a fun way for your family to bond, no matter if you like painting, sculpting, or making things.
Things you can do are:
- Paint on a canvas or recycled cardboard with watercolors or acrylics
- Make your own pottery with air-dry clay
- Tie-dye old T-shirts or pillowcases
- Make a huge collage with magazines, newspapers, and stickers
Put your finished artwork on the wall in a gallery and ask everyone in the family to come see it like they would at an art show.
Finish with a Night of Family Reflection
End your staycation with a special night to think and connect. Get together for a quiet night with your favorite snacks, music, and comfy clothes. Take turns talking about the best parts of the week, what you learned, and what you want to do again.
Were you able to make a scrapbook or a photo album of the week? Did your family get to make a video diary where everyone talks about their favorite moment? Plan your next vacation together to start a new tradition and keep everyone involved.
Final Thoughts
You don’t need to book a hotel or buy plane tickets to have a great time with your family. A staycation can be just as magical as a regular vacation, and it’s way cheaper. All you need is some planning, some creativity, and a sense of fun.
The memories you’ll make during your staycation are likely to last just as long as any trip abroad. It doesn’t matter if you’re camping in the backyard, cooking food from around the world, or dancing to new music in the living room. Get your picnic basket ready, turn on the music, and get ready to go on vacation without even leaving home.
