When we think of going on a vacation, the first thing on our mind is traveling to a destination. But what if you don’t have enough in your budget to travel far from home? Then a staycation is the answer! A staycation is a budget-friendly way to spend quality time with your loved ones. Here are 5 ideas on how you can enjoy a cheap family staycation:
1. Make it A Game Day
Ask everyone to bring their favorite games and everyone select which ones to play and the playing order. Depending on the game, this is a good way to exercise physically and challenge everyone mentally while having lots of fun. Make sure the games can be enjoyed by family members of all ages.
2. Enjoy a Movie or TV Marathon
Got a favorite movie series or TV show you’ve all wanted to rewatch? Or if you have a list of dramas or TV shows you haven’t watched, this is the time to indulge. Make yourself some popcorn and a cold drink or get food delivered and enjoy the shows. Got kids? Watch their favorite cartoon or anime series or their most favorite movies together.
3. Do a Cooking Marathon
Instead of doing a weekly meal prep, why not let the whole family help in cooking all your favorite recipes? Everyone gets to eat afterwards and you can even cook a big batch to be enjoyed throughout the week. You can also choose to try out new recipes based on a theme. For example, you can search for recipes of Japanese food items; lay down a mat and a low table and add chopsticks and fancy bowls to complete the Japanese theme for your meal.
4. Refresh a Room or the Entire House
Cleaning can be a therapeutic activity and gives everyone a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day too. Assign tasks or rooms to everyone for a general house cleaning or select a room in the house to redecorate or to rearrange furniture. You can also use the day to do small, DIY repairs around the house. Be sure to take breaks and reward the whole family with a delicious dinner which you can order from your favorite food place.
5. Start a Garden
Let everyone help with some gardening. Whether it be indoor gardening with these herbs, or outdoor gardening, family members of all ages can be assigned some task to help with the activity. Kids can pick up weeds or sweep the yard or count seeds and place them in pots.
Spend some time to teach kids what to do to help the plants grow better. A book with pictures that they can refer to repeatedly would be a great help. You won’t only be growing plants, you’ll be cultivating yours and your kid’s patience and interest for learning and doing and maybe develop a green thumb in the process.
These are just some quick ways to bond with the whole family while you’re all staying at home. The trick is to prepare for it like you would prepare for traveling so everyone in the family gets involved and they will feel the specialness of the staycation even more. Try these out next time you’re strapped for cash, don’t want to wander around the mall or just too tired to brave the daily traffic that travel entails.
Edited version. First published in Pinoy Smart Living 04.04.2019.
Feature Image: Original Photo by cottonbro from Pexels.