Save on gas: Have a Staycation
Until we hit the low $3 or high $2 per gallon of gasoline mark, many Americans can still not afford to take vacations even though their gas savings have increased. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a nice day or two off…instead of going on a vacation, have a staycation!
“A what? A staycation? What, prey tell, is that?!” A staycation is defined by the Urban Dictionary as, “a vacation that is spent at one’s home enjoying all that home and one’s home environment has to offer.”
“The point of a vacation is to get away from life’s everyday stresses, how can I possible enjoy a ’staycation’?” By opening your mind, that’s how. And, shouldn’t your home be a place of rest and relaxation when away from your everyday job in the first place? If not, it should be.
Our society has come such a long way, yet when it comes to relaxing and enjoying our loved ones at home we seem to be at a loss as to what to do. Practically from birth in the past few decades, we have been inundated with schedules and activities to the point of not knowing how to have fun on our own anymore. Sadly, this same mentality can be seen in a child who doesn’t know how to entertain their self because they are so over scheduled. So, go back in time to a place when people truly enjoyed their homes, even if just for one day…you and your family may find yourselves cherishing a vacation at home so much that you’ll have them regularly!
Here are a few ideas to help you get started:
- Keep all meals simple so you don’t end up spending the day cleaning
- If weather permits, set-up camp in your backyard and plan on staying the night
- If weather isn’t cooperating, grab sheets and blankets and have a great time building a fort in the living room
- Use music and build a theme from it. For instance, if you have cable television or satellite television, choose a Reggae station and listen to it all day. The same could be done with XM or Sirius Radio. If you don’t have those choices available, head to the library and find some CD’s that suit your fancy. Library has nothing of interest? Use the savings you’ve incurred from using your gas rebate credit card and go to the store and buy a CD.
- In keeping with your theme, put little umbrellas in smoothies or iced tea or lemonade
- Have an indoor or outdoor picnic and take your time eating and enjoying some good conversation
- Play board games
- Have water balloon and water gun fights
- Play games like hide-n-seek, tag, croquet, and blind-mans-bluff. If you have a pool, Marco Polo is always a big hit
- Have a Whacky Olympics. Make up silly games and have some small prizes for the winner(s). You could also add in a game of volley or tether ball. If you don’t own any equipment you could borrow from a friend or family member or even find a cheap set of those games and buy them yourself using the money you’ve saved on gas due to dwindling prices.
- Take a relaxing walk or bike ride around your neighborhood
Whatever you decide to do on your staycation, keep the day as simplistic as possible so you can actually enjoy it. Get any household or yard work done the day before so you’ll have no excuses to miss out on all of the fun.