Make Your Memorial Day Weekend an Extra Special Staycation

Vacations are a lot of fun, but of course they can also be a lot of work. If you and your family can’t agree on a vacation destination, or you’ve been to all of your nearest vacation spots, or you’re just not in the mood to pack a suitcase and pile into the car, then consider making this year’s Memorial Day weekend a staycation.

Staycations are a great way to have lots of fun over your holiday without spending a lot of time or money. Of course, if you don’t plan ahead, there’s a good chance you’ll end up frittering away your vacation doing nothing much in particular. Instead, consider some of these ideas to be prepared in advance.

Play Tourist at Home

Chances are there are lots of things to do right in your own town, but you may not even know they’re there. Search online for things to do in your area or events for the Memorial Day weekend. If you still can’t find anything, ask neighbors for suggestions or go to the local library or tourist welcome center to grab flyers for local sites. Destinations might include:

• Local museums and historic sites
• National or state parks
• Locations for camping, hiking, biking, swimming, fishing, boating, etc.
• Amusement parks, mini golf, laser tag, etc.
• Catch a baseball game
• Take a local tour

Plan a Night In

Whether you are having a staycation with your family or on your own, you can plan ahead for a fun night in. Invite over friends and order personalized wine bottles as a fun way to memorialize the event. Pick a theme and choose movies or games related to that theme. For example, you could have a Vegas themed party and invite friends over to play Poker and watch Oceans 11.

You could also consider hosting a party, a potluck, or a BBQ for neighbors or friends. If you have a pool, make it a pool party. If you’ve got a big yard, rent a moon bounce and make it a family party.

Think About Your Hobby

If you have a hobby you like to do with friends, plan an event around it:

• Organize a pick-up soccer game
• Go to the park with friends for frisbee
• Have crafty friends over to work on crafts and projects together
• Have a wine tasting

Catch Up on Reading

Find a nice, relaxing place and bring a big pile of books. Vacation time is a great time to catch up on all that reading you’ve been meaning to do! Head to the beach or the pool for some sunning and reading, or just settle in on the front porch.

Visit with Friends and Neighbors

Everyone has those friends and neighbors that they don’t get to see that often. Make your vacation an excuse to call them up to get together. Invite them to dinner or to the movies or just to hang out and catch up!

Spoil Yourself

Indulge yourself (and maybe your kids too) on your vacation. Go shopping, get your nails done, get a make-over, take a spa day, make a purchase you’ve been saving up for, spend hours at the comic book store. You could even end your indulgent day with a movie marathon. You won’t feel guilty because you have an extra day off!

Spoil the Kids

Let the kids plan out a whole day of the vacation. Of course, they may try to cram in as many fun activities as humanly possible so have them prioritize! Help them think of one big activity they’d like to do like a trip to an amusement park, one smaller thing to do like stop at a toy store, and a place to go for dinner or lunch.

Plan a Date Night

Plan a just-because special date night with your spouse or partner. Go out to dinner or make it an excuse to learn a new recipe together using a service like Plated. If you have kids, hire a babysitter and go dancing or go see a movie without the kids. You could even get a room at a local bed and breakfast to make it feel a bit more like a vacation.

Make Your Staycation All About You

The secret to having a really enjoyable staycation is to make yourself feel really spoiled and fulfilled. Find a combination of activities that are fun, fulfilling, and relaxing to get the most out of your staycation vacation.

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Meredith

Meredith blogs at The Mom of the Year, where she dedicatedly earns her title one epic parenting fail at a time, offering quick, relatable laughs for fellow parents and all their empathizers. She has been part of several best-selling anthologies, featured on prominent sites such as Huffington Post, In the Powder Room and BlogHer, and loves her role as the Executive VP/Operations Manager of The BlogU Conference. When she's not breaking up fights over Legos and juice boxes, she remains fully committed to sharing a less serious look at the world of parenting.

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