Forget the stress of planning a family vacation and discover a sense of adventure without leaving the comfort of your home or blowing your budget.
An at-home staycation is the perfect excuse to reconnect with loved ones for a weekend. Traditional vacations can be expensive and challenging to plan, especially when traveling with young children.
Ditch the bags and transform your living space into an exciting getaway with these fun and affordable family staycation ideas.
Create a Theme
Any at-home vacation is made better with a fun theme. Brainstorm something every family member will enjoy, whether a specific era, location, or hobby. You can host a Wild West getaway with cowboy-themed games or pay homage to international travel with foreign snacks. Having a theme makes planning food, decorations, and activities much easier.
Organize a Family Tournament
A little friendly competition never hurt anyone, right? Organizing a tournament of challenges and events is a fun and affordable at-home vacation idea. Treat it like a Family Olympics, with small prizes for the winners. The entire family can participate in relay races, obstacle courses, and other kid-friendly lawn games.
Try Backyard Camping
Take advantage of your outdoor space by going backyard camping. Troy De Ville, outdoor backpacking enthusiast and founder of Core Mountaineering hails family camping as “the best way to bond and unplug.“
Act like you’re in the remote wilderness, even if you’re only steps away from home. Pitch a tent, unroll your sleeping bags, and start the fire. Everyone can take turns telling campfire stories, cooking hot dogs and s’mores, and watching the stars.
Enjoy a Movie Marathon
Kids will love binge-watching their favorite movies over a night or weekend. Arrange a sleeping setup with pillows, blankets, and couch cushions in your living area. Outdoor movie projectors are also an excellent option if the weather allows. Pick up several classic snacks like popcorn and candy once you have a cozy place to watch movies. Curl up with the family and tune in for quality family bonding time.
Indulge in a DIY Spa Day
Treat yourself to an at-home spa day next time you’re craving a refresher. Professional spa services can be costly and are usually adult-only. Planning a DIY spa day for the family is easy and affordable. Consider painting your nails or making face and hair masks with household ingredients.
Take a Virtual Tour
Virtual tours allow you to sightsee famous destinations without leaving the comfort of your home. Many renowned museums, zoos, and other attractions offer free digital experiences. There’s a virtual tour for every family to enjoy during their next staycation. You could be transported to a distant national park or learn more about history and art.
Cook a New Food
Cooking and enjoying a meal together is an excellent way for families to grow closer. Create a menu of new or favorite foods that the entire family can help prepare. To immerse yourself in a different culture as if you were traveling, try cooking recipes from different cuisines like Mexican, Italian, Portuguese, or French.
Young kids can help by preparing, pouring, and stirring ingredients. After spending quality time cooking side-by-side, you can sit and enjoy the delicious fruits of your labor.
Host an Outdoor Picnic
An outdoor picnic is a fantastic excuse to get outside when the weather’s nice. You only need a basket of handheld snacks, a blanket, and travel-friendly eating utensils. Head outside to your backyard or visit a local park and enjoy a lovely meal under the sun.
Unplug Your Devices
Disconnecting from technology could be exactly what you need for a relaxing weekend at home. Most families use devices daily, sometimes more often than they realize. According to Asurion Media, Americans check their phones up to 352 times per day, on average.
Unplugging by staying away from social media and setting down the phones, tablets, and computers allows parents and kids to reconnect with each other. Focus on device-free activities, like reading, playing board games, and going on neighborhood walks.
Get Crafty
Spend your staycation getting creative with arts and crafts projects. Even if you don’t consider yourself naturally handy, there are many easy DIYs that the entire family can do. Low-cost craft ideas include seasonal decorations, scrapbooks, or small accessories. It’s incredible what you can create with a few simple and cheap art supplies.
Dance It Out
Prepare to boogie next time you have a weekend at home. Host a family disco or dance night and jam it out to your family’s favorite tunes. Put together a playlist of dance-worthy songs, pick up a few party decorations, and dance the night away. You could also incorporate karaoke songs for extra laughs.
Conduct At-Home Science Experiments
Turn your home into a science lab for curious young minds. Experiments are a fun and engaging way to entertain and educate kids. With a handful of items already in your home, you can quickly create a roster of hands-on activities. Popular science projects are making rock candy, mixing slime, and erupting a miniature baking soda and vinegar volcano.
Stroll Down Memory Lane
Dig up your family photobooks and home movies to revisit the good old days. Looking at old family photos and videos allows families to talk, laugh, and tell stories. Complete the experience by buying or cooking special childhood favorites you don’t typically eat.
Have a Game Night
You can never go wrong with an old-fashioned game night. A simple deck of cards or your imagination is everything you need to start having fun. Of course, you can always pick up classic board games like Monopoly, Twister, and Scrabble. Playing games will keep the entire family entertained during your at-home vacation.
Put On a Talent Show
Host a family talent show to encourage creativity and imagination. Parents and children will enjoy showcasing their unique talents and skills. Whether you demonstrate magic tricks, tell jokes, or perform impersonations, everyone will be laughing by the end of the night.
Learn Something New
There’s no better way to reconnect than by learning something new together. Dedicate a day or weekend to trying a hobby or activity as a family. Study the basics of a foreign language, learn a sport, or build a backyard garden. You’ll have many chances to laugh, bond, and encourage each other while developing a new skill.
Go On a Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are entertaining for family members of all ages. First, create a list of random or themed items that everyone must search for. Then, pick your scavenger hunt area. You can stay inside for a rainy day activity or hide objects outside for more of a challenge. Your family will have a blast running around and looking for items, especially if prizes are involved.
A family vacation doesn’t have to break the bank to create priceless memories
Family getaways should be an opportunity to connect and bond, not a reason to stress over your travel budget. Check out an affordable national park for an unforgettable trip with loved ones.
Maximize your time and budget on an affordable family camping trip
Getting out in nature is an excellent way for families to unplug and unwind. A budget-friendly camping trip is fun for all ages.
Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
