Inside: Your home is a more interesting place than you think. Instead of traveling for spring break or summer vacation, check out these 15 ideas for a family summer staycation that you can enjoy in your hometown!
By Elsie Callender, Contributing Writer
Most of us are far too busy to explore what our little corner of the world has to offer. We zigzag through town to get to commitments and activities, rarely taking the time to discover what’s off our own beaten path.
When we’re at home, we have infinite tasks and to-do lists to work through. We squeeze leisure time into the cracks in our day, hoping it will be enough to fix our frazzled lives and give us the glue to stick with our hectic schedules for another week.
As summer break approaches on the calendar, we’re desperate to get out of town and leave our busyness behind. Unfortunately, travel isn’t always possible. Preparing for a vacation can be a cause for stress in itself, and trips often put a strain on the budget.
The good news is, you don’t have to leave home to enjoy a relaxing vacation and reconnect with your family.
I have 16+ summer staycation ideas that will allow you to create fun memories with your children on their summer breaks.
Since the recession of the mid-2000s and, more recently, the pandemic, “staycations” have jumped in popularity, and for good reason.
A staycation is a simple, frugal way to enjoy time off with your family and live deeply right where you are.
The ground rules of your summer staycation are up to you–how much cooking you’ll do, which household chores you’ll keep up with, whether or not you’ll install a “no screentime” policy, etc. Figure out as a family what you want your staycation to look like, and put the dates on the calendar.
A staycation is the perfect time to cross some items off your summer bucket list!
Here are 15 ideas for things to do on your next staycation, whether you have kids or you’re just hanging out with your spouse:
Summer Staycation Ideas
1. Explore a new park.
Check the website for your city or state to find local park listings. Pack a picnic or at least plenty of snacks, plus blankets, summer reads, and a soccer ball or frisbee. If you have very young children, enjoy the park’s playground, but for older kids or teenagers, try exploring a new-to-you park where you can hike a trail or two as part of your summer staycation adventure.
2. Play in the water.
You might not have a resort pool at your disposal, but you can visit a local splash pad or aquatic center, or just play in the backyard with hoses and/or sprinklers, squirt guns, and water balloons. You would also opt for an inflatable pool or backyard water slide! Yes, you can completely cool down on your summer staycation from your own backyard!
Related: 8 Summer Activities to Do with Your Kids
3. Splurge on an activity you wouldn’t normally do.
Since you’re not spending money on traveling, take your summer staycation to do something fun that wouldn’t normally be in your budget, like renting kayaks, going to an indoor climbing wall, or taking everyone to see a movie in 3D. There are so many local attractions that many people overlook in the grind of your everyday routine. Erin enjoys finding deals on local attractions via both Groupon and Certifikid.
4. Make a doughnut run.
Ask local friends to recommend the best doughnut shops in your area, and then go out for breakfast or dessert. Growing up, it was a super special treat to take our doughnuts to the beach for breakfast!
Alternately, you can try your hand at making your own doughnuts. Erin’s family loves these gluten-free pumpkin spice doughnut holes! You can play around with the flavors to make something more summer-like for your summer staycation.
5. Play really long board games.
A summer staycation is the perfect time to play those epic board games you remember from childhood! Make milkshakes and spend an afternoon introducing your kids to Monopoly and Risk.
Some of our kids’ favorite board and/or card games include:
Giant Spoons (their absolute fave!)
Related: 12 Ideas for Dates with Your Kids
6. Go stargazing.
Gather blankets, a thermos of cocoa, binoculars, and a stargazing guide (see if your library has this one), and head to the backyard. If your summer staycation will allow you to get away from light pollution, (for instance, a friend of yours owns a farm!), even better!
7. Film a movie.
Act out and film a movie together, using whatever props, costumes, and locations your creativity can allow. You can have a script-writing session at the kitchen table with everyone giving input to a designated writer. If you’re not sure what story to film, try a modern retelling of a fairy tale.
8. Camp out.
Use your summer staycation as an excuse to pitch the tent in your own backyard. Backyard camping can be such a fun and memorable experience for kids. Not a fan of the great outdoors? Pitch a tent in your living room instead! Pile it up with sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows and then tell scary stories by flashlight.
Don’t have a tent? If you’re staying inside, ask your kids to make a fort. I am sure they will oblige!
9. Have a progressive dinner.
Go to three different restaurants to get your appetizer, entree, and dessert. This is a fun idea you can do any time–whether on a date with your spouse or your kids!
Related: 17 Free or Frugal Summer Activities for Kids
10. Hold a “build your own” night.
Let family members pick their favorite ingredients, and set everything out on the table for a “build your own” pizza, burrito, baked potato bar, ice cream sundae, etc.
11. Visit a quirky museum.
There may be some hidden gems you haven’t discovered! When planning your summer staycation, google “museums near YOUR CITY, YOUR STATE” and it should pull up a map with listings. I love the idea of being a “tourist” in your own city!
12. Go geocaching.
Geocaching is a popular treasure-hunting game that you can play using your GPS or mobile device. See here and here for more info on what it is and how to play. Erin’s oldest daughter absolutely loves to go geocaching!
Related: Healthy Camping Foods
13. Go fruit picking.
Find out what produce is in season in your area (here’s a spring produce guide and a summer produce guide), and then find a farm near you where you can pick blueberries, peaches, or whatever is growing! Go early in the day before it gets hot, and then use your pickings to make a simple dessert (like this delicious strawberry pie!) for supper. Erin’s family loves picking berries in the summer.
14. Host a theme night (or two).
Let each family member come up with a theme, and then vote on them or draw one out of a hat. Everyone dresses up to fit the theme, and all of the evening’s food and entertainment tie in. For instance, on “alien night” you create your own alien costume, watch E.T. (or even an alien movie marathon), and eat Milky Way bars!
Related: 5 Tips for a Creative Family Movie Night
15. Go bowling (for free!).
Erin loves promoting the summer Kids Bowl Free deal because it’s something her kids have really enjoyed–and it’s 100% free! Kids up to age 15 can bowl two games per day for free all summer long! This is a nationwide program, but you do have to register for it ahead of time. You could bowl every day on your summer staycation–or just one day out of your week.
16. Make a time capsule.
Fill a shoebox with pictures, letters to your future selves, filmed interviews (you can put them on a flashdrive), mementos from your staycation, and predictions about what each family member will be doing in 10 or 15 years–or however long you plan on waiting before opening the time capsule.
You don’t have to bury the box, just put it in an out-of-the way spot in a closet or the attic. Write the current date on the lid, as well as the date you’ve set for opening the capsule.
Your souvenir from this summer staycation? I hope it will be inspiration to love the place you live, and never stop exploring!
Have you ever taken a summer staycation? What are your favorite staycation activities?
Top image by Richly Rooted
Aimee
Great ideas! We are focusing on staycations this year since our kids are so small. It’s just too much work to take a vacation LOL
Elsie
Thanks, Aimee! Yes, now that we have a little boy (13 months), we are seeing the allure of staycations even more!
Katherine
Don’t forget to take pictures! We have made a book of our vacation pictures the last two years. They are wonderful to help us remember, and make great gifts for grandparents.? There are companies online that run specials, or just do it the old fashioned way.?
Elsie
Yes, definitely!
Keelie Reason
Love theses fun ideas. 🙂 My husband has taken the kids geocaching before. It was good for them.
Elsie
Thank you, Keelie! What kid doesn’t like a treasure hunt, right?(:
Jessica
I loved this, Elsie!! Your next post should be, how to take a ROMANTIC staycation 🙂 Or adults only…or something like that 🙂
Elsie
Oooh, yeah! Good idea! I want one of those! 🙂
Mara
Love these ideas!! We typically like to bring the kids camping but since we have a new baby we’ll be taking the year off. Setting up the tent in the backyard seems like the perfect way to have fun without going to far. Maybe we’ll even purchase a fire ring for s’mores with the money saved. Thank you for the wonderful list of ideas! We’ll definitely be doing many of them.
Elsie
Thanks, Mara!
maesaysdoit
Write your local chamber of commerce for local information of things. This might seem “old fashioned”, but kids learn letter writing and waiting for the response packet. Also visit the nearest AAA Tavel Office for maps and more free things. Let them know you are teaching your kids about your area interests. Take a drive to the nearest rest stop with a visitors center. Some AAA places have free videos. It’s fun and most have a picnic area you can sit and enjoy your lunch. Pick up free maps for projects and colorful brochures to use for collages. Many have products of your state and area to view as well as free post cards and or stickers. If you have a family member traveling give them pre addressed stamped envelopes to send some travel info to you as they make stops along the way. And give them stamps and address labels and ask them to send your kids post cards from special stops and destinations.
Doyle Haffner
The further I read, the better your material is.