Looking for a budget friendly way to spend your kids’ upcoming spring break? Skip the airports and long car rides, and enjoy spring break at home with these five spring break “staycation” ideas!
Take a tour of the world without leaving your home!
Have your kids close their eyes and point to a spot on a globe or map, and spend the day learning all about that country. What are their customs and culture? What language do they speak? Search the internet for photos of the landscape and native animals and have kids color or paint their own pictures to match. Find videos that feature the people who live there and their traditions. Learn about favorite local foods and make a meal or snack inspired by that country. Pick a new spot on the map each day!
Become a tourist in your own town!
No matter how long you’ve lived in your city, there are likely all sorts of interesting places you’ve yet to explore. Do an internet search of “[Your Town] tourism” (e.g. Madison, WI tourism) or “Top 10 Things to do in [Your Town]” and find some great new local places to visit. Check out local museums, historic sites, or fun new parks and playgrounds, and hiking trails.
Plan a photo scavenger hunt.
Give each child a camera (disposable ones work great) and make a list of items for them to find and photograph. The list of items can be centralized around one theme (e.g. things found in nature), or it can be a fun, quirky, and random list of items your children can find around the house or while walking through the neighborhood. When each child’s list of items is photographed (or a set time limit has been reached), download or develop the pictures and award small prizes for best photograph, most creative picture, and most items photographed from the list.
Book a stay at a local hotel with a pool.
Sometimes just getting out the house for a night – even when you’re not going far – can feel like a fun little vacation! The kids will have a blast spending an entire day playing in a pool, and parents will enjoy taking a break from household chores and letting somebody else do the dishes and laundry for the day. Check rates at hotels that cater to weekday business travelers – they typically have lower fares on the weekends.
Camp out in your own backyard!
Set up a great big tent, grab the sleeping bags and flashlights and enjoy a night outside under the stars. Build a fire in an outdoor fire pit and plan to make your family’s entire dinner over the campfire. Hot dogs and canned baked beans make great campfire food and, of course, don’t forget the s’mores!
Dusty Rogers is the blogger, mother, maker, decorator and drinker of the wine at All Things G&D - a lifestyle blog where home décor, DIY and organization, healthy meals and kid-friendly snacks, party planning and entertaining all happily play together in the sandbox. Dusty lives in Madison, WI with her husband Greg and their daughter Kate, and she spends her days balancing high maintenance tendencies with a desire to keep things simple.
