10 “Staycation” Ideas from O-Mama.com
With times a little tough for many families, the thought of a big family vacation may just be a dream this summer. But the mamas at O-Mama.com have come up with 10 fun stay home (or close to home) ideas that won’t break the bank and still allow families to spend quality time together. You might even have MORE fun since you don’t have to deal with packing, long car rides, delayed flights and all those things.
O-MAMA.com (Opinionated MAMA) is a new website that engages moms in the bigger issues by making them relevant to their daily lives and empowers moms to be a constructive voice in our nation’s most important conversations. Recently Walmart asked O-Mama to share their staycation ideas and this is what they offered in a press release.
FIRST, the Ground Rules: no phone zone; buy themed paper products and get into a staycation state of mind.
SECOND, Pick your theme:
1. Breakfast in Bed
• sleep in; stay in your jammies; watch cartoons; have the kids make you breakfast in bed, relax…
2. Backyard Campout
• pitch a tent, roast marshmallows, make s’mores
• send the kids on a bug hunt, make nature bracelets out of inside out masking tape…have them stick all their treasure on it
• create a scavenger hunt or have a family yard project ready to go
• get out the sleeping bags and make it a no electronics zone for the night…watch the stars, make shadow puppets with flashlights, play flashlight tag, giggle and tell stories in the dark
3. Hawaiian Hideaway
• get out your beach chairs and water weenies, blow up water balloons, set up the slip ‘n slide, baby pool or just turn on the sprinklers
• play Beach Boys music and blow up beach balls to kick around
• play some family volleyball or good old fashioned “keep away”
• make pineapple juice drinks and cut up tropical fruit for fresh fruit kabobs
• roll out some beach mats/towels and eat on the ground luau style…the kids will love it
• wear your favorite wrap or Hawaiian shirt and feel the island attitude take you away
4. Beach Blanket Bingo
• pack your beach bag and take a short drive to the nearest body of water…river, lake or ocean…skip some stones or take a walk
• fly a kite, splash around or just toss a football
• roast some hotdogs and marshmallows
• watch the sunset
5. Old Fashioned Backyard Barbeque
• squeeze some lemonade and put some beer on ice; use mason jars
• bbq anything you want…from burgers to bananas…crack open a watermelon for dessert
• set the stage with a red checked table cloth
• play horse shoes and/or croquet
• spin stories, strum a guitar and enjoy the talk around the table
6. Mexican Fiesta
• make margaritas and say fiesta!
• make some homemade guacamole with the kids…have them roll up whatever they want in a tortilla
• stuff a piñata with goodie and have the kids go at it
• paint some pottery or have your own hat dance (turn on the music and have the kids do a silly samba…turn off the music and have them “freeze”)
7. Nights on Broadway
• get a sitter for the kids
• pack your fancy duds and go into the nearest big city for the night
• see a show (not a movie, but a show in a real theater…Broadway show, off Broadway, local theater, whatever) and go out to a nice dinner
8. Movie night
• set up a big screen in the back yard and have the kids grab their sleeping bags and pillows (a plain white sheet on a wall or fence will do the trick, too…if you want to get fancy, you can rent an inflatable screen)
• order pizzas, make some popcorn and open the soda…fun!
9. Game night
• pick a night, pick a game…and have some family fun
10. Sports Center
• oh yes, your husband and your son will be SO EXCITED…sports all day
• start with sports themed paper products at breakfast, make baseball/football shaped pancakes
• have some family competition…pick your favorite sports and have a tournament…set up brackets and the whole deal
• make jerseys and GO TEAM GO!
THIRD, GO HAVE FUN!!!
O-MAMA also posted this question to its 10,000+ fans on Facebook and here’s what they had to say…
Elizabeth D. – We take the tram to the airport, watch the planes take off and talk about where people are going. Then we take a shuttle to an airport hotel with a pool and free Continental breakfast. $100 for a family vacation, and kids think they are in heaven! After, all the hotel pool IS the vacation!
Racheal M. – we live next to a 200 acre chunk of land (untouched!)… and we never have to travel far for some good ol’ fashioned camping and hiking! But if your kids are really young, you can do the same thing right in the back yard and they’ll love it just as much!
Grace M. One of my fav’s is to go camping in the yard. We, me included- or especially me- get prizes for each day we stay out of the house entirely- except of course for the potty. Another is to list all the activities that are near by- pick one each day and do that- It’s surprising the number of things that are local that we just don’t get to because …
Windy S. we rented a hotel room….five minutes from home lol, but hey it could have been anywhere. my son had a blast and we tried a new restaurant.
Peggy T. We become members of the local kids science museum every year. Then you can get into kids science museum free pretty much anywhere in the country so we drive to the ones in our area. We are also lucky to live near the beach and DC so we take day trips there.
Noelle N. Like Peggy, we live in the DC/Baltimore area so stay-cations are super easy. We also live close to the Eastern Shore so we are right in the middle of some of the best things! But Windy, that is a rockin’ idea! Never thought of that. Thinkin’ a nice Annapolis hotel and some fun historical touring may be on the agenda!
Kathy W. We’re lucky we live in a city with so many urban lakeside beaches! And check your local library schedule for special events like a petting zoo or kids’ pizza party. Ask yourself, what do tourists do, when they come to my town. Do you ever do any of them? Like your city or county history museum or art museum?
Donna J. We take “virtual” field trips. One is starting in a little while for Bryce Canyon (sponsored by the national parks). Here is the virtual field trip link: http://nationalparks.org/npf-at-work/our-programs/electronic-field-trip/
About the O-Mamas:
Michelle Tingler, a Democrat and former advertising executive, and Debbie Devine, a Republican and former journalist, good friends and busy moms who were inspired by their real-life “kitchen table talk” to create an online resource for news and events from a mom’s perspective.
Featured in REDBOOK magazine, Oprah Radio’s Dr. Laura Berman Show, The Orange County Register, The Chicago Tribune, Coast Magazine, OC Family.com, Raising Arizona Kids and several other blogs and websites, Michelle and Debbie founded O-MAMA.com on the belief that moms can be a constructive voice in the national dialogue by talking politics politely in a civilized forum and applying common sense principles honed in motherhood to get to the heart of the issues that matter most to our families and our country.
ABOUT O-MAMA
O-MAMA.com–short for Opinionated MAMA–is a new resource for news and events from a mom’s perspective founded on the belief that moms can be a constructive voice in the national dialogue by applying common sense principles honed in motherhood to get to the heart of the issues that matter most to our kids and our country. Putting parenting lessons in the context of the bigger issues of the day not only makes the site relevant and meaningful on a broad scale, but positions America’s moms as a critical voice missing from our country’s most important conversations.
What began in 2008 as a conversation amongst friends has grown into a nationwide forum for ALL moms to make the connection between the messages the news of the day and the lessons we are teaching our kids at home everyday at O-MAMA.com (Opinionated MAMA), a website and resource for news and events from a mom’s perspective. Moms from Maine to California have identified O-MAMA as a destination where they can effectively and constructively use their collective skills honed in motherhood to find common ground on the tough issues and create real change in their homes and communities and for our country .
“Kitchen Table Talk” videos on the site cover a range of topics from guns to gay marriage, health care to terrorism–with a little humor and a lot of common sense. “Interest groups” for moms of every kind, plus chat rooms on all the “hot button” issues of the day encourage America’s moms to give a fresh alternative to the often tiresome talking heads across the cable networks. It’s all there on O-MAMA.com, empowering moms and ensuring that CHANGE BEGINS AT HOME.
Registration is free and every opinion counts!
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