Best Staycations Just For Kids Episode 350

What are the best staycations for kids? Well, glad you asked! My twelve-year-old granddaughter wrote an article here about Staycations For Kids! I can’t wait to share with you some of her ideas, her reasons for staycations – and some kid-friendly ideas. If you want to read her blog post it is here.

As I shared in my two other podcasts on this topic, why take a staycation and how to plan for a staycation, it is so much less stressful to plan to vacation around your own zip code. It obviously can be cheaper but you can use that money to buy some play equipment like a trampoline or perhaps a slip and slide. It doesn’t need to be extravagant.

Kids love to have a good time and if we (parents) are in a good frame of mind the vacation will go much better. I remember traveling to Virginia for a trip to DC to see the Smithsonian Museums, Williamsburg and then up to the mountains on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We had children five children, four months to nineteen with us. The trip was costly, my husband lost ten days of work (he is self-employed but lost a big contract with another builder because his crew messed up something in his absence), and I was exhausted when I got home. We did have a good time and the sights were amazing, but for use, it was a once-in-a-lifetime-with-all-the-kids visit.

The great thing is you don’t have to do this all at once – you staycations can happen all year long, so be sure to take out the calendar an plan it!

So, what are some of my favorite summer staycations for kids? My grandaughter’s list included:

• The Zoo with some fun ideas such as play games.
• Visits to the Museum – with a game such as a treasure hunt looking for specific things
• Camp-In complete with camping “foods” and games.
• The beach or park
• Family Sports Team – weekly

Our family has hosted staycations for years. Best Staycations For Kids Include:

1. Theme parks state resident passes
2. Camping – we were able to camp near home on a waterway that was inexpensive
3. Parks
4. Night events (it’s cooler)
5. Marathon movies at home w/ snacks and popcorn
6. Canoe/kayak
7. Guided boat trips – backwater to see water life, manatees, dolphins, etc.

Best Staycations For Kids – Day Trips.

What is nearby that you can visit in a day and come back home? Around my area there is:

• Theme parks
• Historical Museums
• Thomas Edison’s Winter Home
• Henry Ford’s Winter Home
• Native People (Indians) Mounds and Digs
• Shell Museum (2)
• An Island – (2)
• Baseball Stadiums (2)
• Beaches
• Jet skis
• Parasailing
• Ice Skating
• Alligator Farm
• Airboat Rides
• Nature trails
• Nature Museums
• Ding Darling Nature Preserve
• Planetarium
• Campground

What is in your area? Have you really thought about it and planned out a vacation? If we wanted to do all of the things on my list we would not have enough weekend time.

Have you looked at online resources? Did you know you can find the following online?

• Smithsonian exhibits: (Here – https://www.si.edu/learn-explore)
• Visit the globe – Google Earth: https://www.google.com/earth/
• Live Cams of Animals: https://explore.org/livecams
• Space Station/ NASA: https://nasa.gov
• Presidential Information: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
• Whitehouse: https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/the-white-house/

Helpful Advice For The Best Staycations For Kids:

• Budget your time. Be sure to have snacks on hand, plenty of water, and time out for lunch.
• Naptimes – consider this when planning a staycation.
• These are the best and you can go back home at night.
• Kids love to touch things so for little ones be sure the exhibits are things they can touch
• Let the kids take pictures.
• Have a plan. Whether it is time for a packed lunch or time allotted for the visit.
• Check the weather a few days ahead and make alternative plans if the weather is bad.
• Create memory books of the places you visited or things you did.