staycation-related stories
Little Girl Fashion, Bickering Kids, and More - Links We Love
Playground Bureau, Fashion & Clothing
Kids are dressing better than their parents. Photo: sxc.hu
Remember that summertime favorite, Magic Shell? You pour it on ice cream and it instantly hardens, making that treat even sweeter. Now you can make your own at home -- and maybe even share a little with the kids. -- Alpha Mom
Do you dress your little girl in the latest fashions ... only to slip yourself into yoga pants and sneakers? One blogger asks mom to to take a closer look at why we put so much energy into dressing our daughters, but not ourselves. -- Babble
Summer's long days make it difficult to stick to the school day sleep schedule, but kids still need a good night's sleep. Find out if your child is catching enough zzzz's at BabyCenter.
Mira Sorvino and husband Backus welcome a son, Holden Paul Terry, their third child. -- Celebrity Baby Blog
Do you post your vacation plans on Twitter or Facebook? One Arizona man learned the hard way that not all followers are friends -- he got robbed. Is it safe to Tweet your trip away? -- MomLogic
Young kids notice everything, and they aren't afraid to point out what they see. But when a child starts pointing out personal info, like "You've got a big butt," where do you draw the line? -- Divine Caroline
We're halfway through the summer -- have you pulled out your copy of "Siblings Without Rivalry" yet? Risa Green is ready to. How do you handle bickering kids? -- Mommy Track'd
Staycations - Last Year's News?
.jpg)
Here's what I learned last summer: Trying to have a vacation at home is like trying to eat a healthy salad with a hot fudge sundae stuck in the middle of it. What I mean to say is that vacations are for getting away. They're for escaping, for avoiding responsibility. You can't actually do any of that unless you find someone to feed the cat, then pack your bag and leave your life behind for a few days.
When I wrote about staycations for ParentDish last year, I got a call from a producer at "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." I think they thought I was some sort of staycation expert, and they wanted to interview me for a skit. Not because they were impressed by my helpful tips, mind you, but because they wanted to make fun of me. I didn't get to go -- because I'm not an expert on anything, let alone staycations -- but they did still manage to poke fun at the idea, though they had their own word for it: holistay.
The Great Thanksgiving Staycation - Five Family Outings
Sometimes, family time means sitting together working on a project. And sometimes it means getting out and trying something new. If you're hanging around home this Thanksgiving, here are five free or low-cost outings to enjoy together:
Sick of the staycation?
Money & Work, Relatives, Fun & Activities, Places To Go, Life & Style, That's Entertainment, Chores
Chances are, if you weren't saving money hiding under a rock this summer you heard, perhaps one time too many, about the values and virtues of the 'staycation.' A staycation is exactly what it sounds like--a 'vacation' where you and your family stay at home. And, more often than not, a staycation is also how it sounds--boring!
Americans spent a lot of time watching the Dow plummet and the prices of gas jump through the roof. Just because they're back down to $3.69 a gallon does not mean things are going well. Still, many families got too stir crazy to sit around their houses all summer. Just try keeping the kids in the house during summer vacation, when they're supposed to not have to worry about anything but having fun and enjoying the long days and nights that make it great to be a kid. Sure, you don't have to travel to enjoy those things, but it does help to get out of the house. After all, the house is generally filled with chores and the projects no one ever gets around to because they're hard or boring or both.
In direct response to the staycation, I know a lot of families who did their best to get the heck out of dodge. They became very creative when it came to outings and spending. In fact, some of them had the trips of their lives. they visited parks. They saw relatives. They engaged in discovering places that were within a three- to five-hour drive from home. And, of course, during all of this they spent quality time together. Some of them said to heck with it and took the longer trips anyway, visiting foreign lands or at the very least, Florida. They were clearly tired of hearing about the merits of the staycation.
What did you do? Did you say to heck with it all and packed the kids in the car for that Griswold family vacation anyway, or did you suck it up, stay at home and watch the paint dry?
Pic by Manchester Library.
Fake vacations -- the new staycation
Money & Work, Fun & Activities
So you've decided to stay home this summer to save money and have embraced this year's hottest buzzword -- the staycation. Just how far are you willing to go to make your staycation vacation-like, though? Pitching a tent in the backyard? Buying some marshmallows? How about revamping your home to look like a hotel room? Or sending your friends postcards from the places you, well, aren't going? That's exactly how some people are taking their staycation to the next level, according to the Wall Street Journal. One guy has even made a business out of creating a hotel-like atmosphere for people who can't leave their own home. Another woman is planning an entire Japanese-themed vacation, without leaving her city, and that includes trying to trick her friends by mailing them Japanese-themed postcards.
If you're staying home this summer, how far will you take your staycation? The family who pitched a tent in their living room definitely created memories for their kids, but as far as paying someone to make me feel like I'm on vacation...? I don't know. I think a better plan would be to take that money and stick it in next year's vacation fund. What do you think?
Make your staycation a fair-cation
Fun & Activities, Places To Go, Holidays
A lot of people are choosing to skip the traditional summer vacation -- thanks to the cost of gasoline being nearly five dollars a gallon -- and instead are staying close to home -- a staycation. One Before we had kids, my wife and I went to a lot of local fairs around the Northwestern US and hit the California state fair on a regular basis. There is always a lot to do and see at state and county fairs, including plenty of interesting exhibits and great music. I love hearing new musical groups that I might not have heard anywhere else. The Breeders' World website maintains a list of fairs around the country and it looks like almost every state is represented. A quick search on the internet, however, will likely turn up fairs in your area, even if you don't see any listed at Breeders' World.
So pack up the kids and head on over to the fair this summer for a good time close to home. And if you hear any great new bands, be sure to let me know!
Update: Thanks to reader Julie for pointing out that this particular Austin is in Minnesota, not Texas!
Are gas prices keeping you home this summer?
Money & Work, Fun & Activities, Holidays
Because we don't like to deal with the traffic and because our town has an enormous fireworks display, we usually stick around town during the Fourth. We noticed, though, that a lot of other people stayed home last weekend, too. Our normal haunts, which typically would have been somewhat busy, were overwhelmingly crowded. In a state notorious for its northbound traffic on summer weekends, it seems like a lot of people decided to stay put instead.On Friday, I canceled an upcoming camping trip due to a conflicting obligation. The woman on the other end of the phone sighed. "Can you please tell me," she asked, "Is it because of the gas prices? Because you're the fourth cancellation this morning and we're starting to keep track."
Though it's painful every time I have to fill up our gas tank, I can't really say that the gas prices have slowed us down that much this summer. But after this weekend, I'm starting to wonder if people are staying home to save money. We've talked about staycations before at ParentDish, and we're talked about them again this week. So I'm curious what other families have to say. Are gas prices keeping you home this summer?
DailyDish: Be a tourist in your own city
Fun & Activities, Places To Go
DailyDish: Turn your backyard into a water park
DailyDish: Turn off your cell phone
Fun & Activities, Life & Style, Gadgets & Tech, Home Remedies, Resources
Turn off your cell phone.
Can't afford a vacation? Try a staycation instead!
Money & Work, Fun & Activities
When I was a struggling college student, I could put two dollars into my gas tank and drive my car for a week. Two dollars today wouldn't get us much farther than the nearest expressway. Families everywhere are grounding their summer travel plans either in protest of the quickly inflating gas prices or because they just can't afford to go anywhere.Postponing your summer travel plans doesn't have to be a major disappointment. Just think of the silver lining -- no kids arguing in the backseat, no fighting your spouse for control over the air conditioning, no waking up in a tent in the middle of the forest realizing how much you miss your own bed. Instead of a vacation, plan a family staycation instead.
