Love, Darcy – Family Staycation

If the Economy has got you down, plan a Family Staycation this summer.

1. Choose a week that you designate as the Family Staycation week. Take time off from work and your normal routines.
2. Create a hotel type experience at home where kids don’t have to make their beds and Mom doesn’t have to cook if she doesn’t feel like it.
3. Go out to eat a few times or use some of those fast food coupons that come in the mail and treat yourselves to take-out.
4. Create your own family reality show. Videotape a day of Staycation at your house, with a little humor and drama added in. After editing the footage, post it on Facebook so your friends and extended family can feel like they joined you for a day of your family vacation.
5. Make a list of all the things tourists like to do or see when they visit your town. As a family, choose a couple new activities or sights that you can enjoy.
6. Make it movie night every night and let each person have a turn choosing a movie for the family.
7. Spend lazy days by the pool or on the porch with a good book.
8. If you haven’t already, come up with a family mission statement. If you have an artist in the family, make a family coat of arms.
9. Have a bonfire where everyone goes around the circle and says three nice things about each member of the family. (No fire? No problem. Go around the table) Have someone record the comments and put them on the fridge.
10. When your Family Staycation is over, re-commit to making family fun a summer priority and get ready to re-enter the real world, refreshed and enriched.

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