Planning for a vacation can be overwhelming especially if you are working from a tighter budget. So why not plan a staycation? You get the overall refreshing benefits of a vacation with the added bonus of staying home. No matter where you live a great staycation is right around the corner.

Make a Plan

Planning what you and/or your family would like to do is one of the first steps of planning your staycation. Getting an idea of what you would like to happen during your staycation will help relieve your stress. There are no worries if you don’t get through everything you have planned. It’s your staycation anyway. But having an idea of what you would like to do will keep you from just lounging around in your pjs watching TV or feeling like your staycation was nothing but house work.

Make a Budget

No matter what type of vacation you’re planning make sure you have your budget squared away. Taking the time to relax shouldn’t be clouded with the stress and worry of not knowing how much money you’re actually spending. Your staycation budget should be cheaper than a vacation since you’re not paying for a plane ticket or housing. You can even decide if your budget has room for eating out like a regular vacation or if you’re preparing meals at home.

Make Your Home a Relaxing Getaway

Taking it easy on your staycation starts at home. With the money you’re saving by staying home, you can make your home a relaxing retreat. Any of the tips below can help you instantly make your home staycation ready.

1. Hire a local cleaning service to give your home a hotel clean quality without the stress of doing it yourself.
2. Spruce up your bedroom with flowers, new sheets, a special scent, or even a little mint on the pillow.
3. Create a spa in your bathroom with your favorite essential oils; have crisp, clean towels available; or place fruit slices or cucumber slices in cold water for a spa-like refreshment.
4. Temporarily redecorate parts of the inside of your home to make it feel like a getaway by putting away your rugs, changing out some of your lighting, adding a tapestry, getting a new plant or two, or adding extra pillows and blankets to your favorite reading spot.
5. Add a little extra flair to your outdoor space with new comfy outdoor chairs, hanging up string lights, hanging a hammock, or putting up an outdoor umbrella.
6. Split up room services responsibilities with your family so everyone gets a little bit of the luxury of having food delivered to their rooms.

Explore Local Sites and Attractions

Make the most out of where you live by playing tourist. It’s easy to forget about all of the amazing attractions and sites nearby when you are familiar with the area. Whether you’re one of the lucky few who live in one of the new homes in League City along the Texas coast or you’re one of many who live in a high rise in New York City on the east coast, there is always something for you to check out.

• Experience the animals at a nearby zoo or wildlife sanctuary.
• Walk through your area’s history at local museums, historical markers, or historical walking trails.
• Enjoy the thrill of any amusement park.
• Head over to the boardwalk for a day of fun and rides if one is in your area.
• Spend the day exploring the beauty of any nearby national or state parks.
• Stroll through your local historic district for unique shopping and dining.
• Get outside and try one of the many walking and biking trails in your area.

Try a New Experience

Your staycation is a great time to try a new experience. Take a cooking class to improve your cooking. Explore parts of your city that you’ve been meaning to checkout. Enjoy a day at the spa. Watch a couple of movies at the movie theater while others are working. Camp in your own backyard. Try out something you’ve been meaning to try but haven’t had the time to do.

Buy a Souvenir

When you leave town on vacation, you usually buy at least one souvenir as a reminder. Why not extend that to your staycation? You can make it something that you plan to use the entire staycation or from one of the places around town you explored. The best part is you don’t have to make it fit in your suitcase.

Unplug or Do a Digital Detox

Use your staycation to unplug from the digital world. It’s a good time to take a break from obsessively checking and responding to emails or keeping up-to-date with your social media. You can even put an out of office reminder on your email! Email and social media will be there when you get back from your staycation. Ultimately, it’s up to you for how much you can and want to unplug.

Are You Ready to Start Planning Your Staycation?

Use this increasingly popular way to get away from it all to relax at home. You can put the world on hold for however long your staycation may be. Best of all, you can do it all on a budget. Now is the time to start planning your staycation.