Staycations: Enjoying the Best in Your Town

Want a stress-free and inexpensive vacation? Want to eliminate packing, airport security lines, 10-hour drives, and pricey hotels? Want to relax and do exactly as you please, rather than what a tour guide has outlined? Stay home! Try a staycation.

 We usually think of vacation in terms of travel. The two words aren’t necessarily synonymous. A staycation is a period of time in which a couple or an individual participates in a variety of activities nearby or at home.

 While gas prices have dropped dramatically (hooray!), making travel by car much less expensive than in the past, airline ticket prices have not followed suit because demand is still high. And transportation costs are only part of a travel vacation. The price of hotels, meals, a rental car (if needed), and tickets to venues and entertainment all add up. So does all the time and energy that it takes to get from your home to a destination.

 A staycation isn’t just about staying home and going about your usual routine and activities. Rather, it is about a change of pace and scenery. By exploring your local area and “acting like a tourist,” splurging a bit with the money saved from hotel costs on dining at a great restaurant, or purchasing good seats for a concert or play, a staycation allows you to pamper yourself and try something new.

Exploring Your Environs

Whether your have lived in your area six months or sixty years, there are some interesting places you likely haven’t been to recently or even ever. Then, too, new museums, art galleries, restaurants get built, or older venues get renovated. Every museum periodically offers new displays, art galleries display different artists, and musical groups present new programs. While we lived in New York City for the past two years, my husband and I religiously explored the Big Apple and surrounding areas. We haven’t been as diligent about discovering more about our home town. For example, although I had taken my children to the old Natural History Museum years ago, I have not yet been to the new Natural History Musem on the east bench of Salt Lake City. I’d like to take a gallery stroll in downtown Salt Lake City or on Park City’s Main Street.

Check out a guide book to your city or area from the library, read in your local newspaper, or look on the Internet for local venues, events, and activities. Ask your friends what they have enjoyed.

Splurging a Little

With the savings you garner by “going local,” you can afford to splurge a little on your staycation. While your everyday budget likely won’t allow you to dine at ritzy restaurants frequently, during your staycation, you can make a reservation at least once for a really nice dinner. You don’t need to eat out three meals a day. Perhaps one day you could eat breakfast away from home and another day lunch, and other days, dinner.

 Going to a live musical or theater production, such as Broadway touring groups, can be expensive, but think of what you would spend flying to New York, staying in the city, and buying tickets for Times Square theaters. If you like sporting events, splurge a little and get better seats than you usually do, or go to more than one game during your staycation.

Pampering Yourself

Since one of the points of any vacation is for renewal and relaxation, think of ways to pamper yourself, just as if you were staying at a 5-star hotel or sailing on a cruise ship. Here are some ideas:

·      Get a massage. You might even have a massage therapist come to your home.

·      Go to a spa and get a facial or have your nails done.

·      Turn your bathroom into an aromatherapy spa by buying essential oils in an appealing scent and take a long, hot, rejuvenating bath. After your bath, apply soothing lotion. Consider buying a plush white terry robe.

·      Get new sheets for your bed that are a high-count Egyptian cotton set (much less money than a night’s stay at any hotel/motel.

·      Have dinner delivered one or more nights.

·      Stock up on books or movies you’ve been anticipating, and don’t let the phone interrupt you.

Trying Something New

What’s a vacation if you don’t experience something new? Maybe you’ve never been to a hockey game or eaten a fondue dinner or gone on an alpine slide. Think outside your usual box. If you aren’t enamored of this new activity or place, you don’t have to go back. Yet you may discover something new that you really enjoy and will want to do again.

It’s not just the doing or the experiencing that will make a staycation worthwhile and memorable. It’s how you approach each day with an attitude of giving yourself permission to kick back and relax at home, talking and laughing with your spouse or friend, and finding enjoyment in whatever you have chosen.

Your self-designed staycation may be one of the best vacations you have ever had.

 By Janet Peterson