When travel and lodging are cost prohibitive, you can still
have a vacation right at home. Yes, in your own backyard. Many
of us live within reasonable distance to museums, campgrounds,
historic sites, and beautiful state parks. You might be
surprised at what you find in your own local area.

Do some research in your area to find free or low cost
activities and sites to visit. Schedule something for each day
of the week, even if it's just a park visit for a picnic. Some
areas have local public beaches. Plan an outing at a local
public beach. Visit historical sites. Many of these are free,
educational, and fun for parents and kids.

You can even plan activities at home just as if you were at an
exotic vacation spot. Have a different theme for each day. For
example:

1. Beach day - sun tanning, volley ball, make some fancy icy
drinks to sip on in the sun, have a picnic.

2. Camp day - stay in a tent or sleeping bags under the stars,
build a little fire if allowed in your area, roast
marshmallows, make smores, sing campfire songs.

3. Have a backyard fair - create booths with games like ring
toss or balloon popping to win little prizes.

4. Colonial day - dress, and live in another era!. This is
great fun. I thought of this one purely by accident when the
electricity went out one day. The kids expressed how "neat' it
was to live like they did in the "old days." No lighting
except candles and lanterns, no T.V. or radio, no video games
or computer. Sounds boring, but believe it or not, they had fun
coming up with ideas to keep occupied. A good teaching tool
too! Shhhhhhhh….. don't tell the kids.

5. Cultural Day - Live, celebrate, dress, and eat as you learn
about different cultures. Some examples might include an
Irish, Native American, or Spanish Day. Another great learning
experience. Try to include some ethnic games to make it even
more fun and interesting.

These "theme days" at home will take some imagination and a
little work, but will be loads of fun for everyone. Half the
fun will be in the creation, so let everyone pitch in. With a
little imagination and creativity you can have a wonderful
vacation right in your own backyard. You may even have more fun
than actually being in another part of the world!


About The Author: Cheryl Johnson is a mother of four on a
mission to become debt free. As publisher of Simple Debt Free
Living at http://www.SimpleDebtFreeLiving.com she hopes to
guide and encourage others to become debt free. Budget, manage
debt, and save money everyday to become debt free!

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