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One way to keep family vacation
expenses to a minimum is to stay home instead of heading out of
town. Certainly every vacation is well deserved, and every new
location is an unparalleled chance for the family to learn new
things. But staying home out of necessity or by choice can be a
rewarding chance to finally get acquainted with your home region,
while saving on airfare, gas, and lodging.
How much do you really know about the
place you call home? Instead of feeling as if you are missing out on
something, why not vacation in your home town the way you would in
any other?
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When was the last time you went to
the local museum and did some historical investigation into your
region? Even the tiniest towns have museums.
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Make the past interesting for your
kids by investigating “hauntings” and do your own ghost tour of
your town. The local library can help you find out the hot
spots. Take out a few books and read the legends while you visit
landmarks, cemeteries, etc.
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Go to the cemetery. Kids love a
touch of the morbid, and it’s a great chance to learn more
history together. Take a look at the names on the stones. Use
that library to learn about the families. Are there any famous
people buried? Let the kids hunt around to find their resting
places. Find out how long the cemetery has been there. Go into
more detail with older kids- they’ll want to know who died
young, who was murdered and why, Use the occasion to talk about
your own views and beliefs about death, your family’s
traditions, and so forth. It might be a good chance to listen to
your child’s thoughts, too- his concerns and fears, his
questions, how much he misses Grandpa or Spot. The cemetery is
one of the most important places in every town.
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Go to see the places that tourists
see when they visit your town. Locals often never visit what
others travel miles to see.
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Do some investigating online and
by telephone to arrange free or cheap activities. Chances are,
the whole family can attend a ballgame or other sports event, a
cultural production like a play, and much more for a great
price. Last minute tickets are often easy on the wallet.
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Explore events taking place that
you wouldn’t necessarily participate in. Why attend only your
own church choir or community centre picnic? Support other local
centres and see what they have to offer.
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Plan a few day trips. Pack up a
quick picnic- get the kids involved making sandwiches or chili
with cornbread.
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Go to a park in a neighbouring
town or one you don’t visit often and have your bbq dinner there
instead of in the backyard. Take a badminton set and some
baseball mitts along with you.
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Teach your kids about how the
other half lives. Take a long city walk or a drive and visit
less fortunate communities. Less fortunate neighbourhoods will
have bargain restaurants with home-cooked soul food. Try
something inexpensive or ethnic. Talk to your kids about the
challenges faced by different communities, such as learning
English in a new country, racism, poverty. Highlight triumphs
and joys of those communities, too, and learn more about the
history of your area as you do.
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Following the life lessons and
experiences above, why not volunteer somewhere as a whole
family? Seniors centres, food banks, churches and various
organizations can all use your help, and you’ll meet wonderful
people and teach your kids about life very quickly. They won’t
complain about not making it to Paris this year after feeding
widows and street people or bringing blankets and baby clothes
to pregnant girls who have nowhere to turn. Don’t hide the facts
about life from your children. Of course you don’t have to scare
your toddler by telling them frightening stories about drug
addicts or criminals. But a volunteer shift for your teenage son
at the teen parenting centre might work wonders as an ounce of
prevention. Helping out at a rehab institution can let your
adolescent daughter see first hand why she should avoid peer
pressure to take drugs and alcohol.
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There’s nothing more fun for boys
than cops and robbers. See if your local cop shop, prison, and
detention centres have tours or educational seminars. What kid
doesn’t want to see the inside of a jail? This might help
guarantee it will be the first and last time.
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It’s always fun to visit the rich,
too. Why not go for a nice drive one evening along those winding
roads and ooh and aaah at the mansions and the gardens?
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Visit a farmer’s market. Have the
kids pick out some interesting fruits or vegetables they’ve
never seen before, and later add a colourful salad or grilled
veggie feast to juicy burgers or hot dogs.
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Pick up a wide variety of fruits
at the market and toss them in the blender with some plain
yogurt or pineapple juice. Pour the smoothie blend into popsicle
trays and make healthy fruit freezes to have on hand for those
killer hot days. This is cheaper than boxed ice cream bars and
kids don’t need all that sugar all the time.
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Vacation always means swimming to
kids. So send them to the free community swimming pools whenever
you can.
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Take a day trip to a natural
habitat with a lake and teach young kids some basic life skills-
fishing, making a fire, etc.
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No doubt you have countless
friends and relatives within an hour’s drive whom your family
hasn’t visited or seen in years. Make this the summer to visit
them.
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Teach your kids to garden. Give
them a small plot to practice in. It’s fun to pick out seeds or
plants and muck about in the dirt. It’s so rewarding when the
tomatoes or basil comes up. Growing food is an important skill
that can always benefit your children no matter where they go or
what they do. Flowers are pretty, too.
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No doubt there is a free blues,
jazz or folk music festival nearby that you’ve never gone to.
Get out with the kids, get hot dogs, and listen to some
musicians play their heart out.
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Host a backyard spa for your
daughter and other little girls. There are tons of books or
hints online for making special treats for hair and face and
even cologne or shampoo with inexpensive food ingredients like
cornmeal or cucumbers. Have the little ladies do pedicures for
each other. Help them paint their toenails summery colours.
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Check out a yoga class with the
whole family. Don’t let anyone resist because they’re out of
shape or because yoga isn’t their cup of tea. Everyone can try
it, and it’s good for the body.
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Head to the cinema for a big
screen adventure on cheap night or for a matinee. If it’s too
much to fund the whole family, use the time to bond with one
child when he’s feeling left out because another went to a
birthday party. Even if it was a girls only party or a kid from
his sister’s class he doesn’t know, it can hurt to be left out.
But going to see a superhero movie with Mom is way better!
Use your imagination for a million
local ideas. Comb the local newspapers for events like Strawberry
Fairs, folk festivals, yard sales, bake sales, library movie nights,
book swaps, nature hikes, etc. And then actually do them. Don’t
always stick to what interests you. Trying a lot of different things
will broaden everyone’s horizons, and it will help your kids find
and develop their hobbies and interests. |
