How to Plan a Perfect Staycation at Home

Since the beginning of the pandemic, many teachers have been forced into something most of them never practiced before – remote work.

It took a while for educators around the world to figure out, how to make distance learning work for their students, and they had to put all their effort into it. They were required to stay present and be available around the clock, and to pay even more attention to each student and sometimes even tutor them.

Naturally, it all took a toll on the mental health of the educators around the globe, and you have probably already experienced it yourself.

Burnout can be dangerous for educators, as it has long-term detrimental effects.

According to the study published by the Association of California School Administrators, nurses and educators are at the highest risk of burnout, and it eventually can change their brain.

The research claims that long-term stress caused by burnout can even change the neural circuits in the brain. As a result, it gets harder for teachers to handle stressful situations. And for educators, whose job requires them to be stress-resistant, burnout can negatively affect their career.

Now, as for most of us, the academic year is already over, now is the time when we could finally get some time off, relax, and take care of our mental and physical health.

Unfortunately, the global pandemic has ruined the vacation plans and we had to give up our perfect vacation plans because of current travel restrictions.

However, it doesn’t mean that you cannot arrange a perfect staycation at home.

Here are some suggestions, what you can relax and unwind at home together with your family.

1. Analyze Your Staycation Budget

Of course, this vacation will be different from the ones that you usually take. And there’s a good part in it – you can save up a lot of money compared to what you have always spent on a vacation.

But because you’re staying home doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t spend money on experiences that you can get while at your house.

So, sit down with your family and discuss, what you would like to do while vacationing together. Create a list of experiences for your entire family and browse the Internet to see the prices for each of them.

Don’t be stingy. The pandemic has created a perfect opportunity for all of us to create memorable moments together with your family, so don’t be afraid to spend money on experiences that will turn into good memories.

2. Include Regular Family Evening Activities

You can start the list of staycation experiences with a list of evening activities for the entire family.

Here are a few ideas that might work for you:

1) Garden movie nights

Many streaming services have introduced discounts to their users during the pandemic. You can take advantage of that and start regular garden movie nights with your family.

The only things you will need for this experience are speakers (which you probably already have) and a movie projector that costs about $200 on average.

The image can be cast on a white sheet attached to a wall or a white wall. And, of course, you will need some popcorn and snacks for an ultimate garden movie experience.

2) Board game competitions

This is another way how to spend evenings with your family and keep everyone occupied.

Board game activities can help educators treat burnout. According to Elena Touroni, a psychologist and founder of the Chelsea Psychology Clinic in London, such activities switch your focus off the primary stress factor, calm down your mind and body.

Board game activities also help bring your family together in a joint effort. Thus, you create a great opportunity for your family to work as a team and create great memories together.

So, when planning your staycation budget, browse Amazon with your family to find board games that fit your taste.

3) Video game contests

Your kids will definitely like this activity, and you should too because video games have the same positive effect as board game activities.

So, if your kids have been asking you forever to buy PlayStation or Xbox, now might be the time, given that it’s within your budget, of course.

4) Cook-off competitions

Another activity that can not only encourage your family to work as a team but also improve your kids’ cooking skills is a family cook-off.

You can invite your family to draw lots and cook the recipe that they picked or get inspiration from the Internet.

For instance, BuzzFeed Tasty often uploads videos, where a chef compares recipes from celebrities:

‘Which Celebrity Has The Best Nacho Recipe?’

Your family can separate into teams, recreate these recipes, and challenge Tasty’s decision about which celebrity’s recipe is the best.

5) Family newsletter activities

How can you make the memories of your staycation last for a long time?

You can create a family newsletter, in which your family members will share their most memorable moments from the staycation.

For this activity, you can create a handmade newspaper, a website, or even a social media page, where your family can upload Stories and share photos with short captions.

You can assign your family members to different family newspaper responsibilities. They can even work in teams like a ‘write my paper’ team, design team, photography team, or editing team.

As a result, you will get something similar to the newspaper chronicles, which will store all the memories from your staycation with your family.

6) Weekly museum nights

During the quarantine, many museums around the world introduced virtual tours, which you can still take advantage of now.

For instance, the Louvre Museum in Paris has many virtual tours, from the Ancient Egypt section to different art exhibitions. You can even make a museum tour a part of your evening movie night, watch an express Louvre tour on YouTube and even see Mona Lisa without having to visit the museum:

This activity allows you to learn about art and history in the safety of your own home and is a great experience for your entire family.

3. Plan a Family Getaway

Indeed, you can only stay in your house for so long, and eventually, you and your family will want to get out and spend time together elsewhere.

Staying at home for too long can also worsen the effects of stress and burnout, and you will need to change your environment at least for some time to get a good rest. 

Although the COVID-19 restrictions are still in effect, it doesn’t mean that you cannot leave your house for vacation, as long as you stick to all the rules and requirements.

You can still rent an Airbnb since it has strict rules for the hosts about disinfecting the houses and providing a safe experience for their guests.

So, it is possible for you to pick a destination near the sea, forest, or mountains, and rent an Airbnb for your entire family to spend some time there.

However, if you are too concerned about your safety, you can still get out together with your family and go on a one-day hike. Just make sure that you avoid crowded spaces, and if you can’t, wear a mask and follow other social distancing rules.

Over to You

Educators are among those people who deserve vacation now more than anyone else. This has been a stressful year for all of us, and, to avoid burnout, we all need a good rest.

But because the world is still in the firm grip of the pandemic doesn’t mean that you cannot have the vacation of your dreams.

So, plan your budget and try the activities that we offered you to have a great time with your family and create some memorable moments together.

Stay safe!

Nicole Garrison is a blogger and professional dissertation writer. In addition to this, she has also launched her own blog, LiveInspiredMagazine. Nicole believes the key to being an effective writer is to always conduct proper research.