How to Have a Fun Weekend Staycation at Home With Kids

A Family Staycation

A camping staycation with kids is a great way to spend some quality time together without spending a lot of money on going on vacation somewhere. As long as you have lots of good food and plenty of things for the kids to do, you should be in for some really fun times.

Below are suggestions for games, activities, crafts, and more—all centered around a camping theme. This is a wonderful way to put those cell phones away and really experience some family bonding time.

Getting Kids Ready for a Staycation

The night before your staycation begins you can start to build up the excitement with your kids by letting them pack their own suitcase, duffle bag, or backpack. Let them pick out their own clothes and don't forget the pajamas.

Also have your kids pack a few of their favorite toys and books. There will be times when you may have to leave your kids to do something such as getting food ready, so this is where their toys and books can come in handy to keep them busy.

Camping Crafts for Kids

An enjoyable pastime for kids is making crafts as it's fun and creative and also gives them something to keep when they're finished. You can take some simple things you find outside and turn them into craft projects.

• Leaves can be great for crafts. Get a variety of different shapes and sizes of leaves, a poster board and some paint and have kids paint the leaves, then press them onto the poster board just like they would press on a handprint. When finished, they'll have a colorful leave collage.
• Another leaf craft idea is to make a leaf person (as shown above.) Give each child a craft stick and let them use a crayon to color the stick. Next, glue the leaf to the top of the stick. To finish, glue on googly eyes and add a smile.
• Rocks can also make for a fun craft. Let kids paint some rocks however they like. Just have a variety of colored paints available. Also have some googly eyes for the rocks in case they want to paint some kind of creature.

Staycation Games for Kids

Have some games on hand for everyone to play. I suggest that some of them be sit down games while others will have the kids up and active.

If your family enjoys playing bingo, you can print out some free camping bingo cards online. You can also play some card games like go fish. It's good to also have some board games handy. A particular favorite in our family when the kids were young was Hedbanz.

More active games to play would be charades, I spy, Simons says, ring toss, horseshoes and tug-a-war. You might also consider a game of Twister.

Indoor Camping Food

As breakfast has already been served, you only have lunch and dinner to worry about on the first day. I suggest keeping lunch simple such as sandwiches and fresh fruit. However, for dinner serve some traditional camping food.

Ideas for dinner include hot dogs, chili, franks and beans, potato salad, hamburgers, and cornbread, to name a few. Of course you'll want dessert, and s'mores is the ideal dessert. Don't worry if you can't make them over a campfire, a microwave will do the trick.

Microwave S'mores

You can let kids put together their own s'mores. Give each one a graham cracker to start with. Next, a block of chocolate and on top of that, one large marshmallow.

At this point have an adult take over and put a s'more on a microwave-safe plate and cook it on high in your microwave for 15 seconds.

Check it and if it needs more time, try it in five-second increments until everything is nicely melted. Once ready, add another graham cracker on top and now you have a delicious dessert!

Camping Breakfast

In the morning, plan on a nice breakfast. If you want to keep it simple, you could just make some pancakes. Otherwise, you might also want to toss in some eggs and sausages.

Camping Activities for Kids

If the weather permits, get kids outside for some fun activities. Have a plastic ball or a frisbee handy for some interactive play. You can also play some hide and go seek. Another idea is to have an egg and spoon race.

If planning indoor activities, you can read the kids some books. There are some good books out there about camping, but if you don't want to purchase any new books, a trip to your local library should provide all the books you need.

There are lots of online sites that provide free, printable coloring pages so you can print some out, give the kids some crayons, and let them have some coloring fun.

You can also have a family sing-a-long. I suggest teaching your kids some songs in advance so they'll already know the words. Some suggested camping songs include:

• "Camp Granada"
• "On Top of Spaghetti"
• "Wheels on the Bus"
• "We're Going on a Bear Hunt"
• "Ants Go Marching"
• "Hokey Pokey"
• "This Land Is Your Land"
• "B-I-N-G-O"

Nighttime Camping Activities

Unless you have enough room to set up a tent or sleeping area and still have enough room for kids to play, wait until the sun starts to go down to pitch a tent.

If you don't have a tent, then set up some sleeping bags or some kind of bedding for everyone to sleep on. Remember, this area is for the whole family. No sneaking off to your room and your cozy bed!

A creative activity is pass the story. Gather everyone on the floor in a circle. One person begins to tell a story, then the person next to them continues the story followed by the next person. Keep having everyone add to the story until the story seems to have run its course, then finish the story.

Speaking of stories, nighttime is a good time to dim the lights and either turn on a lantern or pass out flashlight to everyone and tell spooky ghost stories.

A great way to unwind for the night is to put on a movie. Perhaps there's a favorite family movie everyone enjoys or you may want to put on a movie about camping. Some ideas include The Parent Trap, Ernest Goes to Camp and Camp Rock.

Ending a Staycation

In the morning after a hearty breakfast it's up to you to decide if you want to end your staycation or continue it for part of the day, the whole day or even another overnighter.

You now have some ideas to create a fun indoor camping experience for the entire family. Use some of the ideas above or your own imagination to create a very memorable family experience that you and your kids will long remember.

© 2023 Janis Masyk-Jackson