Summer Staycation Time!
Admit it. You’re tired of seeing beach photos on Instagram that you didn’t take. If you see one more family posed on the scenic overlook in front of a mountain range in your Facebook feed, you might not be able to stifle a scream. You’re home for the summer, in a place that feels a lot like South Dakota (and not the Badlands and Mount Rushmore side of it), and even that one poet you know took a whole month for a cross-country trip with her family.
You deserve a vacation. And we say you should grant it to yourself. Only don’t leave home. Take the tried and true (so much so that the English language allowed us to make up a word for it) summer staycation.
We have ten great tips to make the most of your summer staycation. Post that on your Instagram, baby.
1. Let Them Eat Berries
Treat yourself to berries. Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. Whatever berry you might love to have but tend to pass by in the grocery store.
2. Summer Up a Book
Spend time with a creativity book like Spin or The Artist’s Way. Remember to bring along crayons, colored pencils, or markers, to summer up the pages.
3. Go to the Bahamas in a Haiku
What travel destination are you pining for? Try reading up on it and putting the details in some “dream haiku.”
4. Let the Little Trees Make You Happy
Buy an exotic dwarf fruit tree for your porch or deck. Lemon, lime, pomegranate, fig. It’s less than the cost of a nice dinner out for two.
5. Plant Wishes
Plant a small wish garden in a color that represents your wish.
6. Read Like You’re 12 Years Old
Get offline early in the evenings and spend the time reading the best ever children’s books and young adult books.
7. Get Into Something
Choose an intriguing topic to get into for a few weeks. Order a stack of library books or movies on the subject and maybe make a playlist. Summer themes are obvious choices: roses, kayaking, wild edibles, fishing. Or try a historical theme: Romantics, Medieval times, Victorian Age.
8. Get Wet
Play with water. Take a large basin filled with water out to your porch or deck. Bring various spoons, bowls, bottles—as well as things to make boats with, like paper, plastic, foil, and popsicle sticks.
9. Eat Breakfast
Make yourself a special breakfast of french toast or pancakes and serve it on the fine china. Remember the silver and a linen napkin if you have those lurking about the house.
10. Take a Walk on the Wild(flower) Side
Go on a wildflower walk and cut some blooms to bring home. Or just make it a point to actually cut some of the flowers growing on your property, and put them in a place where they’ll unexpectedly make you smile.
Got other ideas for a great summer staycation? We’d love to hear them in the comment box. And we sincerely hope you’ll be eating berries while you type.
Photo by Nana B Agyei. Creative Commons license via Flickr.
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Donna says
Loving the wish garden idea. Hmmm.
SimplyDarlene says
i’m already partaking in 6 out of 10…
might i add to #8? start a water fight. more than once.
we laugh and yell and drench one another like a flock of wild things. here’s a hint: let the fellers have their plastic water guns and when they’re least expecting it, break all the pre-set rules and use a bucket and the garden hose.
Janet says
I just heard the word staycation yesterday for the first time! I love it.Great ideas so far. I like the pile of books from the library!! How about spreading a quilt under a tree in your yard, lying on it and staring up through the branches like you did as a child. Nearby is a tray with your favorite beverage while the breeze and bird song lulls you to doze a little before picking up your favorite poetry book. you read, then write! Imagine having a week just to write!?
SimplyDarlene says
now, this sounds like an ideal vacation spot 🙂
Megan Willome says
As someone staycationing again this summer, thank you. No. 7 intrigues me. I may keep my eyes opened for something new to get into.
Patricia @ Pollywog Creek says
What a great list. I’d add play in the sprinklers and create your own “beach” with a $20 kiddie pool like this one: http://www.target.com/p/intex-120in-pool/-/A-13800360#prodSlot=medium_1_13
Jody Lee Collins says
All great ideas, but I like the ‘read like you’re 12 years old’ idea. Some of my best memories are from reading books late into the night during the summer. Did just that the other day with my 10 year old grandson reading “The Enormous Egg” by Oliver Butterworth. I remember reading that as a kid…. Reading “Anne of Avonlea” myself. Thanks!