I love a good staycation week. You get to enjoy a break from some of your regular hustle and bustle without packing and traveling. And you get to do some things at home and around town that you’re usually too busy to do. We often have a few staycation weeks each year and just finished another one!
Interestingly, in doing a family staycation week with kids, I’ve found I have to be even more intentional with my mindset and how I approach the week. Because we’re home and I’m surrounded by ALL there is to do, it can be hard for me to figure out what to do. Do I want to rest? Go on a bunch of fun outings? Knock out a bunch of house projects? Bake? Reorganize the toys? Everything calls my name!
Because of this, I have to tweak my mindset at the beginning of our week (and remind myself periodically along the way). This is key to helping me enjoy our family staycation! The truth is I’m so grateful we are able to have this time together. I want to do everything I can to feel that was during the week and let that show to my family. These are the moments in motherhood that I always want to remember – and remember fondly!
These 5 mindset tweaks have been key in helping me enjoy our family staycations. And I hope they help you too!
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Late nights are common – just like on vacation!
Since we have a more relaxed schedule, we often do more late-night activities like family movies or evening swims at the pool. Equating our staycation to a regular vacation schedule helps me anticipate late bedtimes and be less frustrated by them.
What a blessing to get to spend a whole week together!
Gratitude lowers my stress so much. I always want to be thankful for the fact that we can have a week like this where we’re all together. Who knows what future schedules will look like, so I want to make the most of what we have for certain now!
Choose your priority – rest, family time, projects. You can have 2/3!
Certainly, you can have some elements of all 3. But for me, I’ve found it works best to prioritize 2 of the 3 each day. (You might even choose 2/3 for the whole week.) As we start the week, we try to have a general idea of what’s going on each day, especially any bigger things like outings. Once we have those in place, I can figure out where the elements of rest and projects come into play.
By knowing each day what I’m prioritizing and what I’m not, I am much more likely to enjoy the day. And I’m much more likely to end the day feeling content and fulfilled.
There’s room for everyone’s cup to be filled – including Mama’s!
First things first, keeping my literal coffee cup filled of course! (Here are some of my favorite ways to do this at home, including my budget-friendly espresso maker that makes fun drinks so quickly and easily!) This has been the biggest challenge for me but also hugely impactful. As the kids are getting a little older (6 and 4 now), I’m slowly learning how to bring the rest of me back into motherhood.
Sometimes, that means I need a few hours solo. Other times, it means I need to bake something chocolatey. I might even need to knock out a big project. One of my favorite simple things is to take a long, hot shower after the kids go to bed and use these lavender or eucalyptus mint shower steamers.
The big thing is to listen to myself – not what everyone else says you should do. Then, I can really figure out what will help refresh me during the staycation.
Extra dirty dishes and more toys everywhere is a sign of the great fun time we’re having!
Wherever you are, that’s where you make a mess. It can feel a little crazy (maybe a lot of crazy). And when you’re trying to have extra rest and fun, it can be so hard to be surrounded by extra mess as well. I get it big time. And I try to keep some cleanup times in our schedule so things don’t get too insane. But when you view the extra mess as a sign of the fun you’re all having, it’s a much happier craziness.
Here’s to great family staycation weeks you actually enjoy so much you can’t wait to have another one!
