50+ Staycation Ideas for Families

Planning a family staycation appears easy at first. You’re going to be on vacation at home. No need to pack.

But, how do you prevent the drift toward phones and devices? How do you stay in vacation mode without traveling on a trip?

How do you make a staycation fun for the whole family?!

Start by planning your staycation on a budget. That way you’ll know what funds you have to work with as well as have a plan for staging your home and enjoying great staycation meals.

Make sure to include your kids in the planning. This will gain you ultimate buy-in as well as ensure that you’ve planned things they actually enjoy doing. (Kids change their minds often so a check-in is always helpful!)

Then do a search online for your location and as far as you’re willing to go on daytrips. Pretend you’re a tourist in your own town.

Choose 1 or 2 tourist things to do, but then consult this list or read it to your kids. There are plenty of fun staycation ideas for families that don’t cost a fortune or require you to stand in line.

I bet they’ll find a dozen or more of these staycation ideas that they’d love to do with you. You are actually the most important part of the equation, don’t you know?

What to do on your family’s staycation?

There are so many fun things to do with your kids while you vacation at home. Choose one or more of these.

You might even play Summer Fun Bingo. Subscribers to our free newsletter get access to the free printable.

Refresh the summer supplies. At our house, summer supplies include water balloons, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, and some new pool or beach toys. These inevitably get used up or lost so having a new set feels fresh and new. If you staycation is in the off season, consider what other seasonal toys might need a refresh.

Have a family slumberparty. One of the beauties of a staycation is sleeping in your own bed, but for one night at least, set up camp in the living room, stay up late, and hang with the kids. 

Camp out in the backyard. If you’re extra brave (or already a camper), set up the tent in the backyard and camp out in the backyard. You’ll have the great outdoors with flushing toilets close nearby.

Spend the evening stargazing or visit a local planetarium. It’s so soothing to see what God has created, staring at the sky. A staycation is a great time to stargaze since you can sleep late in the morning. Use this planetarium finder to locate an option near you.

Set up a water park in the backyard. Turn on the sprinklers, set up the baby pools, line out a slip and slide. Get wet with the kids.

Watch a movie. This is simple but you can make it as extra as you like. Make snacks or a meal that match the theme of your movie. You might have a different one every night of your family staycation. Check out our guide to Favorite Classic Disney Films for inspiration.

Decorate cookies. You don’t need to wait for Christmas to decorate cookies. Prep a Cookie Decorating Kit in advance and spend an afternoon getting coated in sugar.

Make s’mores. If you’ve got a fire pit or grill you can make s’mores the traditional way, but if you don’t, just make them indoors. If you want to make it extra special, put together a S’mores Kit that your kids get to open. Or make them each their own small kit.

Create a scrapbook. Go old school and buy the supplies to make paper scrapbooks. Print out some pictures of the family and sit around the table cutting and chatting and pasting. You might even start a staycation scrapbook.

Make a movie with the kids. There are so many easy apps to use to make your own home movies. Let one of the kids direct and tell some great stories together.

Have a snowball fight/water fight. Weather depending, you’ll get wet either way. You can also do an indoor snowball fight, too.

Have a board game tournament. Let everyone choose a favorite board game, play each one in succession, keeping track of the winners on a scorecard, award prizes for each round. This is great when your staycation weather doesn’t allow much outdoor activity. There are also loads of family card games to choose from as well!

Go for a bike ride. If you live somewhere you can rent special bikes, this might be a novel option to explore.

Take a hike. Research local hiking paths and try something new during your family staycation. Be sure to pack water and snacks.

Go swimming. Beaches, lakes, and community pools can all serve as swimming holes if you don’t have access to a pool. If there’s a local water park, you could splurge on that. 

Get a resort pass. If you live near a resort, you may be able to get a day pass to use the pool and other facilites. Some even allow access to spa facilities. This is great staycation activity that feels more vacation-like.

Build a fort. You can do this using sheets or carboard boxes. Both are fun and dads usually step up with the creativitiy.

Read a book together. There are so many good read alouds. You can read to your kids or take turns who does the reading. Start a book at the start of staycation so you can finish before you go back to every day life.

Bust out the pencil and paper games. In the age of tech and innumerable board and card games, many people have forgotten that you can actually play games with just a pencil and paper. Grab our free printable book of pencil and paper games for a fun staycation activity.

Cook a fancy meal together. Cooking can be fun and your kids will love it if you make it extra special. Set a pretty table and show them what it’s like to go to a fancy dinner. Researching the etiquette and recipes can be part of the adventure.

Go on a jammie donut run. Late night or early morning, getting in the car in jammies and going out for donuts is fun at any age.

Sit and watch cartoons all morning. When was the last time you lay on the couch and watched cartoons? With all the free streaming available, you can show your kids what you watched as a kid. Wonder twins power – activate!

Play a game of Chopped for kids. Bust out a few random ingredients and challenge your family to use their creativity to make something edible. My kids have always loved playing Chopped for Kids at home!

Make ice cream sundaes. There are so many ways to make this extra fun. Either make some elements, like homemade ice cream and magic shell, or let everyone choose something from the ice cream aisle. Take pictures of everyone’s creations. 

Go on a scavenger hunt. We have loads of printable scavenger hunts to choose from, both indoor and outdoor that can be lots of fun. Be sure to offer prizes.

Play video games together. Some of our family’s favorite bonding moments have been over Mario Bros or Overcooked. If you or your spouse are gamers or if the kids are, gather everyone together for a multi-player game.

Go berry or apple picking. Depending on the season, you can go fruit picking. It’s rarely cheap anymore but it is a fun experience. The added benefit of doing this on a staycation is that you can stash the extras in your freezer right away.

Spend the day at the zoo or local amusement park. You don’t have to stay home 24/7 during your staycation; take a day trip to the zoo or local amusement park. Come home exhausted but able to sleep in your own bed. Follow our Amusement Park Survival Guide for best results.

Pro tip: I’ve found amazing discounts on a number of brands, using Capital One Shopping app. You don’t need their credit card to get the discounts. (Use my link to join, enable the extension, and earn an $80 reward.)

Do a science experiment. There are so many fun science kits on the market, but how often do we take time to do them with the kids? Make time on your family staycation.

Go to the movie theater or drive-in movie theater. With the high price of theater tickets, saving this for staycation is a great way to see a new movie for a vacation vibe.

Do a family craft. There are so many great crafts to do as a family — and so much cheaper than going to those painting stores. Bust out the paints and brushes and let everyone paint his own creation. Painting birdhouses is a craft that works for any age, as does painting tea tins.

Spend the night at hotel. A hotel staycation is a little more expensive than sleeping at home, but it brings the vacation vibe to the experience.

Do something nice for a neighbor. You don’t need to take a vacation from being kind. What service project have you been meaning to do that you’ve not found the time for? Doing it as a family will make it more meaningful.

Go on a picnic. Picnics are so much easier to pull off when you’re on home turf. Pack a cooler and head out to your favorite beach or park. Don’t have one? A backyard picnic can be a fun activity for the kids.

Pro tip: for every day trip you take, be sure to pack your DIY Picnic Kit so that it’s easy to save money on food with grocery store picnics.

Get your favorite take-out and eat it somewhere different. I have fond memories of taking a bucket of KFC to the park or eating Chinese food in front of the living room fireplace. Get creative and eat pizza in the back of the pick up or burgers on the roof (safety permitting, of course!)

Have a cupcake decorating competition. Bake a batch of cupcakes from a boxed mix, make some homemade buttercream, and bust out the sprinkles. Let everyone decorate as he likes. The dollar store can be a great source of affordable piping bags and supplies.

Speaking of dollar stores… Give everyone a small budget of a few dollars and let them buy whatever they want. Kids will go wild! If you don’t want more stuff in the house, do this in the produce aisle of your favorite store. My kids loved that fun.

Tour a local museum. Never visited the museums in your own town? Let this be the week to do it.

Tie-dye tshirts together. It’s a little messy, but making tie-dye t-shirts gives you a tangible souvenir of your staycation.

Cook breakfast outdoors. Pack a cooler with bacon, eggs, and other breakfast fixings. Load up the camping stove and go find a park or beach where you can cook breakfast outside. It just tastes different.

Check out a local food factory or food producer. What kind of foods are manufactured near you? Are there bee keepers? Take a tour and learn how local food is made.

Play Lego together. Get a new set or bust out all the random pieces. Either way, the kids will love building with you.

Make caramel corn. We call this “junk food popcorn” and it’s so delicious! Make a batch of homemade caramel corn and enjoy eating it together while watching a favorite show or movie.

Make a batch of playdough and create together. Homemade playdough is cheap and easy to make. Crafting with it is so therapuetic. 

Look through the baby books. Take a walk down memory lane. Kids of all ages love hearing new stories that they don’t remember. If there’s a missing baby book, consider making it together.

Play flashlight tag. Put fresh batteries in the flashlight. Once it’s dark, run around playing flashlight tag. In a safe space, “tag” people by shining the light on them and calling out their names.

Play dress up or do cosplay. Choose a theme and help everyone create costumes. We’ve got some easy costume items you can make cheaply at home. Yes, mom and dad, too! Plan some snacks that fit the theme. 

Have a dance party. Have everyone choose a couple favorite songs to add to a family playlist, cue the lights and dance the night away.

Have a puppet show. Create puppets with paper plates or paper bags and have a puppet show. Take the easy route with a done-for-you puppet kit.

Do a coloring project together. This can be big or small, from paper coloring books to large sheets with outlines on them. Use colored pencils or crayons for paper; fabric markers for sheets.

Do a puzzle together. Shop for a new puzzle together and spend down time each day putting it together. It’s a great ongoing activity for a staycation.

Get a box of Beanboozled and gross yourselves out. This candy is really gross, but also funny and memorable. You know your kids will remember this staycation.

Have a lightsaber battle. Whether you have your own authentic weaponry or make your own paper lightsabers, arm everyone in the family and do battle. We did this with Nerf guns one year and had a blast!

Binge a movie series. Watch an epic series of movies, such as Narnia, Harry Potter, or Star Wars. Add themed snacks or costumes for the littles if you like.

Go bird watching. We’ve done this a few times with friends who were experienced bird watchers. Contact your local aviary, bird sanctuary, or the National Audubon Society for assistance.

Travel the world virtually. Plan a day’s worth of meals based on the cuisine of another country, cue up a film or documentary, and be an armchair tourist. Check out Good Cheap Eats’ French, Italian, Mexican, and Indian recipes.

Reenact a vacation tradition. What’s something you always do on vacation? Do that even though you’re at home. For our kids, it’s having a vending machine allowance. For staycation purposes, if we couldn’t find a vending machine around town, we’d give them an allowance for the drug store or Trader Joe’s.