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How to Make the Most of a Staycation

The economy is causing many people to stay home instead of taking a vacation. That's even happening with girlfriend getaways but you can be creative and still have fun. Here are some helpful ideas.

Gearing up for a Stay at Home Vacation

Pick yourself up off the floor and quit it with the pitiful expression, a stay-at-home vacation doesn't have to be bad. In fact, you might want to stay home more often once you discover just how fun your town is. Don't forget, it seemed neat enough to move there so surely it is neat enough to spend time exploring.

In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, new attractions come on-line, new museums and shops open and tail-gate markets open up right around the corner and we don't even notice. So head down to your local CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) or Visitors Center, stick out a hand and introduce yourself to your neighbor. Fall in love with your city all over again and see what she has to offer. See if your city offers a discount card for local savings or save on tickets with the following suppliers.

See this for what it is: a great time to get to know neighbors and in-town friends, co-workers, and family even better. Call that a blessing in disguise.

Things to do

Send the husbands, boyfriends and kids for a night out - bowling or playing putt-putt and having pizza. Mancation stuff. If you need them out of the house because you are planning a sleep-over, maybe they can camp in the back yard - seriously!

Make Smores Indoors

Pass Notes

Buy local produce - It's cheaper because it didn't have to arrive by truck, is often healthier (if organic) and it supports your local economy.

Take lots of photos and upload them to a photo-sharing site like Shutterfly so you can all have copies. Or, you might want to spend time at each person's house looking at photos on your friends' hard drives that haven't been printed. Many photo sites allow you to send your photos to the local drugstore for pick up within the hour. Get reprints for everyone. Shutterfly -  Get 25 FREE prints to try!

Pick up your photos and scrapbook with them. You can make a page about the friends you are with or make one about your family. The goal here is just to have fun spending time with each other. You can find scrapbooking supplies at iScrap.net or Purchase scrapbooking supplies from the Scrapbook.com Superstore! or even Red Hats and More.

Keep in mind, if you can find a good deal on a hotel (say mid-week) you don't have to actually "stay" at home, you can go to a city that is nearby and pool the gas money.

If you live in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Blue Ridge and Greenville, SC (and all the small towns in between) are with 2.5 hours. Or, stay at home and do something different like taking a tour of Historic Oakland Cemetery or Mayfield Dairy near Braselton.

If you are from DC, check out our long list of "Free Things to Do in DC" for pointers.

Philly is fun by foot (sorry couldn't resist the alliteration) so get out and explore the lesser known .

Other ideas:

  • Use the time to journal about your dreams with this fabulous Permission to Dream journal from Femail Creations.
  • Bring the spa indoors - get all the girls to bring an opened container of their favorite beauty beauty product and share.
  • Build your staycation week around an event - an autism or breast-cancer awareness walk
  • Get your friends to take their staycations the same week or get friends to stagger days-off so you'll have a friend to play with every day.
  • Visit a state park. Many are free and have staff on-hand so they are safer than just venturing into the woods alone.

We can also help you find more Girls Night In ideas