With COVID cases rising, many people feel uncomfortable leaving and going somewhere new. Maybe you have a new baby or live with someone elderly or immuno-compromised. You can also follow some Christmas staycations tips to enjoy at your home. Regardless, there are ways to have a vacation while staying at home, and we’ll also talk about the different benefits of staycations below.
8 Benefits of Staycations to Enjoy the Best Holidays
Spending time with family at your home is the best feeling ever! But how this staycation can benefit you? Here’s how:
1. It Builds Perspective.
Many times we get stuck in a rut and think about all the things we can’t do instead of what we can do. We are lucky to be able to not leave our house and have a staycation. On top of it, the benefits of staycations are many.
There are tons of other people who have to leave to get any sort of vacation at all, whether it be because they have young children or because they own pets. Maybe they even take care of a disabled relative.
We are also lucky enough to have a job that gives us vacation time, as many jobs don’t offer vacation, or require you to get it approved as sick time. These are some of the things you’ll think about as you hear your neighbor’s car start at seven am before you turn over and go back to sleep.
2. Benefits of Staycations Help Strengthen Relationships.
How often do you get uninterrupted time with your partner, your family, or both? Probably not often. Work often takes up energy we’d like to use for other things, like going on a bike ride with our partner or playing video games with our kids. Maybe even playing a fun family game or watching a movie.
Think about it right now. What are some things you’d like to do with your kids? With your spouse? What have you promised you would do but never gotten around to it? What are some things your partner and kids want to do?
It’s important to spend quality moments together and strengthening relationships is a benefit from this.
3. It Enables You to Travel Locally.
We all have those places in our towns we always mean to visit and never do. It could be a restaurant or a local store.
Sit down and make a list. Include restaurants, stores, maybe even parks or other local attractions. If you’re stuck on ideas, your town’s chamber of commerce website may be helpful. Local news sites may be helpful too, as well as events online. If you’d like to support your local economy, specifically focus on places that are local to you. Ask your partner and/or kids to help you and see what ideas they come up with.
Some apps and sites will charge you a fee and have you play I Spy all-around a certain area of your town. These kinds of benefits of staycations are generally only for bigger towns but it may be worth checking out and there’s a chance you’ll discover places in your town you didn’t know existed!
4. It Lets You Learn Something New.
What are you interested in? What have you always wanted to take classes in but didn’t have the time, money, or energy for? Writing, coding, singing, cooking? Something else? Maybe you want to learn a new skill to add to your resume or learn something you can do in your personal time.
The good news is that there are more opportunities and ways to learn than ever before. You can find free and paid classes on just about anything. There are even certificate and degree programs you can put on your resume! You may not want to go quite that far but it is an option.
If learning new skills isn’t your thing, you can learn how to play a new game or watch a new docuseries on TV. The choices and benefits of staycations really are endless.
5. It Lets You Catch Up.
Most people would agree that getting enough sleep is hard. But no more because the benefits of staycations also involve sleeping. Maybe your cat wakes you up to snuggle multiple times or your neighbors are fighting again. Maybe your brain just refuses to shut off. We all get it.
Use this break to go back to sleep after being woken up and not set an alarm. You can even take a nap later in the day! It’s your staycation, rest as much as you want to.
6. It Lets You Set the Mood.
What is it you feel like doing? Taking a bubble bath surrounded by candles? Playing loud music while you paint something abstract? Getting lost in a book? It could even be streaming something on tv in your pajamas while eating junk food, maybe after you’ve done one of the activities listed previously.
To get maximum benefits of staycations, this is time for you to set the mood and do whatever it is you need to relax and recharge.
7. Benefits of Staycations include Enjoying Time with Your Pet.
Depending on what kind of animal you have and their personality, they’ll either love you being home or they’ll give you dirty looks because they had a routine and you being home messed it up. Hopefully, you’ll get lucky and they’ll be happy to see you.
Spending quality time with your pet is one of the best benefits of staycations. Use this time to take your dog to a dog park or find new toys for your cat. Get them special treats or increase their walks. Maybe clean out their cages if you have smaller pets or introduce them to something they’ve never seen before. Video their introduction if you want to–people love seeing animals online.
Around 80% of U.S. adults said that spending time with pets has reduced their stress level substantially. It means the benefits of staycations also help your mental health.
If your animals are more the lazy kind, that’s okay too. Snuggle up with your furry ones and watch something on tv. Position your non-furry or cage-bound animals’ crates and habitats to watch with you if you can or just spend time in the same room as them.
8. It Means No Packing.
I think most people would agree that packing is one of the worst parts of going on a trip. The beauty of a staycation is that you don’t need to pack for a trip and inevitably leave something behind. Instead, the only packing you may do is for a short day trip around your town or that long walk for your dog. That sounds good, right?
So what are you waiting for? Stay in your town and enjoy your vacation today to experience these 8 benefits of staycations!
