Furgal Living - “Family Fun Staycations”

Have you taken a "STAYCATION" ? My definition of a staycation is a vacation where we pretend we are tourist in our own City.

Four years ago we took our first staycation with our 5 kids. We spent the week on vacation in our own home - getting up each day and going on day trips to the local tourist attractions. We had a blast and saved a huge amount of money. Our home was out hotel, we packed lunches and snacks for the day and drove our own car. So, no hotel, car rental or eating out expenses and we had a GREAT time.

Today here at the Frugal Living event we have some great tips on creating your own "Staycations". Another great giveaway and even a few FREEbies.

Thanks for stopping by.


Today's FREEbies:

FREEbie Cream of Wheat sample - try one of four different flavors. Click here for your FREEbie sample.


FREEbie Biolage sample - Enter to win a 4 day/3 night spa vacation for 2 and also get a free Biolage sample. Make sure this is checked: "Yes, please send me a Biolage sample in the mail". Click here to enter and get your FREEbie sample.




FREEbie Emergen-C samples - The powerful blend of vitamin C, 24 nutrients, 7 B Vitamins, antioxidants and electrolytes boost your immunity, increase your metabolic function and ignite your energy level to help you really feel the good.
Click here for your FREEbie Samples!




Fun Freetime: Staycations
By: Bekah J. of http://motherhood-moment.blogspot.com/

If your kids are getting cabin fever and you don't have the opportunity to take a vacation, try a staycation, where you bring the travel atmosphere home. Try one of these tips to change up the routine a little bit.

- If you live near a major metro area, use the bus or train/subway to do some travel. The kids will love the novelty of doing something other than driving, and it's really not that hard. Transit drivers are generally very helpful too

- Host a theme party. Decorate a room to look like a forest or a beach, then have a picnic or typical beach or camping food. You can even set up a pup tent in a living room, or build a tent out of a blanket and table and chairs, to make it like camping. Or create an indoor planetarium with a few sets of glow in the dark stars.



- Bring the vacation home. Choose a place, and then learn about it. Explore basic travel phrases, cook a few authentic recipes, and download native tunes to have a multi-day learning experience.



- Let your kids be the tourists. Give them the camera to take pictures of things nearby. You might see the world through a different set of eyes!

- Try a new activity. In the winter, try snowshoeing, ice skating, or cross country skiing if you've never done it before. In the summer, try flying a kite, planting a small garden, or hosting a mini-carnival with games for kids (sack races, three-legged races, etc).

More ideas to make your staycation special:

- Write or create postcards. Anything that's 4x6 will work, even index cards.
- Make treats ok.
- Anything that you'd say yes to on a vacation, say yes to during the staycation.
- Give your kids "souvenir" allowances to buy stuff at museum stores
- Bring the hotel atmosphere home - room service for kids, neatly folded towels in the bathroom, continental-style breakfast, mints on the pillows
- Since you're saving money on a vacation, try buying a special item (cotton candy maker, new sports game, etc)




Theme ideas:


- Dinosaur day (natural history museum, dino books, and model fossil kits)

- Spa day (hairdos, nail polish, massages, etc)

- Choose a time period and do activities from that time period (such as a day without using lights/TV/computer and playing pilgrim or pioneer type games)

- Beach day (leis, beach movies, paper skirts, etc)

Other Staycation Ideas on the Web:

Homemade Bubbles and More: http://bubbleblowers.com/homemade.html This website lists a number of homemade bubble recipes, and lists the links from where they originally were posted (all of whom offer tons of other ideas for family fun).

Your Favorite Movies and TV, Viewed for Free Here: http://www.hulu.com/

Family & Children’s Programming (available to view online), Games and Activities: http://www.qubo.com/

Get Kids Excited about Film, Culture and Family Time: (A website and Free Weekly Newsletter): http://www.kidsoffthecouch.com/main.php?nLocationID=8

You-Tube, For Kids: http://www.totlol.com/index.php

About the Author: Bekah blogs on Motherhood Moment about a variety of topics: “Tips and Tricks for Moms, Freebies, Coupons, Money-savers, Time-Savers, Environmental Advice and More”. She highlights products and blogs of interest to moms, and offers giveaways to her readers. Motherhood Moment is a definite “Bookmark” site, check back often for great ideas! http://motherhood-moment.blogspot.com/



Free Entertainment for Kids on Spring Break “Stay-cation”
10 Web Sites to Keep Your Kids Entertained and Safe.
By: KidZui
In these tough times, a lot of families are opting for Spring Break “stay-cations” instead of big holiday trips. But if you’re staying home, it can be hard to keep the kids entertained and out of trouble. Many parents are naturally cautious about letting their kids loose on the Internet, but there is a lot of good, free, appropriate content available online – if you know where to look. Here’s a list of 10 web sites to bookmark that can help your kids beat Spring Break boredom if they’re staying home.

Best Set-and-Forget Web Environment for Kids
· KidZui – KidZui is actually not a Web site at all – it’s the Internet made just for kids. It gives kids access to millions of Web sites (including all of the below), YouTube videos, games and photos that have been vetted by a team of parents and teachers. Kids love the cute little avatars they can create and the safe social networking features, and parents love the fact that there’s no chance of inquiring minds stumbling across anything inappropriate.


Best Web Sites for Kids
· Club Penguin – A snow-covered virtual world where children play games and interact with friends in the guise of colorful penguin avatars.


· Lego.com – Ideal for the Lego fan, your child can watch Lego comics and movies, play games and construct their own Web page to show off their creativity.




· Nick.com – Your child can pledge to save the world, play games, check out the latest news on SpongeBob or create a virtual life on Nicktropolis.


· PBSKids – With games themed around Sesame Street, Clifford, Curious George, Arthur, Barney and other kid classics, your kids will have fun "interacting" with their favorite characters.



· Poptropica – This virtual online world lets kids create a character, play games, compete with other kids and travel between islands on a blimp to explore new areas.


Best Online Game Sites for Kids
· Cartoon Network Games – With more than 200 games featuring favorite cartoon characters, your kids can hunt monsters with Scooby-Doo, play Ninja Survival or follow the Path of a Jedi.

· Funbrain – Part of the Family Education Network, the site provides educational activities for parents and teachers, as well as interactive games to help your kids with math and reading.

· Funschool – This site, provided by Kaboose, is designed for elementary-age kids and offers free educational games as well as printable activities, coloring sheets and craft projects that will help your kids learn while having fun.

· Hot Wheels Games – For car fans, Hot Wheels has dozens of vehicle-related games that let kids drive through mazes, race friends and solve puzzles.

KidZui’s Cliff Boro believes that parents needn’t be afraid of letting their kids use the Internet. “The Internet is a wonderful tool that, when used appropriately, provides endless hours of free entertainment for the whole family,” he says. “And more than that, it’s a great way for kids to learn and discover new things without even realizing it!” And what parent wouldn’t approve of that?



Frugal Quotes for Thought:

"Love and time, those are the only two things in all the world and all of life that cannot be bought, but only spent."
-Gary Jennings

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~Carl Sandburg


Giveaway and Frugal Living Book Review:

“365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child”. By Steve and Ruth Bennett.

Utilizing creativity and mostly items found around your home, the Bennetts provide a year’s worth of family fun we all can enjoy. There are all types of educational, holiday, and learning activities, each one briefly described with directions and a list of required materials. A subject index gives you an instant direction to find an activity suited to the child’s age, interest and your goal for the play time. Check out the “Tire ‘Em Out” ideas, Recycled/Reused Household Materials projects and Words and Languages. This book is terrific for families with children of varying ages. The activities can be adapted by age and interests within your family.

Sample Activities: Try out #2, “Alphabet Hands” for a quick introduction to sign language. #10, “Animal Stage”; learning and dramatics are implemented when your child creates a paper stage ecosphere as a backdrop to perform animal stories of their own. (Be sure to take the stage yourself with your own creative theatrics!). #348, “Weather Ace”; illustrates the construction of a simple, homemade weather station. Younger children can help with the building of the station while older children can take part in the “meteorology”.

24/7 MOMS is giving away a copy of “365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child” To enter for your chance to win, enter your name and email address in the box below you will be signed up for today's giveaway as well as be added to the 24/7 MOMS E-list (if you are not already a 24/7 MOMS subscriber).



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