Are you a local? Then consider a staycation!

What's a staycation?

A staycation is used to define a time where one stays at home or takes day trips from their home to local area attractions in lieu of a typical vacation. 

Staycations are growing in popularity due to our hard economic times in which we face growing unemployment levels and a deepening recession.  Staycations have become a perfect choice for many families and individuals as a way to still relax and enjoy time together without the cost or headache of planning a vacation.

We've all read a lot about staycations, and whether you like the word or hate it, let's face it - the concept is probably here to stay for a while.  Here are a few of our favorite staycation ideas:

• Don't answer your phone, and ignore your emails at least for a few hours each day.  Just be present with your family or friends in a way we often are not.

• Schedule a little something fun every day: a picnic, a trip toa museum, a bike ride at a local park, a special craft, or a family hike.

• Turn your yard into a creativity zone -- help the kids make an obstacle course in your yard, or let them build fairy houses or make bird feeders.

• Do regular vacation stuff:  take a lot of photos, send postcards, go out for dinner at a new place, and stay up a little later than usual!

• Add a little night life: plan a movie night or lie on a blanket after dark and look for constellations.

• Camp in your own backyard: Pitching a tent a few feet from your back door is a surprising way to transport yourself from home without leaving it. Spend time planning what you need to survive in the backyard without running into the house every half hour. Bring books, story-telling creativity, healthy snacks and comfy sleeping supplies. (No long extension cords for TVs or computers allowed, S'more makings a must.) Plan meals that can be cooked and prepared outside, as if you really were miles from home and not a few steps away from the fridge.

• Be a local tourist. Request or download a Susquehanna River Valley Visitors Guide to help you discover local museums, towns, parks, attractions and restaurants.
• Plan a theme day. Here's a fun example -- have a Backwards Day, where your family starts the day with dessert for breakfast, wears its clothes backwards, walks backwards, you name it.  Another fun theme -- Recreation Redux (visit attractions you went to as a kid, or haven't been to in decades).

If you're planning a staycation, we hope it's a good one.  Often it's just the kind of relaxed break from routine that we all need, without the hassle and expense of travel. 

Enjoy -- and let us know how it goes!