A Gift for Mom! 🤍

Staycation is the New Vacation—Here’s How To Make it Great

3 Minute Read

By Angelica Kajiwara

Family snuggling together on bec — Image via Angelica Kajiwara

We spent spring break in quarantine, and our summer getaway is heading toward mask-clad lockdown. A family vacation is about to take on a whole new meaning in our house, well, in most homes.

Staycations are about to become all the rage, and I’m determined to make some fantastic memories with our living room and backyard as the backdrop.

Here’s the plan.

A Camp-In

Yes, we’re going to go all out together. A tent in the backyard or the living room if Mother Nature won’t cooperate. A strand of twinkle lights to add some magic. We’ll grill out for dinner and cap off the evening with s’mores over the fire pit. After dark, I can’t wait to run around and catch fireflies with my kids. Some of my best memories were made on late summer nights catching those blinking bugs.

Movie Night Extraordinaire

Our Friday night family movie won’t be any ordinary snuggle on the couch. It is part of our vacation, after all. Staycation cinema calls for all the treats and cozy blankets. If I can make it work, I’m going to set up the projector and a white sheet screen so we can enjoy a movie under the stars. That’s one for the scrapbook.

Family Talent Show

OK, I know this seems a bit over the top, but it will be so much fun for everyone. Make up a fun new skit or sing a silly song together. Clear the living room floor and let each person take a turn showing off their best dance moves. Video documentation is a must for this one. You can watch it together the next time everyone needs a break from COVID-19 news.

RELATED: Take a Trip Around the World From Your Kitchen

Scavenger Hunt

With any luck, this one will last all day long. Breakfast pancakes will hide the first clue, and the final prize will be tucked in under our dinner plates. I’m going to stash fun notes all around the house and yard. The whole family will work together to solve the hunt and claim their winnings. I think an ice cream sundae bar is the perfect reward for a day’s work.

Game Night

Young and old alike will love this one. I am excited to break out my old favorites like Candyland and Uno. And, pick up a few new ones for us to try (OK, I’ll have them delivered). I might even give family poker a try. My grandma used to let us play with pennies. I can still see her wearing her dealer’s visor. I’d love to make lifelong memories like the ones I have with her with my own kids.

RELATED: At the End of Your Life, This is What Will Matter To Your Children

These ideas are just some of the ways to plan out an epic family staycation. It will be fun to watch the new staycation trend grow over the summer. Vacation memories might look very different this year, but the outcome will be the same: family photos, videos, and memories you’ll all enjoy for years to come.

So God Made a Grandmother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Order Now!

Angelica Kajiwara

Angelica Kajiwara, her husband, her mom and three kids are always up for an adventure! Whether it’s a family road trip in their RV, a weekend away at the newest family destination or a Tuesday at their scenic home in North Georgia, this fun-loving family shares the best, the real and the silliness of it all. Her roll-with-it attitude of, “If we can do it, you can do it” makes her blog a must-read (and her Instagram a must-follow).

I’m Constantly Waiting for the Metaphorical Axe To Fall

In: Living

I knew people died. I just didn’t think it applied to us. Mortality met me in grade two with a punch to the gut when my teacher confirmed casually that, yes, everybody dies. What do you mean, everybody dies? I frantically thought, but kept my question to myself. Up until that moment, I had quietly believed my family was exempt from that fate. I thought death was a monster that only took other people and left my family alone. They say all panic has an origin story, and mine began shortly after that realization, fueled by a disconnected phone cord...

Keep Reading

The Apology You Deserve May Never Come

In: Living

“You have to accept that you will likely never get the apology you deserve.” When my therapist said those words, I felt everything at once-anger, resentment, heartbreak. It was as if the air had been pulled straight from my lungs. Because accepting that truth meant letting go of something I had been holding onto for a long time: the hope that one day, it would all be acknowledged. My family was deeply wronged. Not in a way that can be brushed off or easily forgotten, but in a way that cut to the core. There were lies wrapped in deception,...

Keep Reading

To the Little Girl With Pink Flowers on Her Shoes and Courage in Her Heart

In: Living

To the little girl with pink flowers on her white shoes and lacy fold-down socks, down and ready, tee ball glove in hand, teeth marks worn into the top. The Pittsburgh Pirates hat from Uncle Dave, a sign of camaraderie. A part of something bigger than herself. A too-long, locally sponsored t-shirt, tied up with a ponytail. Jean shorts and a belt. The type of ordinary only childhood can be. When ordinary is more than enough. No one can tell in this picture that you were scared. That you didn’t feel ready. That behind that tiny-toothed grin you were holding...

Keep Reading

Keep Searching for the Perfect Pair of Jeans

In: Living

I don’t know about you, but finding a good pair of jeans has always felt like a process to me. These are too tight. Those are too loose. They fit my thighs but bunch at my hips. The dreaded waist gap. Too short—high waters. Too long, and suddenly you can’t find your legs. Before you know it, you’re ordering your fourth pair and eyeing a fifth. A woman on a mission. And still, as I stand there looking in the mirror at everything that doesn’t quite work, I just know there is a perfect pair out there for me. Somewhere....

Keep Reading

Why I Had My Benign Breast Lumps Removed

In: Living

My journey with monitoring benign breast lumps began in July of 2020 when my OB-GYN found a lump. I was sent home with an ultrasound referral. I called immediately after I got home and asked for the soonest appointment at any location. I had a young son, and was absolutely terrified. They got me in at the end of the week. My husband was on vacation that week, and what should have been an enjoyable family time was plagued with worry. At the ultrasound appointment, they saw two small lumps. I was told these were “likely benign” and was given...

Keep Reading

Repotting Myself: What My One‑Armed Grandpa Taught Me About Growing Anyway

In: Grief, Living

Black and white photo of older man in garden

I was never meant to be a plant person. I’m the woman who can kill a succulent on the way home from the store. Once, a fern sighed in my direction and gave up. That is my spiritual gift. My grandpa Dominic would have laughed—hard. He loved to laugh. And sing hymns passionately in Italian. He was an Italian immigrant who lost his arm working in a mill, and still, he woke up every morning and dressed like dignity itself. He shopped for my grandma. He fixed what was broken. And he tended the biggest, happiest garden you’ve ever seen....

Keep Reading

Farewell To the Bus Stop Moms

In: Friendship

It seems like just yesterday I was writing a piece about my last baby going off to kindergarten. I poured my heart out into words about how she was going to find her place in the world, and how I was going to find a new sense of belonging. I wrote, “I was able to find a bit of ‘me’ again. She has barely left my side in almost six years, so her absence is still fresh and foreign. But I know her jubilant little self will be just fine. And just like that, she’s on her way. And so...

Keep Reading

May is Maternal Mental Health Month, and So Many Moms Are Quietly Drowning

In: Living

I’ve given birth to four beautiful boys and lived through four postpartum experiences. Each one has been different, yet there are familiar threads that run through them all. In the first couple of weeks after my first baby was born, I felt carefree…until that bubble was popped. My newborn got sick and was admitted to the PICU at a children’s hospital 30 minutes from our home. At one point, doctors mentioned the possibility of meningitis, but after many tests and a several-day admission, we were sent home. When we were discharged, a doctor left me with these words, “It’s your...

Keep Reading

The Hard Truth about Friendship in Your 40s

In: Friendship

No one can really prepare you for how much friendships change in your 40s. We expect life shifts—kids grow, schedules fill, jobs demand more, and aging parents need us in new ways. Time becomes tighter, priorities change, and naturally, friendships have to adjust. That part makes sense, right? But what doesn’t get talked about enough is the quiet, hard shift, the one where it’s not just time or distance creating friendship gaps, but something deeper. What happens when you look around your “table” and realize it no longer feels like a safe place to land? What happens when you start...

Keep Reading

Sisterhood is So Special

In: Living

There’s something about sisterhood that’s so special. It’s having someone who’s seen every version of you—every awkward, messy, beautiful version—and loves you through it. Someone who holds a piece of your heart in a way nobody else can. Someone who remembers the little things that made you…you. And my sister? She’s that person for me. We couldn’t be more different. She’s extroverted, the life of the party, spontaneous, the more the merrier, always seeing the good in everything. I’m the cautious one, the loner, the guarded one, more comfortable sitting on the sidelines. I’ve always admired her and secretly wished...

Keep Reading

I Have Anxiety and Jesus

Faith

I Have Anxiety and Jesus

Dear Rainbow Baby, We Love You Enough For Two

Loss

Staycation is the New Vacation—Here’s How To Make it Great

A Camp-In

Movie Night Extraordinaire

Family Talent Show

RELATED: Take a Trip Around the World From Your Kitchen

Scavenger Hunt

Game Night

RELATED: At the End of Your Life, This is What Will Matter To Your Children

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

Angelica Kajiwara

I’m Constantly Waiting for the Metaphorical Axe To Fall

The Apology You Deserve May Never Come

To the Little Girl With Pink Flowers on Her Shoes and Courage in Her Heart

Keep Searching for the Perfect Pair of Jeans

Why I Had My Benign Breast Lumps Removed

Repotting Myself: What My One‑Armed Grandpa Taught Me About Growing Anyway

Farewell To the Bus Stop Moms

May is Maternal Mental Health Month, and So Many Moms Are Quietly Drowning

The Hard Truth about Friendship in Your 40s

Sisterhood is So Special

Get It Now

So God Made a Mother

Staycation is the New Vacation—Here’s How To Make it Great

A Camp-In

Movie Night Extraordinaire

Family Talent Show

Scavenger Hunt

Game Night

If you liked this, you'll love our book, SO GOD MADE A GRANDMA

I’m Constantly Waiting for the Metaphorical Axe To Fall

The Apology You Deserve May Never Come

To the Little Girl With Pink Flowers on Her Shoes and Courage in Her Heart

Keep Searching for the Perfect Pair of Jeans

Why I Had My Benign Breast Lumps Removed

Repotting Myself: What My One‑Armed Grandpa Taught Me About Growing Anyway

Farewell To the Bus Stop Moms

May is Maternal Mental Health Month, and So Many Moms Are Quietly Drowning

The Hard Truth about Friendship in Your 40s

Sisterhood is So Special

Previous Post

Next Post

You May Also Like