Sometimes we get so busy, that we forget the ones we love and live with. When my kids were little, we would take a weekend escape and never leave home. It took minimal planning, was cost effective and convenient.
The first time we did this was when we had planned a camping trip and my daughter broke her arm 2 days before we were supposed to go. We didn’t want to take her into the woods or the lake with a cast, so we came up with Plan B. It is all about spending uninterrupted time together. We had shopped for groceries for camping. We had already told family and friends we were going to be gone. We also told our neighbors we were on vacation at home, fighting for family time. We actually put a note on the front door that said “Don’t Knock, Don’t Ring, We’re Not Home, We’re on Vacation”. We had cancelled all of our weekend normal activities. So all that was left was to “Get Away From It All”!
We made sure all needed items were at the house for the weekend, and took our cell phones and keys and put them in a closet. We unplugged the house phone and all the TV’s and computer. As we sat down with our kids to go over “Plan B”, they were so excited. This was an uninterrupted weekend, no chores, no phones, no distractions. We let each one of them make suggestions of an activity or game we could do together. The rules: we couldn’t leave the house, use the stove, use the microwave and we couldn’t use any electronics. This was easier because they were younger. As teenagers this was a greater struggle, but once we hid the phones they had a blast. Therefore we didn’t spend any extra money. We cooked everything on the grill or attempted to. They had more fun coming up with something that we “old” people had to do with them. One of my daughters had us make an obstacle course that we all had to do, and yes it was the one with the broken arm. One of my sons had us play in the hose in the back yard. My other daughter wanted to sing while we did s’mores over a fire. We also played football, freeze tag, colored, talked about what they wanted to be when they grew up, and just spent time together. The boys chose to put up the tent in the back yard and the girls chose sleeping bags in the family room. We played board games, played together, ate together and enjoyed each other.
I know this made great memories and definitely affected how we even spent family night. The kids for years asked “Can we camp out at home again”? I think every family should try it!