This weekend I’m taking a camping trip without my daughter. I’m looking forward to it, as a single mother there have been very few vacations for the two of us and even fewer just for me. It seems that money is always tight and sometimes a vacation just isn’t a priority. I had to learn ways for the two of us to vacation without spending a ton of money.
One easy way to take a mini vacation for next to nothing is to camp in the backyard. If you don’t have a backyard borrow one, ask a friend if you can camp in their yard. Pack a cooler with sandwiches and drinks, cook smores over a fire pit and make scary faces with flashlights. It’s amazing how well kids sleep outside.
We’ve even camped in the family room in the winter. It’s not the same as going away but it’s different than sleeping in their bed. Drape blankets over furniture and take turns making up silly stories until you fall asleep, if you have a fireplace, even better.
Pack a cooler with lunch and drinks and drive to a park that is too far from your house to go to regularly. Chase the kids around the playground, eat lunch, play some more and come home in time for dinner.
Go fishing. In Utah they have a free fishing day where you don’t need a license so grab the kids and the gear, again pack a lunch to keep from buying food while you’re out and make a day of it.
Take a hike. Living in Utah this is an easy thing to do. Throw some food and water in your backpacks and head out. Even though we are less than an hour from home it’s like being in another world. Hiking when there is a full moon is always fun for the kids.
The important thing is to make memories. The kids won’t remember how much money you did or didn’t spend but they will laugh for years about the time their marshmallow caught on fire. And they will remember the time you spent with them, just them, without the distractions of day to day life