Spring Break At Home With Kids

Matt Lauer is where in the world? Your sister and entire family just got back from Japan, you say? The neighbors have scattered from here to breakfast? The TV, newspaper, magazine, billboard, and daily mail advertise alluring vacations: happy kids on the sunny beach with parents lounging in the sun nearby; smiling, super-tan skiers on white-peaked mountains; Magic Mountain rising in the distance while Mickey Mouse, Goofy AND Cinderella hug the children. Ah, life would be so perfect, if only...

OK, so back to reality. If you're like me, you may not be able to take an "affordable" family vacation this spring or any spring soon, which is actually only affordable if you have the money. Trust me, if I ever find the truly "affordable" spring break vacation for my budget, you won't see me for dust.

But, to the matter at hand; I'm here to tell you that spring break at home is not a lost cause. You can have a successful time with kids, if you want, but expect to start planning at least one month prior. Keep in mind that to score, you must first have a goal. The two easy (sort of) steps to planning a spring break at home are: choose and schedule. And then do it, of course.

Step One : What do you want to do? The choices are:

1. Pretend that there is no spring break, and carry on as usual.

2. Become a tourist in your own city, and explore it with children as though you have never been there before.

3. Visit family-if Grandma and Grandpa have been complaining about not seeing the kids lately, this is the time, big-time.

4. Stay home with the kids and enjoy playing and doing together.

5. Treat yourself to vacation-like things while home: eating out, ordering in, no laundry, sleeping late, etc.

6. All of the above.

Step Two : Schedule and Plan ahead. Ask the kids for input, and then create a schedule. Here's what a typical spring break with young kids looked like at my house:

Sunday: doesn't count yet because it's not a school day.

Monday: Sleep in a little bit. Free play in the morning-play mailman, put together train set, make new clothes for dolls. Lunch. Quiet/Reading Time. Afternoon: Special planned activity/art project such as turning a refrigerator box into a play house-let kids outline doors and windows, and use non-toxic paint to decorate the house inside and out.

Tuesday: Drop kids at Grandma's house. Call a friend, go out to lunch and shopping (hey, it's our spring break, too); even if it's a bagel and a new pair of socks, I enjoy some adult time. Pick kids up AFTER dinner.

Wednesday: Splurge Day/The Big Outing! The planned trip to someplace we rarely go that is at the top of the kids' list of things to do: The Mall of America. Here's what we did:
1. Check out what events are happening that day (we got a Survivor autograph once) and then, hit the indoor amusement park.

2. Buy a few spring clothes for everyone.

3. Eat at the food court, where there is something that everyone likes including me.

4. Splurge on a new toy, preferably a set of something that will take days to put together.

5. Splurge on a home project or personal activity for you (I like jigsaw puzzles and paint-by-number; believe it or not, they are very relaxing).

6. Bring home some fresh popcorn to watch a movie with when home.

Thursday: New toys! New clothes! New activity or project! Need I say more? Then, at 9am, teach kids how to bake muffins, knead bread, make soup, or other useful task. Have a laundry-folding contest. For lunch, create a fast food drive-through in your dining room. Having planned ahead with supplies: prepare the vege cheeseburgers by placing cheese, ketchup, mustard and pickles on a hamburger bun and microwave for 2 minutes, bake fries, wrap in wax paper and place in a white paper bag along with a surprise small toy. Have kids march through the dining room and/or house to get to the fast-food window to buy their happy meals with play money, of course. Afternoon: free play. Every good day vacation needs some free time for children. It's not a bad idea to bribe them with dinner out if they do a good job.

Friday: The "educational" outing, though bill it only as a super-fun trip to wherever you have chosen. Over the years, we have: been to The Minnesota Children's Museum, visited the Minnesota History Center ( which has fun things for kids), and taken nature walks at local park preserves.

Saturday: Again, not a school day, so not officially spring break: You're done!

That wasn't too bad was it? Instead of dreading spring break at home, like I used to, consider creating your at-home vacation. Trust me, it keeps the "NOW what are we going to do?" queries to a minimum, and just might turn out to be fun for you, too.