Whether it's the high gas prices, a tight budget or a tight schedule that are keeping you home this summer, you can still have all the benefits of a vacation away, without traveling anywhere. Try a vacation at home! For several years in a row, my family has looked forward to and loved these almost as much as "real vacations."

So if going away just isn’t in the cards this summer, I have a Coach Request for you today. Get out your calendar, find a free weekend, and reserve it for a mini-vacation you can take without leaving home. If you can add on a Friday and/or a Monday, (or more!) all the better!

The idea behind taking an at-home vacation is the same as taking any other vacation. It’s a chance to relax, recharge, and re-connect with family. It’s a way to set aside the usual chores, get away from the daily grind, and put the to-do list on hold. In a nutshell, it’s a time to kick back and have some fun!

There are two things you need to do for a successful at-home vacation. The first is to prepare to make things as easy as possible that weekend. The second is to plan some activities and destinations so you’ll have things to look forward to and to keep you in “fun mode” that weekend.

Get ready …

Your first goal is to eliminate as many to-do’s and interruptions as possible during your mini-vacation at home, so you can give yourself a well-deserved break! Between now and then:

Plan ahead some meals that will be quick and easy to make, and have all the ingredients on hand before your weekend starts. Cook ahead and freeze some meals, so you can simply heat and serve during your at-home vacation. Get paper plates and cups for easy clean-up.

For one or more meals during your at-home vacation, plan to get take-out or eat at a local restaurant.

Do enough laundry ahead of time to get you through that weekend without having to go near the washer and dryer. Try to have enough done to carry you into the days after your at-home vacation as well.

Stop the mail. You can pick it up or have it delivered when you “get back” from your at-home vacation.

Set up an “out of office reply” on your email. Plan to check your email only once a day during your mini-vacation.

Let friends and family know you’re going to be “away” that weekend, and, just as if you were on a “real” vacation, you won’t be answering the phone. Give them your cell phone number if they need to contact you in an emergency. To avoid being interrupted by sales calls, figure out how to turn off the ringer on your home phone if you don’t know how. Plan to check your phone messages only once a day during your at-home vacation.

Do ahead any other jobs that you might normally do before going on vacation. Water the plants, take out the trash, etc. You might even consider getting someone to take care of your pets for that weekend.

Take a trip to the library or bookstore and pick up some light vacation reading, such as a favorite magazine or a fun book. You might want to have some new reading materials on hand for the kids too.

Go!

So your weekend vacation at home is here … what do you do now? Get ready to relax and have some fun! Here are some possibilities for a weekend the family will always remember:

Explore one of those nearby places that you’ve always wanted to visit, but never seem to get a chance: a museum, a park, a farm, or any other tourist attraction that’s been right under your nose all this time.

Tried and true favorites can be just as fun too – the local library, the neighborhood playground, or even a walk around the block can be a blast when the schedule’s not an issue and you can take your time and enjoy.

What other fun things are there to do in your area? You might go bowling, make a necklace at a bead store, paint some ceramics at a pottery place, go to a story hour at the library or nearest bookstore.

Have some backyard family fun: play ball, run through the sprinkler, spread out a blanket and enjoy some snacks, drinks, and downtime. Bring the radio, an umbrella and some sunscreen for a true vacation feel!

Your kids might enjoy a craft activity for some downtime, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. Just sitting and playing with play-dough, dabbling with paints, coloring, playing with stamps, cutting out pictures from old magazines and gluing them to a big sheet of paper … the possibilities are endless. Even parents and older kids can get into this!

Rent some movies the whole family will enjoy watching together. Grab the snacks, snuggle up, and enjoy!

Does your family have a favorite board game? Stick to games that everyone already knows, to avoid confusion and frustration.

Jigsaw puzzles are a vacation favorite – you might even have some at home that you haven’t had a chance to put together yet. Your local library might lend out puzzles too. Or consider borrowing a puzzle from a friend, neighbor, or relative. Put out the pieces on a table where you can leave it out all weekend for whenever someone feels the whim to put a few pieces in place.

Save some time to spend with your spouse, either while the kids are busy playing or after they go to bed. You might even get a sitter to watch the kids for a while, so the two of you can go out.

Final thoughts

During your vacation at home, before you do anything that feels like a task, ask yourself, “would I do this if I were away on vacation?” If the answer is no, then stop! This weekend is for fun only!

Stay in the present moment as much as possible during your weekend. When you find your thoughts wandering to recent stressful events, or worries about the future, stop those thoughts in their tracks (I actually picture a big stop sign!), and refocus on right now.

Remember to take lots of pictures! You may even want to create a little memory book – easy and inexpensive at Kodak Gallery, Snapfish, or Shutterfly, among others.

Enjoy your mini-vacation at home! Drop me a line when you get back – or post a comment and tell us all about it!

Okay, I admit it, I am completely addicted to American Idol. But for more than just the usual reasons.

Every Tuesday, my daughter and I watch American Idol together, no matter what. Big test the next day? No problem. Nasty and disobedient an hour before? Not watching is NOT on the list of possible consequences. Homework not done? Who cares. Tuesday night at 8 is OUR time. We watch, we munch, we share a blanket, we laugh, cry, sing, hug, get up and dance ... it is our night to just have fun -- pure fun.

As my daughter gets older, she is becoming more and more sensitive to the challenges her brother faces as someone with special needs. She's also becoming more and more aware of her own challenges as a sibling of a child with special needs. She has more to deal with than most of her friends. I admire her ability to handle it all -- and wish she didn't have to.

Back when my son first lost his hearing, and again later on as we discovered his additional special needs, I made a vow that I would give just as much time and attention to my daughter as I would to my son. That hasn't always been easy. There have definitely been times when she has had to take a back seat to his needs. But over the years I've made it a priority to find ways for my daughter and me to spend special time together as often as we can, even if just a little walk, a little time making sandwiches, listening to a few songs, picking out some plants for our garden, sitting on her bed looking at magazines and chatting ... any way we can simply enjoy each other's company for a little while, most every day.

These days I've been making our time together even more of a priority. She wants to talk more - about her brother, about his challenges, about her relationship with him ... and about all the usual things a young teen wants to talk about: friends, fashion, boys, life, the universe, and everything. And I'm all ears!

So I look forward to American Idol on Tuesday nights with a special glee. Now that it's the final week, there'll be no more American Idol for six months. I think I'll keep that hour every Tuesday to spend with my daughter, doing whatever she wants.

Finally, I've found a cookbook written for kids that I like. It's called There's a Chef in My Family, by Emeril Lagasse.

When I think of Chef Emeril, I think of spicy food, but this is a book of delicious recipes that encourage you to try something a little new, but yet not "weird." Great recipes with good ingredients. Fun illustrations, and written in a cheerful, funny, friendly way that's easy for kids to understand. Lots of simple explanations and how-to's. My son found this book in his school library, and wants to try focaccia, fish in a pouch, bagel chips, and even the "Simply Delicious Artichokes!" Go figure - this is a kid who rarely tries anything new. There are also some fun recipes like Corn Chip Pie and Just Chillin' Chocolate Fridge Pie. I think we'll be keeping this book an extra week! Yum!

My family is scattered throughout New England, as well as the DC area. So it's a real treat when we can get together! Today a bunch of cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, nieces, and nephews from four states - MA, RI, NH, and VT - gathered to celebrate a "second Christmas." We do that every year around this time - and I look forward to it just as much as "regular Christmas!"

These days it's hard to gather with extended family, as we move farther apart from each other, and have less time to travel the long distances to visit each other. It can take some effort to create opportunities to spend time with family. It's worth it though to go the extra mile - literally - to maintain the bonds of family. When you have children, it's a goal that takes on a new importance: we want our kids to grow up knowing and loving their extended family as much as we did when we were young.