Top Romantic Staycations

For many people taking a vacation means much needed time with a loved one. This could be perhaps a long weekend or a whole week to loosen up, recuperate and revisit some of the things that made you fall in love. However, with emerging costs and the looming economy many couples are debating taking a vacation to save money.
The good news is that you can still take it easyand recover without breaking the bank by taking a new kind of vacation called a Staycation. What used to be nothing more than a different way to spend your vacation time by whiling away the hours in your own backyard has now become a new American classic. The staycation is becoming more and more preferred among young couples, families and anyone who finds their wallets affected by the ever-rising price of today's way of life. Instead of a three-day trip to a theme park or a week at a favorite beach resort millions of people are checking out the local scene and saving their nickels and dimes for something like...oh... food and rent. But if you're used to relaxing by the water with your loved one and sipping colorful drinks with little umbrellas you may be wondering what could possibly be romantic about your own homee.
Plenty! Read below for our Romantic Staycation Guide
1. Budget- Even though your not spending a fortune on an exotic vacation you still need to set a budget of what you can afford to spend on your staycation. If you're used to taking a vacation every year then you must have an idea how much you can spend. Instead of wasting all your money on your gas-guzzler and a pricey resort, use some of your city's resources and you may even save a buck or two.
2. Do not Disturb - tell everyone you're on vacation and cannot be reached unless its an emergency. You're not at homee, you're not available to talk or fetch their mail. Let family and friends know that you are away and not to be disturb.
3. Staycation Rules- to ensure that you have a romantic staycation it is important to create your staycation rules. Unless you've taken this time off from work to specifically clean the gutters, mow the lawn you're going to need to wipe them off your list. Make a list of things you CAN'T do. This is supposed to be a ROMANTIC staycation and last time I checked mowing the lawn was not romantic.
4. Planning- Before you can plan anything you need to discuss where you'd want to go if money were no object, once you have envisioned this place, go to the nearest party store. Even better, go online and you can find just about anything you need. Say you want to go to somewhere tropical. Take a part of your budget and apply it to your location. Pick Upsome tiki torches and line your deck or patio with them. Get some colorful leis and a few coconut bras. Pick up some premade frozen drinks or make your own and you've got yourself a tropical vacation in your backyard!
5. Entertainment- Gather a bunch games made for two players. Pick out a couple of movies together and select movies that you BOTH like. If there's a movie that you saw when you began dating this would be a great time to relive those memorable moments.
6. Night Out- Enjoy a night of dinner and maybe even a little dancing. This is the ideal opportunity to try that restaurant you have been dying to go to. Make a reservation and break out that black dress that has collected dust in the back of your closet.
If dinner and dancing out is not in your budget, bring them to you. Set up your own dining room as a small bistro and order in. A simple tablecloth, some pretty candles will do the trick. The best part of having a romantic dinner at home is that you are a lot closer to putting on something more comfortable.
7. Relax- The whole point of a good vacation is to let loose and do a whole lot of nothing. Read a book you've been meaning to or take a stab at that new (or old) hobby. As long as whatever you doing doesn't break any of the previous rules, enjoy!
8. Be a Tourist - Explore your town or city. Plan a day in the city you live in, or nearby. Hit the historical sites,museums and parks that you've never seen or would like to see again. You will be impressed with the things you've never even known about where you live.
9. Local Hotel- send the kids to grandma's and get a night at a local hotel. A change of scenery could be just what you and your loved one needs. Many local hotels have amenities like a pool, hot tub, spa and more that you can take advantage of.
10. Break the Rules- So you made a list of things not to do during your staycation but now may be the time to break that rule. Almost everyone has a list of things they want to do in their homee and you know you're going to feel guilty when you head back to work after spending a week at homee and nothing on that list got done. Take a look at that list and find ONE thing that you, as a couple, can do in one day (two days if you've got a whole week) and tackle it together.
As your Romantic Staycation comes to an end you should feel relaxed, refreshed and hopefully that romantic spark is a little brighter now after spending some quality time together.

Carol Harding is the creator of http://www.staycationnation.net, the #1 site on the web for Staycation Ideas. Check out Staycation blogs forums, pictures,videos and more.

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