Vacations are pretty great, but figuring out how to have a staycation can be just as rewarding—plus less stressful and more affordable. It sounds counter-intuitive, but traveling for a vacation can come with a lot of stress, what with planning the trip, finding the money to pay for everything, and working through a vacation checklist.

Turn off your phone.

Turn it on to check messages, texts, notifications, and the like only when you want to, keeping in mind that not at all is always an option.

Skip the news—and maybe even stop the mail—for a week.

When you banish the source of stress, the stress itself may follow. The earth will continue to turn even if you’re not reading all about it every morning at 7:30 sharp, and sadly, the bills will still be there when your vacation is over.

Have dinner delivered every night.

Place a stack of your favorite take-out menus next to the phone, and follow where your fancy leads you, from Chicago-style pizza one night to a Thai buffet the next.

Indulge in a vacation-reading binge.

An armchair journey is a trip, too, when taken in the company of an evocative writer. First, create an ideal setting: Pick your most comfortable chair (or a chaise lounge outside), making sure that you’ll have all the light you need. Then furnish it with the necessary props: a throw, reading glasses, a tall glass of your beverage of choice, a dictionary, a notebook and a pen for jotting down phrases that make you go aah.

Take a camping trip in your own backyard or living room.

Borrow or buy a tent. Pack drinks in thermoses and snacks in Ziploc bags. Bring sleeping bags or blankets, flashlights, and mosquito repellent for everyone. And arm yourself with enough ghost stories to keep little ones up thrillingly past their bedtimes.

Turn your bathroom into an aromatherapy spa.

Stop in at a health-food store to pick out a selection of essential oils in scents you like (calming lavender, rose oil, or chamomile; energizing peppermint or lemon verbena). Then draw a warm bath, sink into it, and let Mother Nature do her botanical best for you.

Try a DIY back massage.

Here’s how: Lie on your back on an exercise mat or a carpeted floor. Position tennis balls under points where you have pain or tension—above your pelvis, between your shoulder blades. Roll gently up and down and side to side for 5 to 10 minutes as your body weight helps massage the stress away.

Give yourself a relaxing foot massage.

Put a tennis, squash, or golf ball on a hard floor and roll the sole of each foot back and forth over it, concentrating on the instep and the ball of the foot, just below the big toe, where lots of tension can gather. Do this for five minutes while you read or just gaze out the window.

Buy yourself a plush white cotton or terry robe.

the kind you itch to tuck into your suitcase when you check out. Slip into it when you wake up, sit with a mug of your morning brew―perhaps delivered on a tray by room service (a.k.a. your partner)―and savor that pampered feeling.

Sleep on ultra-high-thread-count sheets—or just the pillowcases.

Try some of the most comfortable sheets, or pull out the for-guests-only sheets you save for special visitors.

Have nightly turndown service.

Buy a box of beautifully wrapped chocolates or caramels, then dispatch a different family member each evening to fold back blankets, smooth sheets, and leave a sweet or two on each pillow.

Source https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/life-strategies/staycation?slide=31176#31176

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