Home sweet holiday

Family vacations are terrific, but they're not hassle-free. Between making travel arrangements, getting the family to agree to an itinerary and watching your credit card bills go up, up, up, vacations can be downright stressful.

But we all do need a break, and we love those wonderful family vacation memories. You can do it all, by vacationing at home. Here's how:

Family fun at home sweet home
Make chores off limits

Unplug the phone or let the answering machine take calls.

Make a no laundry rule. (After your vacation have clean-up day. The entire family can haul the mountain of laundry to the Laundromat to use the big machines, and then afterward stop for pizza.)

And don't scrub that tub!


Create your own motel

Have the kids make room number signs to be taped on bedroom doors.

Put fresh sheets on each bed and reassign sleeping quarters (maybe even for Mom and Dad).

Assign your youngest child the task of putting little chocolate mints on everyone's pillow before bedtime (my 9-year-old's suggestion).

Go camping

Pitch a tent in the living room (or just use sleeping bags).

Make s'mores in the microwave.

Eat hot dogs for dinner and tell ghost stories.

Make it a no-electricity night and light the room with candles (handled by Mom and Dad only), then read bedtime stories by flashlight.

Get Mom out of the kitchen

Cook some meals in advance and freeze them.

Use paper plates and cups.

Serve bagels, cream cheese and juice for breakfast.

For lunch have a picnic in the park or your backyard.

For dinner one night (watch the kids' faces!), serve just ice cream with lots of fruit.

Plan to eat at least one meal a day at a restaurant‚ or get takeout.

Post rule number one in a prominent place in the kitchen: "Mom is not allowed to do dishes."

Create your own restaurant

Instead of dining at one big table at home, set up folding tables and chairs to resemble a mini-restaurant. Older kids can take turns being waiters, diners and short-order cooks. (Have ingredients handy for making mini pizzas, sandwiches or other kid-friendly meals.)

Put on a show

Pretend you're on a cruise ship and let your kids provide the entertainment.

Pre-teens can host bingo games, while the younger kids pretend to be pirates taking over the ship.

Every family member can participate in the evening's talent contest. Hang sheets for curtains and use a flashlight for a spotlight. (Don't forget to serve fruit smoothies in tall souvenir glasses.) Keep your camera handy.

Enjoy a family movie night.

Open up the sofa bed in the living room (or use the floor) and pile on the pillows. Then pop popcorn, and watch home movies or rent a family favorite.