Staycation Survival: Create Some Backyard Magic

Holidays, school breaks, and random days-off can have you scrambling to keep the family entertained. We asked Alessandro Pontes, who as @dadmakesmagic has 259,000 Instagram followers, for his best advice. Here, how to turn your yard into a wonderland when everyone’s at home.

A: I think the biggest challenge with a staycation is getting yourself out of the mindset that you’re just spending time at home. When you’re surrounded by the same spaces, chores and routines, it can be hard to make it actually feel like a vacation.

But that’s also what makes a staycation so great. You don’t have to pack, travel or spend a fortune, and you can create an experience completely around what your family enjoys. We have two young boys, so sometimes being able to create something special right in our backyard is actually a lot more enjoyable than dealing with all the logistics of traveling with kids.

A: For me, it’s creating little destinations or zones within the yard. You don’t need a massive backyard to do it. One corner might be for gardening, another for eating, another for the kids to play, and another could simply have a couple of chairs where the adults can relax.

I also think people underestimate how much the atmosphere matters. String lights, music, a blanket on the grass, flowers from the garden or even serving dinner outside instead of at the kitchen table can make an ordinary night feel like an occasion.

A: Sure, here are some of my favorites:

If you already have a vegetable or herb garden, make harvesting part of the activity. Let the kids pick tomatoes, herbs, peppers or whatever is ready and use those ingredients to make something simple together. We might use tomatoes and basil from the garden to make little tomato and mozzarella sandwiches, a simple caprese salad, or homemade pizzas that the kids can help assemble. Then instead of eating at your normal outdoor table, put a blanket on the lawn and turn dinner into a picnic. 

What makes it special is that the activity starts long before dinner. The kids get to see something they helped grow become part of the meal.

Create a few destinations around the yard and give the kids a little homemade passport or map. One could be the garden where they have to find a certain vegetable or flower, another could involve watering a plant, and another could be playing have a simple lawn game. They get a sticker or stamp in their passport for each task they complete. The final stop could have a small surprise or dessert.

It takes almost no time or effort to put this together, but suddenly a backyard they see every day becomes an adventure.

Give everyone a small pot or container and let them create their own little garden. Herbs and flowers are especially fun because everyone can choose something different. Kids can decorate their containers, plant them and then be responsible for watering and watching their plants grow (you can bring them inside as the weather cools).

I love activities where the experience continues after the actual staycation day is over.

You don’t even have to sleep outside all night. Set up a tent, blankets or sleeping bags in the backyard, have dinner outside, look for fireflies, tell stories and do some stargazing. We also read with our kids. My wife and I are teaching them Portuguese, our native language, and they especially love reading little stories from Turma da Mônica comic books, which are something we grew up with in Brazil. Sitting together in the tent and reading those stories by flashlight is a fun way to make the campout special. Find your childhood favorites, and give it a try.

Remember, for younger kids especially, camping 20 feet from the house can feel like a huge adventure, something completely magical, and you still have your own bathroom and kitchen nearby!