Let’s face it, it is expensive running kids to and from summer activities.  Not only the gas, but the cost of the activities, the time it takes to load them up and pick them up and all in the hot heat of the summer!  So, staycations are the way to go, in my opinion.

Staycations are easy to plan in the comfort of your own home and can be a lot of fun with a little creativity.

And my new favorite place to go for inspiration is Cost Plus World Market!  A month or so ago, I discovered this little gem of a store that offers everything from classic American decor to a vast selection of wine to vintage games, candies, foods and more.  And by more, I mean a TON more!  When you go, plan on being there a long time!  You won’t be able to help yourself.

Itching to go back, I decided to have a little staycation here with my kids!  My idea was to find some great food and games that would be fun and easy for them to do indoors.  It just gets too hot in Texas to do much outside during the day.

Immediately upon arriving, I see that they are having a fabulous Great Summer Getaway Sweepstakes!  Weekly trips are being awarded to 4 winners through July 13, 2012. Included in airfare and hotel accommodations is also a $500 World Market gift card!   You can get a lot of great summer vacation goodies wit h $500!

That would be a great prize to win, for sure!

See my whole experience below:

 
Motivated even more to have a fun and fabulous staycation, I headed in and started browsing.  I passes the Americana decor that I love so much and headed back to the games section.  Staycations need games!  I found a fun parachute like the kids play with at school and a really cute porcelain tea set.  I added a hangman magnetic game and headed to the food section!

If the girls were going to have a tea party, they would need some scones.  And popcorn is always a great addition to a staycation!  Especially if it involves a new movie!

I stopped in the vast beer and wine section to pick out a treat for my husband and I.  Since I am a member of the Explorer Club, I get to save as much as $8.00 on a bottle of wine!  I picked up a bottle I had been wanting to try and checked out.  The check out person pointed out my rewards on my receipt as part of the Fly & Buy promotion.  Basically, if you spend $20, you get a coupon for 15% off on a Southwest Airlines Roundtrip Wanna Get Away Fare!  How often do you see coupons on air fare?  That is really cool!  But get in before July 13, 2012 because that is when the codes stop coming.  You can redeem your code through Octoner 23, 2012, however.

Excited with my finds, I headed home to surprise my girls with a fun staycation!

The first thing we decided to do was decorate some mosaic tiaras I found in the kids area.  They sat at the table while I made the scones and set up their tea party.  Because on a vacation, you would have your lunch on pretty dishes already set for you, right?

The scones done, the girls gathered around the tea table and spent a wonderful time with their stuffed animals enjoying their scones!  I loved this and reveled in their childhood imagination as they poured ‘tea’ for each other, played waitress and talked like ‘high society’!

Once that was done, we got out the parachute with Daddy and spent some energy shaking it and running underneath it.  This is a GREAT thing to have in a house that will get your kids active and having fun on a staycation!!  We all laughed and had a blast for a while with this one!  Put some balls or stuffed animals in the middle and let them bounce them off!

Once everyone was worn out, it was time to settle in, watch a movie and enjoy some good, old-fashioned, pop on the stove popcorn.  I have never made this and it was so fun to watch the foil pop up.  Plus it was really REALLY good!  Better than most microwave popcorns too!

I poured my husband and I a glass of wine and we all settled in to watch Despicable Me… for the 50,000 time.  It was a great staycation and I am headed to World Market again when I am ready for another.  There are some colorable, fabric kites with my name on it!

Follow World Market on TWITTER  and Like World Market on Facebook 

**This shop has been compensated by Cost Plus World Market.  All writings and opinions are 100% mine.  Please see my Disclaimer/ Privacy Policy for more information.**