Taking a Vacation... without leaving the house

Yesterday, my family was scheduled to travel to Florida on vacation, but our trip was cancelled due to Covid 19 restrictions. We were all looking forward to our vacation and to spending time with my extended family. Because we were all a little sad, we decided to plan a "fake vacation" at home. We put up some decorations, decided on a fun menu and planned a special activity. It was a simple celebration, but we ended up having a wonderful evening.

We started by putting up some decorations to transform our house into "fake Florida".

I draped the chairs and table with beach towels and hung some dollar store leis from the light fixture.

We also dug out photos and photo albums from past trips. Reminiscing about past vacations is always a lot of fun.

We had this foam core shark head from a past birthday party, so we dug it out and put it to use.

We also decorated with a pool noodle palm tree, a cardstock yellow sun, and some pictures (of oranges, flamingos, and alligators) coloured by my kids.

Once our decor was in place, we planned our special menu and activities. 

We had milkshakes in Disney mugs with cocktail umbrellas.

I also made snack packs for the kids. (These are the treat boxes the boys traditionally pack in their carry on bags when we go on special trips, so they seemed like fitting snacks to serve.)

Then, we hung a bed sheet in our living room, set up our projector, and gathered to watch a movie and a YouTube video of Disney fireworks. It wasn't the same as being there, but we still enjoyed it. (You can find the video we watched here.) 

We are hoping to go on a real vacation soon, but for now, we are making the best of our current situation. Taking a vacation without leaving the house really is a fun way to spend an evening as a family. I wonder where we should go next! 

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Check out the little video we made to show you a bit more about what we did...

 

Best Things to do in Prince Edward Island {with kids}

The boys and I just got back from a week and a half in Prince Edward Island {PEI}, and we had a fantastic time.  If you ever get a chance to vacation on the East Coast, I highly recommend including PEI in your vacation plans.

Here are {in my opinion) the best things to do in PEI with kids:

1) Visit Avonlea Village - My boys love Avonlea Village.  It provides great "old fashioned" fun for the whole family.  If your little ones love live music, live theatre, dressing up, and playing games... you should totally check it out.

2) Have a Cow's ice cream - No trip to PEI is complete without a stop at Cow's.  Trust me, this ice cream is delicious.  (PS... "Moo Crunch" is my favorite flavour.)

3) Attend the Gold Cup and Saucer Parade - If you happen to be in PEI during Old Home Week, you should make sure you attend the Gold Cup and Saucer Parade.  It is full of fun floats, characters, and music.  My boys thought it was great!

4) Play at the beach - PEI has some of the world's most beautiful beaches, so take some time to explore them.  My boys love swimming in the ocean and searching for sea glass.

5) Spend time with family - PEI is a great place to focus on family.  This year, we were lucky to have family from Ottawa, Halifax, and England join us.  I can't think of a better place for my boys to make memories with their cousins.

6) Visit Shining Waters - When the temperature rises, Shining Waters is the perfect place for the little ones to cool off.  There are rides, water slides, boats, a pool, and much more.  Children of all ages will have a blast!

7) Go camping - PEI has many excellent family campgrounds, and this year we stayed at Marco Polo Land.  It is a great place for kids.  My favorite part was our campfire snack... Reese Peanut Butter Cup S'mores.  Yum!

8) Take the ferry - Instead of taking the Confederation Bridge, we took the ferry.  It costs a little more, but it is definitely a highlight for the boys.  We like to pick the boat that has live music and Cow's ice cream.  :-)

Have you ever taken a trip to Prince Edward Island?  What was your favorite part?

♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)

Vacation Recap

Just a quick post to let you know what my boys and I have been up to... and maybe provide a  little inspiration for your own vacation.  :-)

My husband had two weeks vacation, so we hit the road (a quick trip to Halifax, NS and a week in a cottage on Prince Edward Island).

In Halifax: 

We took a ride on Theodore Tugboat.

We hit the beach.

We visted Subenacadie Wildlife Park.

In PEI:

We hopped on a Ferry.

 

We spent a day at Avonlea Village.



We "Followed the Fiddler" in Victoria by the Sea.

We are having lots of fun (despite the less than perfect weather), and the summer isn't over yet.  Hope you and your family are having a great summer!

PS (If you are looking for more summer inspiration, you can check out my Super Summer Checklist.  You'll find 50 easy and fun summer activities.)