Give me a BREAK!

I’ve spent most of my week at Service Canada getting the boys their passports for our Big Family Vacation at the end of March. We are literally counting down until the plane ride and our stay in Orlando with my parents and my sister’s family. The boys truly have NO idea of what they are in for!  Of course, I’m excited for the sun, seeing the sights through my boy’s eyes and relaxing around the pool!

The great thing about going away at the end of March is the savings on airfare and accomodations, but it also means that we will be home during March Break and I will need to entertain my boys for the week and try to keep the arguments to a minimum! 

I want to try some stay-at-home, FREE activities with the boys during our week together.  We are trying to stick to a budget and be more creative with our time and money!  We are so quick to spend a fortune on the admission costs for outings, but now we are challenging ourselves and our creativity!

1. Photo/Video Week– both of my boys LOVE to take videos and photos with my cameras.  So during our STAYCATION- I’m going to give them my cameras to capture whatever “theme” they want each day.  We’ll print them out on our computer and make a little booklet.

2.  Collect all the Kinder Toys!– Ty is on a mission to collect every single new 2012 toy and put them on display!  I hope he shares his chocolate!

3.  Unplugged Playdates– I’m sure many of you can relate to the playdates that are centred around the game console.  The kids are not moving or interacting at all!  For this week, we can have some gaming time, but when playdates are over, this will be kept to a minimum!

4.  Cooking and Baking- I’m trying to be a bit more creative with our meals and even broke out the CrockPot that was given to me as an engagement gift over 12 years ago!  I want the boys to help pick some receipes and participate in making the dinners.  We have also been having fun creating new cereal/marshmallow treats by adding pretzels, peanut butter and using different cereals! 

5.  Getting Outside- Our new puppy is really fantastic, but she is NOT a great walker on her leash!  Practice makes Perfect….so we just need to take her each day for a nice walk together!

PLEASE SHARE YOUR FAVOURITE FREE STAYCATION IDEAS!

I’ve always been an “unofficial” KinderMom, buying those cute little eggs as a treat for my boys and for all of our loot bags! 
Now it’s official! 
Don’t forget to check out the KINDER® Canada Facebook page for a peek at the 2012 toy collection, great conversation, and exclusive monthly contests through the My Kinder Moments. 
This February they are giving away $500 towards the ultimate staycation!

“Disclosure: I’m part of the Kinder® Mom program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.”