This post may contain affiliate links meaning if you buy something by clicking a link, I may receive compensation. Please see the disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are 100% my own because why promote something you don't love!
Wait a minute?! Is she saying that a weekend in a hotel with the kids—four kids?!—is the best way to spend Mother’s Day?!?!? It CANNOT be! What about a spa day or breakfast in bed or a “mom’s day off”?
Nope, I guarantee that the staycation is better than any of those things. I have celebrated eight Mother’s Days, and three times we have gone for the staycation. For the last two years we decided not to do it. I don’t really even remember if it was about cost or about time or simply about laziness in scheduling—I am looking at you, Jeremy, my husband. Regardless, we didn’t do it and SO REGRET it!
The staycations have just been so much more relaxed and fun than any other Mother’s Day.
We are incredibly lucky to live in Phoenix, AZ, the home of the “resort and spa”. There are literally tens of hundreds to choose from in the Phoenix-metro area. We have stayed at a number of them, but the ones with a great pool, water slides, and on-site dining always win out. Living in Phoenix does make it easier to choose the staycation option, but the same idea can be used literally anywhere.
So, why do I think that a staycation is the best gift?
- Somebody else makes your bed.
I don’t know about you, but I love to get into a freshly made bed. I just love it. However, I certainly don’t love MAKING the bed. At home, this is not always a number one priority in the chaos of the morning. So, sometimes, that bed is still unmade when I crawl in at the end of the day.
But not on a Mother’s Day Staycation! While I am hanging out in the pool with my little tribe, a hardworking crew is sprucing up my room and making my bright, white bed all fresh and cozy again.
- You don’t have to cook or clean and don’t have to feel like you should be cooking or cleaning.
When I am home, I feel like I need to be productive and make good use of my time. This is somehow ingrained into the fibers of my being. I am sure I am not the only mama that feels this way.
This means that, even on Mother’s Day, the day when I should be focused on taking time for me and the family, I feel like I should be picking up the house, starting the laundry, emptying the dishwasher, making meals, planning a grocery list….and the list goes on.
But! If you are not home, you cannot feel pressured to get things done around the house. You are not even there! For me this is simply the best!
- Busy kids are happy kids, and busy kids are tired kids.
Seriously, this reason is really two-fold. Happy kids make me happy and kids that don’t go crazy at bedtime also make me happy.
Without question, our staycation focus is the pool. We spend nearly all day relaxing in lounge chairs, going on water slides, playing in the baby pool, floating on the lazy river, and splashing under the waterfalls. We drink smoothies at the pool. We eat lunch at the pool. The babies even nap at the pool! We love the pool!
In fact, our staycation pool days may have been declared “the best day ever” several times by our 7-year old!
All this time spent at the pool is ultimate fun for the kids, but is also exhausting for them. The Arizona sun will drain the energy right out of you, even when the temperatures have not reached their sweltering summer status. This means that the kiddos are having a great time all day, and are exhausted by bedtime (dare I say sometimes even BEFORE bedtime!).
- You can have the second margarita.
No one has to drive, the kids are exhausted and snuggled in their cozy hotel bed, and you and the hubby can settle down to relax. Maybe you have the second margarita. Maybe you binge watch some TV since laundry is not looming in the background. Maybe you rent a movie. Maybe you just talk. No, matter what you decide to do with your extra time alone, the time is so worth it.
- Focus on family is the #1 goal.
As a full-time project manager often working long hours, I want to Mother’s Day to focus on high-quality time with my family. I don’t want to do house chores. I don’t want to fill it with jobs and tasks and planning and stuff.
Mother’s Day should be a day where we get to reflect on what it really means to be a mom and why we love this job more than any other. It should remind us that we are loved and special and the “best mommy ever”.
Sometimes a restful staycation is all you need to get that quality family time, quality kiddo time, and adoration you need.
Have another great Mother’s Day idea? Questions on where we stay in Phoenix? Tried a Mother’s Day Staycation and loved it? Post below! We can’t wait to hear about your fun!
