There have been a few terms tossed around this summer regarding the idea of enjoying your summer at home. We have heard the terms:

• Staycation - enjoying a vacation in your local community
• Fitcation - enjoying some time off while focusing on your fitness
• Daycation - taking day trips usually on one tank of gas or less

But now the Austin Daily Herald and the Mower County Fair Board has introduced a new term “Fair-cation”. Which, you guessed it, means going on a vacation at the county fair.

The Mower County Fair Board created this word to help promote the 124th annual Mower County Fair which is taking place in Austin, Texas between August 5-10th. If you want to learn more about this fair, you should really read the rest of the Austin Daily Herald’s article.

Some interesting fun facts about fairs:

• The New York State Fair is the longest running state fair in the country started in 1841
• Mercer County, Kentucky claims it is the longest continuous running country fair in the country
• King County, Washington is the longest running county fair west of the Mississippi

As I was doing research for this article I found a great article at Kids Party Fun.com which had an wonderful staycation idea for kids. Set up your own country fair in the yard or nearby park! Kid’s Party Fun: Country Fair

Enjoy your county fair.

The kids are out of school, you have a week of vacation and a gallon of gas costs $4.10. So what are you to do? What are some good staycation and activities for kids?

Here are some ideas my wife and I came up with (these ideas where also subsidized from Berlin’s Whimsey Blog)

• Picnic in the Park
• Go on a Bikeride
• Call your local movie theater, many of them do free movies for children in the mornings
• Visit your local children’s museums
• Go canoeing
• Public Water Play areas / parks (free!)
• Put on a carnival. We just went to a birthday party for our nephew, where his parents made the events out of everyday items and scrap wood from the garage.
• Minature Golf in the evenings
• Backyard Camping
• Play Mad Scientist with vinegar, food coloring, baking soda and other safe kitchen ingredients

I’d love to hear some more of your ideas. If you are looking for more great staycation ideas for kids I’d encourage you to visit…

• 40 Free Boredom Breakers for Kids on Summer Vacation
• Berlin’s Whimsy: Staycation Kids Summer Ideas & Activities…

Enjoy your summer staycation with the kids!