Doug Menuez
I am itching to take my family on a spring break holiday. My inbox is filled with vacation ideas and offers. Hotels I've visited in the past surface via email to let me know about their special March break rates. The subject line of an email from Air Canada reads, "You deserve a spring getaway". Maybe I do.
On a business trip to Orlando this week, I was surrounded by gaggles of young children on my flight, en route to Disney World. It made me wish I could take my own Disney-obsessed offspring to the theme park for the first time.
But when I start to run the math on a spring getaway, staying at home doesn't seem so bad. Even if I were to use hotel coupons and my air loyalty points, I can't find an attractive destination that would cost less than $2,000 for my family of four (and a Disney holiday would cost far more). That's approximately $1,500 more than I want to spend on a holiday, having put most of our extra cash into RRSPs last month.
I'm not alone in feeling stingy this spring, according to a recent Air Miles survey.
Taking a March Break vacation may be a thing of the past for many Canadian parents who are showing more concern about time, money and stress in 2010 than in past years, Air Miles reports.
79 per cent of parents surveyed say they are not planning to take any time off at all this March Break. Of those respondents, 52 per cent say they are foregoing a mid-winter vacation for a holiday later this year. One in three of those confess they just can't afford it.
"Canadians are taking a very different approach to March Break 2010 following a challenging economic year," said Neil Everett, senior vice president and chief marketing officer of the AIR MILES Reward Program.
More parents are planning activities around the home for their kids instead. This year, the 'stay-cation' will continue to be popular for Canadian families.
Of course, that opens up a new set of concerns. How can we keep our kids busy on a budget during March Break? One in five parents told AIR MILES that they feel pressured about organizing March Break plans for their children and 80 per cent of these parents are stressed about the cost.
Here are some resources I've been using to plan our stay-at-home holiday.
City guides: Check out your city's website for March Break ideas. Many cities list the events they're hosting or sponsoring during the holiday. You can also look at locally oriented websites, such as Toronto.com in Toronto, which has a full guide to all of the activities around town during the break. Most of these are geared towards kids and are often free.
Today's Parent magazine: The magazine's website features a March Break 'headquarters' with ideas for entertaining your children inside and outside of the house. The magazine also lists child-friendly vacation spots within Canada. Many of these may just be a car trip away and sure to fit within a frugal budget.
Loyalty programs: Loyalty program reward points can be rewarded to more than just air travel - they can be redeemed for activities as well. Whether you're an Aeroplan or Air Miles member, you can use miles for sports, movie and theatre tickets and even day trips.