The no-vacation entrepreneur – how about a staycation?

I am confronted for the second time with the conundrom of having a business that depends on and strives in the summer months.  The Schultüte, or KinderCone, is all about the moment when summer is just shy of  a fleeting memory and the moment when routine and tasks are once again on our minds.  But – KinderCone starts planning for that day, the first day of school, long before the graduation hats fly in the air and little Kindergarten Graduates proudly can call themselves a  ”now a First Grader”.  So what is a mother with four kids to do?  Between festivals, orders and marketing campaigns, we decided to try a staycation this year.

Spare us the expensive air tickets (try flying 6 people to California), two hotel rooms (where else to put four kids) and nauseating car travel, despite the educational National Geographic videos ( it just makes me feel better about watching TV in the car).  We are going to Chicago, the Windy City, home to sandy beaches, free outdoor concerts and so many attractions they are impossible to list.  The best part: we live here.  The worst part: we live here.

I really am looking forward to exploring Chicago and try to stay on the course of a vacation: So I decided on a few rules for my family for a successful staycation

1. I will not do laundry

2.  Eating out  should always be an option

3. Computer time limited to emergency checking of mail (and KinderCone orders of course)

4. Explore a new venue or activity every day – even the most relaxing ones.

5. Spoil the girls with things we would never do – go to the movies, carnivals, a sleepover in the backyard and expensive suburban pools…

6. Get a babysitter more than once and explore Chicago at night

I miss traveling in the summer and I really miss seeing my family and friends in Germany; but staying close to home and to what is important to you can sometimes be just as good.