Sometimes traveling sounds terrible. There’s lines. There’s the TSA who demand that all of your liquids fit into an impractically sized bottle. Your snacks will spill at the bottom of your bag and every time you reach for your wallet, your fingers will graze old crushed up cheerios. The idea is depressing.

But there’s another alternative. It’s a little more zen and a little more cost effective.

The staycation.

Popularized during the recession, people decided to say yes to staying in more. You don’t have to fly to have a good time! Instagram photos of beaches and winter wonderlands don’t show the sunburns and the over-priced and kind of gross AirBnB.

Staying home means sweatpants. It means community pools. It means crossing off those things on your list that you said, “Oh, I’ll see that later”. What can you do on a staycation?

1. Embrace the air-conditioning and go to a museum! Double check to make sure the museum is free. Also, certain banks offer free admission to museums the first week of the month. If you’re in the Washington DC area, there’s 19 free Smithsonian’s that love kids! The Air and Space museum is always popular. If the weather is nice, the Zoo and the Sculpture Gardens are all beautiful.
2. Take a day to pretend you’re a fancy tourist. Take a car around town! See a show! Go to that really nice restaurant that you promised that you’d save for a special occasion. You’re on a staycation. This is your special occasion.
3. Take the family to a game. Nosebleed seats are just as fun as being right on the field. Embrace the experience and get the expensive t-shirts and snacks. Be sure to take plenty of adorable selfies.

Staycations are ideal. No one can cancel on you. If you don’t want to take off your sweatpants, you don’t have to. If the weather is lousy, you can stay in and get well acquainted with your couch. The key with staycations is to embrace a vacation ideology. Completely ignore all of your projects and responsibilities. You are here to relax.

In the words of Liz Lemon of 30 Rock, “Yes to love, yes to life, yes to staying in more!”