With fuel at an all-time high, many families are planning their summer activities close to home. In fact the popularity of this trend has spawned a new catch phrase - "Staycations". Some people are opting to renovate their outdoor living spaces to enable a 'retreat at home'. Others are simply staying in the city to entertain themselves, and parking their cars. For families with young children, this may be disheartening, since we all want to give our kids as many unique experiences as possible. The reality is that there are countless 'experiences' right in your own backyard. Here are some ideas to consider:

Museums / Historical Monuments - Most Cities in North America have some form of Museum or Historical Monument. The U.S. seems to have more of these per capita, but based on a wild-assed guess, there should be a museum/historical monument within 30 kilometres of almost everyone in North America. Even though you may have personally visited these locations many times prior, to your kids, it can be a fascinating place to learn and have fun. In London, we are lucky to have both a regular Museum, as well as a Children's Museum.

Nature Walks - Usually free, all you have to do is find a decent-sized forested location and jump right in. Your kids will treat this as a new and exciting adventure every time. Just make sure you are not trespassing, or if you are trespassing - bring running shoes for the whole family.

Picnics - although we haven't had one in a while, our kids always bring this up. Maybe we will do that this weekend.

Beach - We are truly lucky to live within 45 minutes of two major Great Lakes (Erie and Huron), which are home to many great beaches. The beach is always an easy sell for our kids, we have no trouble spending an entire day building sand castles and playing in the water. The only additional cost is the fuel to drive there.

Camping - You don't have to find the most secluded wilderness location to have a great camping adventure. You can simply put the tent up in the backyard, the kids will get just as excited. The additional positive to camping at home is that you are a couple steps away if the ferocious neighbourhood cat begins to stalk the kids.

Festivals - Many communities have seen a revitalization of Town Fesitivals/Celebrations which were extremely popular decades ago. These serve as a great source of entertainment and food, but also as a great way to get to know the other locals....