For me -- one of the key things is to NOT "pile on". In other words -- do NOT try to live your regular life, with all your regular chores (and maybe a few more chores added).
If the vacation time is a "work time" -- then, just be honest about that. Honest to YOURSELVES.
If you want a "vacation" -- without the hotel fees, etc. -- that is entirely different.
(You CAN combine both. In other words - the first half can be intense work on projects --- and the last half can be a real "staycation".)
For the "staycation" -- I will give you an example of what has worked for dh and me: Dh and I picked a town a couple of hours away -- that we had not visited. We got ready and left early in the morning -- and had Starbucks coffee and rolls on the way. When we arrived in the town we were visiting -- we had a very nice brunch at an attractive restaurant. We chose something fun for both of us -- it actually was a "historical tour" on a boat, on a local river.
Then, we did a little exploring in local, fancy shops. And we each got a book at a local bookstore. After that, we had a substantial, late lunch at a nice hotel.
We are not the youngest people.... and that was enough wonderful activity for us. So we drove home -- to our own, comfy home. We read our new books, watched TV, and had a sandwich when we got hungry.
We REALLY felt that we had been "away". Because we were NOT spending any money on hotels, we were able to go to "nicer" restaurants. We felt "spoiled" and "pampered". We repeatedthis kind of activity for as many or as few days as we chose. If weather was good...... we could spend more time outside. If the weather was rainy.... we could follow alternate plans.
