I feel lucky that my high school friends are still in my life. We were together at that debaucherous New Year’s Eve party circa 2000 (may it rest in peace), and we danced all night in Vegas and kept each other’s secrets before the “What happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas” ad campaigns even existed.

We’ve celebrated graduations, toasted at weddings bedazzled in bridesmaid gear, oohed and ahhed over new homes and held each other’s sweet, fat babies. But nowadays with motherhood in full swing, sometimes it takes a text string days long just to nail down a date to get together. It usually starts with one of us sending a gif of a woman running screaming from her house. Then we know it’s time for a girls’ weekend!

Sometimes, though, we can’t all afford the expense of an extravagant weekend somewhere, and searching for an air bnb that fits all our wants can become a hurdle. So for our most recent girls’ weekend, I thought it would be fun to propose something new: a staycation at my house in Seattle!

Here are some of the great things about a staycation:

1. Planning is easy. All you have to do is set a date that works for everyone, change the sheets and clean the house.
2. Oh, and… if you have a husband and kids, then you’ll have to include them in the planning before you send the invite. They liked the idea of a weekend at my in-laws house for a little spoiling. As a double bonus, in-laws mean help for the single parent. It might also be a fun time for a daddy-kids camping trip ;)!
3. You can save money on lodging, which means you can splurge on a concert, dinner, or a cute new pair of jeans. I bought some from Anthropolologie that are forever charged with the joy of girls’ weekend.
4. It means you get to share your home with your closest friends. My husband and I work so hard on our house, it’s nice to enjoy it with friends.
5. You get to be a tourist again! Inviting friends from out of town allows you to see your city in a whole new way, and do those things you might put off otherwise.
6. It keeps girls’ weekends sustainable, which is half the battle!

Wondering what we did for girls’ weekend?My lips are sealed. But it’s one I won’t soon forget!

So what are you waiting for? Send your friends a gif of a woman running screaming from her house, and offer up yours instead! You’ll be glad you did.

Because girls just want to have fun,
Lauren