Obama might have won hearts worldwide with his advocation of Change, making “change” the top buzzword as chosen by Time magazine for 2008. But my favourite has got to be “Staycation”– the concept of going on vacation by just staying put.

That, which is a sour alchemy of Stay and Vacation, Staycation was created in the US last year when soaring oil prices caused flight ticket prices to skyrocket. Expensive fuel cost also obliterated long cross-states road trips as the second best option. Many Americans packed away their suitcases and chose to spend their vacations at home or in nearby cities.

Contradictory? Not so. Noone said you actually needed to get away in order to take a vacation.

Think Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City when she went on a men-fast (a word coined by Sally Field and Clarista Flockhart in the tv series Brothers and Sisters when the mother and daughter decided to swear off men and devote time to themselves) and had what she called, a date with her favourite city, The Big Apple. A day where she went to theatres and indulged hedonistically in snacks.

When I tested this new term at a New Year’s party, many of Singapore friends weren’t unaware of it yet. Thanks to fiercely competitive budget airlines, many of said friends weren’t “stayca-ying”, choosing instead to go away to Bangkok, Laos and Cambodia for their count-down festivities.

Me, I staycated.. had a few friends over with home-made Sangria and watched the fireworks from my window.

It felt pretty damn good. I didn’t feel like I had missed out on anything.

With oil prices that have continued to plummet, the idea of staycation looks like a trend that will continue to prevail for some people.

In the impending economic doom and gloom which experts warn may hit us harder still, more and more people might just have to embrace the self-deprecating or positive-thinking concept of a staycation.

Think of Carrie. Have a date with your city. Catch up with your friends and family.

Tell your friends you are having a staycation, who knows you might even get away with them thinking you are on some exotic vacation… at Home.