Dates with Mommy

Normally, when you think of dating, you envision a man and a woman going out on the town for a night of fun. But, the purpose of this particular post is to give you some fantastic “date night” ideas that you can use with your kiddos.

Image Courtesy of Pixabay

Over the years I have done my very best to set aside time for each of my children, and ensure that they get the quality time with me that they (and I) need and deserve. Our mommy-daughter and mommy-son dates have proven to be cherished memories that we all treasure and reminisce over. Just last weekend my sweet baby girl was asking for a mommy-daughter day.  In saying this, you have two options:

So, you can either opt for activities that require money like:

• A day at the zoo
• Your local science center/museum
• Laser tag/Paintball wars
• A lazy day canoeing down the river
• Getting the works at a nail or hair salon
• Hitting the arcade or go-cart track
• Heading out for a round of golf/putt-putt
• Going to the bowling alley or pool hall
• Enjoying a day at the closest water park (swimming pool)
• Grabbing lunch or dinner at a nice restaurant
• Stopping by the Roller Rink or Ice Rink
• Grabbing the newest flick at the theater while you’re out and about
• Horseback riding in a serene location
• And so on…

OR

You can choose the relatively freebie route which includes these fun activities:

• Have a spa day at home-do each other’s makeup, nails, and hair
• Watch the sun set together
• Have a slumber party with junk food and movies
• Go out and do grave rubbings together
• Head to the library, rent some books, and then read them together
• Have a dance party in the living room
• Gaze at the stars and point out the constellations to one another
• Have a prissy garden tea party with all the fixings
• Pull out the coloring books and have a contest
• Go on a bike ride together
• Blow up a ton of balloons and see who can burst the most with only their butt
• Have a dress up fashion show/montage-at home, a department store, or at your local thrift shop. Take a ton of pictures or a video of this moment-also fun to do at the costume shop
• Have a Karaoke party and bellow out the tunes together
• Craft Hour-pick a craft, gather up the necessary supplies, and have a blast-paint party-art journaling/scrapbooking-knitting/crochet/needlepoint/cross stitch/sewing, woodworking, and so on
• Have a Nerf Gun fight in the house AND in the dark
• Go on a camping trip together
• Dig out the Lego’s/K’Nex and see who can come up with the best creation
• Grab a couple of cones or sundaes at your closest ice cream shop
• Head to the park and play on the equipment-it’s an even better experience the older they get-it’s a reminder of their youth
• Be your child’s paparazzi for the day-grab every shot you can while you’re out together and then compile these memories in their own personal “tabloid” magazine-you can make these on your home pc, at the drug store, at big box shops, or online
• Head to the park and fly a kite together-have a picnic with all of your shared favorites-roll over and point out the pictures in the clouds-make “flower” tiaras together
• Bust out the board games-challenge them to a video game-shuffle out the cards and teach them something new
• Start a daily journal that you pass back and forth-write little snippets and draw fun pictures for them to enjoy-my daughter ran across ours from 7 years ago recently-she loved going through it and remembering our special times together
• Have a fun game of hide and seek-do it at home, head to the mall, play at your local toy store (my super cool aunt does this one with her boys)-simply pick your location and get ready to have the time of your life
• Grab the jug of bubbles and your massive collection of wands and see who can burst the most bubbles in a specified amount of time-it’s a TON of fun!
• Put together a pile of clothing/shoes/accessories and have a dress up race-run as fast as you can to the pile and compete to see who can get “dressed” the fastest and get back to their starting point first
• Have a water balloon fight-rub them down with oil to make it a bit more challenging
• Dig out the Halloween box and grab the face paints-let your imaginations run wild, but don’t forget the camera
• Have a hot tub? Jump in and enjoy each other’s company-talk about life, hobbies, aspirations…
• Put together a fun scavenger hunt to enjoy together
• Stuck indoors? Build an old school fort out of chairs and sheets-don’t forget the flashlight for ghost stories
• Throw a surprise “I LOVE YOU” party for your child-balloons, cake, ice cream, I Love You gifts, cheesy party games and funky music in the background

So, of course, there are a million and one additional ideas available for you in this world, but these are the few that I was able to throw together during a brain storming session at work. It’s not about WHAT you do, but that you’re doing SOMETHING together. These spontaneous moments are the ones that will stick out in their minds, the ones that will impact them the most. Give them incredible memories that will last them a lifetime!

What mommy/kiddo “date night” ideas would YOU add to the list?