What is Mom / Daughter Date Day?
It’s a day very meticulously and thoughtfully designed and planned to celebrate your daughter’s unique passions and dreams for life. The day is never shared with a sibling. It belongs to she and Mom only. It’s a day where there are no other obligations, nothing to cut short your time spent together. It begins early and goes for as long as the fun continues.
Why have a Mom / Daughter Day?
Life is way too fleeting and way too delicious not to have one now and then. You’ll learn, in your one on one conversations, things that you would most likely never hear when other siblings and family members are around.
While having lunch one afternoon with my six-year-old daughter, I asked her if she dreamed of being a Mom one day. She replied with a very well thought out answer, “Yes, I want to have 10 kids and I want to home school them.” I thought I knew her personality as well as I know my own, but that answer revealed to me that I was sitting with a little girl who is, although wonderfully close to me, very much her own person. I decided in that moment that I would make sure to have many of these Mom and daughter conversations. I want to learn as much about her as I can.
When is the best time to have a Mom / Daughter Date Day?
– Think “memories of laughter”. Do something completely out of your comfort zone. Let your daughter see you “letting go” for a while. Run through a city fountain. Make a funny face at someone at a red light. I know how funny this can be because it happened to me. I was sitting at a red light and looked to my right to see an entire carload of women with their faces pressed up against their windows staring at me. They couldn’t do it for long. They burst into laughter. We all laughed. Quite obviously someone dared them to do it. I’m sure they all still talk about that. Do something your daughter will talk about for years.
– Let your daughter dress herself for the day even if it’s a little bit crazy. Heck, let her pick out your outfit too if you’re really brave.
– During your quiet lunch, plan to explain to your daughter what an amazing gift she is. Tell her the story of how she was born….about how much you dreamed of having a little girl….about your most cherished memories of having her in your life….and about your hopes and dreams for her future. It’s also a perfect time to remind her of how much she’s loved by God.
– Don’t forget the camera or video camera! Let your daughter decide which memories to capture. But don’t forget to ask a passerby to take photos of you and your daughter together. The pictures will sure make an amazing keepsake if they are used to create a book. I love Snapfish.com.
There are endless possibilities for activities to choose from. Here are just a few:
Plant a seed of culture
– Art gallery
– Community garden
– Farmers Market
– An old bookstore
– Lunch in a historic hotel
– Lunch in a tea room
Start a new tradition
– Have a caricature drawn by a local artist.
– Have a crazy pedicure done.
– Make up a song about the day and write it down for a keepsake.
– Create a bucket-list.
– Put together a funny dare list to check off as you go through the day.
– Take some chalk with you and write inspirational messages on the sidewalk in front of the places you visit.
– Throughout the day conduct a scavenger hunt with your camera.
Take a class
– Pottery
– Yoga for kids
– Painting
– Cooking for kids.
– Craft class at Michael’s
– Kids’ Project at Home Depot or Lowe’s
Get into nature
– Take a short hike
– Search for four-leaf clovers
– Go to a ranger talk at a state park
– Take a short canoe trip with a picnic lunch
– Take a picnic lunch to a campground.
– Do a zipline (Trust me you’ll love it!)
Take in some history
– Stroll through the gardens of a historic home
– Drive by the house you grew up in.
– Drive by the house your grandparents grew up in.
– Stay at a historic hotel or a bed and breakfast for a night.
Visit some place unusual
– Vintage dress shop
– Vintage book store
– Cupcake shop
– An Authentic soda shop
Create a memory that will last a lifetime and pass through generations.
The best time to plan a date day is whenever you can commit the entire day to nothing else but spending time with her.
How do you plan a Mom / Daughter Date Day?
– Ask yourself: When I was her age what kind of experience would have nurtured the passions that I enjoy today? Would there be art of some kind? Would nature play a part? Would you want to hear music played, see a performance of some kind, or perhaps learn how something was made? Take those thoughts and go online for ongoing events and activities specific to your area of town. I like to plan one really fun activity along with something intellectually stimulating.
Once, on our way to the fun activity, we swung by a free art gallery. I never even mentioned it when we discussed our plans. I just said, “Hey let’s run into this place for a couple of minutes.” My little artist soaked it up it like a sponge.” She’d never seen anything like that.
Kelly Breece
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