You know I love a good date night. And you know that nothing gives you time and space to talk and invest in someone like undivided attention and intentionality.
Our mom friends are no different.
Most of the time, when I’m seeing or spending time with one of my friends, our kids are there. There are interruptions from sharing gone awry, injuries, feedings, diaper changes, phone calls, and more. And each time we make it back to our talk, we may not be able to remember where we left off and we start all over again. Or someone has to leave quickly, even in the middle of a thought.
My husband asked me once about a specific question I was going to meet a friend about and I told him I didn’t know the answer. Between pleasantries and general chit chat and then the interruptions, we never got around to the question. I texted it to her later that night.
I’m not saying every mom at your MOPS table or from library story time has to be your BFF but there are women in your life that you’d love to know better and to be able to invest in one another, and that takes some uninterrupted time.
So, Mom Dates.
What is a Mom Date exactly?
A Mom Date is time to spend in intentional time together, getting to know each other, having an entire conversation, sharing things that you enjoy with each other. It’s just like a date date, only with another mom.
Think of things that grow a relationship – face-to-face time (conversations) and shoulder-to-shoulder time (learning something new together, working at something together, just being around each other intentionally) and try to do those things.
Why are Mom Dates important?
I’m not saying they need to happen all the time, but I know I need some moms who are on my team. Moms who have gone before me. Moms who are where I am. Moms who are not yet where I am. I need them in my corner for the insanely hard parts of mothering. And the team I want in my corner, I need to know them and trust them with my fearfully and wonderfully made-ness.
My number one Mom Date secret?
It doesn’t even HAVE to just be the two of you (or 3 or 4 but I’d say no more than 4) as long as the kids are completely occupied and not interrupting. So there’s options there as well, they just take a little more finess.
It may feel silly, especially if you aren’t getting a date night with your husband (which, please start there). And it may seem like maybe not the highest priority.
But I know how great I feel after a morning at MOPS or MOPS Bible Study so I think the idea of getting to spend one-on-one time with another mom and talk and listen and connect is really important.
Girls’ Night Out may seem like a thing of the past, but I say, let’s revive them! I say let’s take some time to one-on-one with another mom.
Can’t think of anything fun to do? Well here are some ideas!
20+ Ideas for Mom Friend Dates
Treats
-mani/pedis
-shopping trip
-overnight stay
-spa day
-road trip
-cooking, art, or other class
Low Cost
-glass of wine after bed time
-cup of coffee after school drop off
-movie matinee while kids are at school
-book club or small group study
-one time classes at library or book store
-Bible journaling
-scrapbooking
-donut run
Free
-morning jog
-walk
-hiking
-dessert club (make desserts for each other once a month)
-pray
-coloring pages (you can grab some out of the LATCC member area by joining here)
Out of the Box
-apple picking
-canning or preserving
-freezer meal prep
-host a benefit party (like for Apparent Project)
-Skype or Facetime
Want to print this list out for a quick idea? Click here to get access to the list!
**FREE PRINTABLE – GET YOURS HERE**
Taking time to build our friendships is so valuable to our motherhood. These moms we do life with get us in a way that sometimes even our husbands can’t and so building those bonds of friendship are really important.
Have any other Mom Friend Date ideas you do or would like to start doing? Share them in the comments!
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