This time last year I was feeling pretty numb at the prospect of my first born starting school in September. I was on maternity leave, and as such, we had been blessed to have had lots of quality time together on my days at home. We’d adapted well to being a family of four despite a rocky start and prolonged hospital stay and I’d really seen a sisterly love start to develop between the two siblings. Whilst having 12 months maternity seemed like it would last an eternity at the start, the time absolutely flew past, and before we knew it, we’d celebrated Erin’s turning four, and the 4th September crept ever and ever closer. The date where all of a sudden life was going to change.
Not only was I due to return back to work to my previous job in Coventry; meaning early mornings and late returns, but Neve was starting nursery 2 days a week, and Erin was starting reception. The first day in her long journey of full time education. It felt like the whole world was turning upside down.
When I got offered a new job closer to home, and unexpectedly ended up having the week before Erin started school off work, we decided to have a week of Mum Daughter dates – just the two of us – and cram in as much quality time as we possibly could before those days of midweek rendezvous were gone forever. With Neve planned to be at either nursery or her grandparents, this week would allow us to have some real one on one time – a reminder of how life had been before her sister’s arrival, and she could enjoy my company without distraction and have the undivided attention she deserved.
I planned a whole week of activities, some of which I have included and elaborated on below, but if you are planning on doing something similar – here is some inspiration. Obviously most of these would work equally well for Mum – Son Dates too!
- Trip to the theatre – Erin loves going to the theatre – the big chairs, the lights going down and the mid interval ice cream. We headed down to our local theatre to see their rendition of Dogs don’t do Ballet which was perfect. Family friendly, light hearted and with lots of audience participation, and we even got to meet the cast at the end.
- Trip to the cinema – who doesn’t love a trip to the cinema?! – and with lots of big release films like the Incredibles 2 out this Summer, the movies is the ideal Mum daughter date. Share the popcorn, let them pick the location of your seats, and let them sit on your lap and have a snuggle if the wish so takes them!
- Trip to a theme park – If you have an adrenaline junkie like me, then a trip to your local theme park like Drayton Manor or Alton Towers is ideal. With many 2-4-1 or kids go free vouchers to be found online and on cereal packets – you can have a fab day out without it costing the earth.
- Go to the beach – head out with your bucket and spade for an afternoon of sandcastle competitions, moat creating and bury each others feet. If like me you live in the middle of a city, head to your nearest makeshift beach instead – in our case Costa del Solihull (which returns this July to Touchwood!)
- Go ice skating – Erin’s a big fan of ice skating, and when we took her to the outdoor rink earlier in the year she absolutely loved using the penguin supports to help guide her around the ice. We ran out of time on our mother daughter date week, but this would definitely have been a hit and something we intend to do later in the year.
- Go trampolining – Erin loves nothing more than to bounce and be creative, and fancies herself as a bit of a gymnast. We headed down to our local trampoline park for some quality bouncing time, and got there for the first session of the day which was definitely a good idea, as once 10.30 hit it really did start to get busy.
- Go ten pin bowling – 10 pin bowling never gets old, and with most modern lanes having the ability to alternate between using the bumpers and not, its a fun activity for all ages. (Alternatively like me, you can leave the bumpers on for your turn too!!!)
- Go for afternoon tea – this was my favourite of our activities – we headed along to Hogarths for a mother daughter afternoon tea. Hogarths do their own childs afternoon tea which made Erin feel incredibly grown up, drinking out of posh china mugs with her little pinky finger sticking out to the side before tucking into lots and lots of cake. Not only was this a great way to really talk and chat with my daughter, having one on one conversations about everything and nothing at all, but it made me feel a bit warm and fuzzy inside watching how excited she found being treated like a grown up.
- Go to the park – a nice free one, but we really enjoyed heading down to our local park together, and as cruel as it might sound, it was nice for me not to be pushing a pushchair or requiring eyes at the back of my head whilst I tried to watch both children at the same time. It was great being able to watch Erin without her having to shout “Mummy Look!” every 5 minutes, and walking home together hand in hand.
- Go to the library and read books together – Erin’s always had a bit of a love for books, so we headed off to our local library and sat in their reading area for a little while, chilling on the beanbags and just reading stories out loud together. This was probably more special for me than her, but it reminded me of the times when she was little when I read to her every single night before bed. Now breastfeeding Neve, Mike tends to put Erin to bed instead, and its those precious moments before she nods off to sleep that I miss the most.
- Go shopping for a pretty dress – this one was SOOO much fun. We headed to our local shops and went shopping for a pretty dress, heading off to the changing rooms and letting her try them all on before picking her favourite, which we bought and she carried home in her own little bag. Again, Erin absolutely loved feeling like she was shopping by herself, and we had a proper laugh as she starting posing and admiring her own reflection in the mirror.
- Go out for ice cream – who doesn’t love ice cream? You could head out for the day – Henley in Arden is the best ice cream in the West Midlands by far, or pop to your local Desserts only restaurant. Grab the biggest one you can find with two spoons and chocolate sauce. The happy face with an ice cream moustache will make it worth every penny.
- Bake a cake together – Erin loves baking, and we often make cakes together when Neve is napping. If you’re not a natural baker, why not buy a kit! Simply add egg and water, and help them stick the stickers on the icing. They will love it.
- Don’t fancy heading out? Have a film day at home – and make your own popcorn. Little ones will love helping you pop the kernels over the hob, and you can snuggle up under the duvet together and let her pick the film. Expect something Disney related.
- Do mini mani pedis – Erin loves having her nails painted, and loved it even more when we had a mum daughter mani pedi day at home. We used toe dividers, bright coloured varnish and sequin stickers to really make it feel a bit special. I’d love to say my toes were painted quite as neatly as hers – but I’d be lying!!
- Go for a picnic – if the weather is kind to you, head off for a mother daughter picnic. Grab a huge picnic blanket, head to your favourite picnic spot, and take all her favourite treats – party rings, mini sausage rolls, pringles – sod trying to be healthy, make this her dream picnic with all the naughty bits!
- Do some crafting – before Neve was born Erin and I used to craft 2 or 3 times a week. She loves cutting and sticking, making and creating and it was great to have some time to do this without Neve trying to eat all the tissue paper. Why not create a craft of her in her school uniform as a little momento?
- Dance round the living room to their favourite movie soundtrack – this never fails to entertain. Turn the music up loud and dance like no ones watching. Not only will she love spinning, twirling and rocking out, but you will both burn off some energy in the process (winner)
- Dress up in fancy dress together – Erin loves dressing up as a Disney princess, and our box of outfits is pretty full – including the odd tiara and necklace that Mummy can get involved with too!
- Plant some seeds / flowers / veg – Summer is the ideal time to get planting fruit and veg in the garden, and is also a fab way of encouraging children to eat more healthy foods. Erin loves helping us sow seeds in the garden, and its a fun activity that allows them to get their hands dirty!
- Draw each other’s portraits (so much fun!!!) – We didn’t do this during our mother daughter date week but I really wish we had – as this is something that I think would be great for the memory box and will be interesting to see how the images change as she grows up!
- Go swimming – Erin loves swimming, so heading over to a pool with a slide or wave machine is a fun morning out.
- Look at photos together from your own childhood including your first day at school – Erin absolutely loved doing this, and found it hilarious that mummy had pigtails on her first day at school. The likeness is actually quite uncanny!
- If you have a whole day spare, go on an adventure, walk, trail or treasure hunt. In the Midlands the Gruffalo trail at Cannock Chase is a superb day out, or on a smaller scale the walk through to the Play area at Baddesley Clinton is definitely worth a look.
- Finally, let her decide. Ask her what she wants to do with Mummy the most – the answer may surprise you!
However you decide to spend your last few weeks before school, I hope you have an amazing time. It’s an emotional time and the days are very precious; make sure you make the most of them!
Lucy
