No one needs a night off like mom! With the hustle and bustle of daily living, life has never been more hectic, stressful, and demanding for the women who make all the magic happen. It is high time for moms to schedule a breather. These moms' night-out ideas will have all the ladies ditching the sweats, grabbing their purses, and running for the front door.
Drinks on the Deck
Create your own cocktail paradise on your deck. Everyone in your circle can take turns hosting and even adopt different themes for each gathering. Play around with innovative cocktail recipes, trying a new one each month. In the colder months, bundle up and sweep out the garage. Call it Gals in the Garage and focus on warm drinks, winter cocktails, and sweet mixed drinks. Heading out to the garage or the deck isn't exactly a vacation, but if it is away from the kids, the significant other, and the chores, it counts as a night away!
Paint and Play
Even if no one in your friend group is a budding Picasso, you can all still get together and channel your creativity through paint. Many larger cities now offer classes to those who want to learn how to paint like a pro. Sign yourself and your friends up for a Friday night session. If painting doesn't sound fun to anyone, look to pottery or blanket making. As long as the class is social and creative, it will feel completely therapeutic.
Form a Book Club
Reading is a wonderful way to de-stress, so why not take your love of reading outside of your home? See if a few ladies would be interested in creating a book club. Choose a book to read and then meet up to discuss the book and whatever else comes up. You can meet at a different book club member's home each week, or choose various coffee shops or eateries to hold your gathering. Mom nights don't have to be wild and crazy; they can be low-key and productive too. Tailor them to your personality.
Get Physical
For mothers who are stressed to the max, an evening out burning calories with pals might be the ultimate mom's night out activity. If you would rather spend a free night moving about, rather than sitting at a wine bar or restaurant, organize an activity that will get your heart pumping. Get a group of friends together for an evening of volleyball or throw a softball game together at a local ball field. Hit the golf course for a round of twilight golf.
Go Old School With a Sleepover
Remember when you were young and a weekend with a sleepover was everything to you? Recreate the good old days with a few close friends and have a sleepover. Rent a hotel room or stay at a girlfriend's house, leaving the kids and chores for your partner. Cuddle up on the couch, eat popcorn, and watch your favorite blasts from the past on the television screen.
Treat Yourself to a Spa Day
Sometimes a few spa treatments are the ticket to a rejuvenated mommy. Head to the local spa and get your nails done or indulge in a massage. Spa treatments are not cheap, but self-care is essential and sometimes totally worth the price. When you feel overworked and worn down, pretty nails or brightened-up skin can make you feel brand new.
Make Memories With Photos
You and your mom friends probably spend a large portion of your life snapping pictures of your families. Take an evening and turn the camera on yourselves. Why not organize a mom photo shoot? Have someone come and take pictures of you and the ladies that keep you sane. These pictures can be traditional or hilarious and goofy, depending on your personalities. When you find that you are having a particularly rough week, you can peek at your beautiful pictures and know that you are never really alone.
Get Cooking
If there is one skill a mom has to have to keep her family alive, it is cooking! The task of cooking for a family can become mundane and boring, but a night out with food on the brain can change all of that. Find friends in the same boring recipe boat and try a recipe swap or cooking demo. Get together and share tried-and-true recipes that you can add to your arsenal. For adventurous foodie friends, kick things up a notch and take a cooking class, where you all learn a new skill in the kitchen.
Laugh Off the Stress
They say that laughter is the best medicine, so why not head to where the jokes are? A great place for ladies to unwind and smile is at a comedy club. Let others entertain you while you do nothing more than sip something delicious and giggle with your besties.
Get Your Game On
Take an evening off of playing Uno and Candy Land with the kiddos and pull a "ladies only" game night together. Play a few rounds of cards or an adult-centric board game. Take turns with friends hosting this event so that only one mom gets saddled with the responsibilities of hosting each week.
If you and your friends are headed out to a public establishment for the evening, bring the fun along with a few of these creative party games to elevate the evening.
Channel Your Brainpower With an Escape Room
Escape rooms are all the rage, and it is easy to see why! They are fun, require teamwork, and encourage creative thinking. Gather up the gals, head to an escape room, and see if your group has what it takes to solve the clues and break out in record time. If you have a large group of friends, split into two groups and see which team solves their puzzle first.
Dress Up and Dine Out
Eating out is not exactly a novel concept, but dressing up in your finest frock and getting a meal with the ladies? Moms know that this kind of excursion certainly doesn't happen every day. After you become a parent, evenings of high heels, skirts, and blowouts are few and far between. For many mothers, a wardrobe consists of yoga pants, sweatshirts, and work clothes.
Set aside one glorious evening where you have time to get yourself pretty as a picture and meet up with trusted mommies at a fine dining establishment. Channel your inner-Carrie Bradshaw, order a cosmopolitan, and pretend for just a few hours that your only world concern is what you will order off of the menu.
See a Psychic
Visiting a psychic or a tarot card reader might be a fun experience for even the most skeptical moms. Find a local psychic who is willing to do a few readings and see how spot-on they are. Head over to a local cafe or eatery afterward to discuss the predictions and the tellings.
Pick a Project and Give It a Whirl
Moms love Pinterest! Talk to your gal pals and see if your group can come up with a project that everyone would enjoy trying their hand at. Consider making a sign for your front doors, items for gardens, or something else that everyone can create and showcase in their homes. Set up an email chain for all participants to include which items they will buy and bring to the project night, as well as a dish to pass around. Make and takes are excellent choices for mom nights because when else do moms have the time to make something just for themselves?
Ride Around in Style
What if you place less emphasis on "where" you go and more emphasis on "how" you get there? If everyone has a bit of extra cash to spare one month, pitch in and rent a limo or a party bus for a few hours. Head out on the town in style, popping into your favorite stores and restaurants. No one has to drive, and everyone gets to share in a special experience.
Support Your Favorite Team
Are you and your mom friends die-hard football fans? Do you live near a university and support the college basketball team? If so, then use your mom's night out card to dress in school or team spirit and support your favorite team. Grab a hot dog and a beer, and cheer on whoever is playing.
Host a Zany Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger hunts are fun ways to spend a few hours with friends, and they don't have to be for kids! Moms can play too. Each month, a different mom is in charge of setting up a scavenger hunt. Leave clues around town, ending in a different spot each month, like a coffee shop, a bar, or someone's back patio. Break your friend group into pairs and set them free, seeing who can quickly solve the clues and riddles.
The Single Most Important Consideration for a Mom's Night Out
When it comes to a moms' night out, you can paint the town red or go low key and bond with your besties in your sweatpants. As long as everyone in the group is happy with the choice, it really doesn't matter what you do. The single most important consideration in planning a mom's night out is to have fun. However, "fun" looks to you is completely fine! Surround yourself with people you love, admire, and are comfortable around. You don't get out of the house often, so when you have the opportunity to do so, spend those precious hours unwinding with people you enjoy.
