A Fun Way to Connect with Your Daughters: Girls’ Night

Okay friends, today I want to share something a little different. I’m going to offer you an idea that I’ve really been enjoying in my own home: a fun way to connect with your daughters.

So far, I only have one girl, and a little one at that. My daughter, at the time of writing this, is 5 years old. That said, she and I are very different, and I can already see “The writing on the wall” that if I don’t make some effort to connect with her in meaningful ways now, it may only get harder as she gets older.

I really hope to be a person that my daughter trusts and would come to with her joys, fears, and questions throughout her life. The thing is, I know that relationships like that don’t just pop up out of nowhere; they are built. So, I’m making the effort to start building it now.

Here’s one way that I’m seeking to do that!

Establishing a regular “girls’ night”

I once heard someone say that her mother would have monthly “Girls’ nights,” made special with some little treat (and maybe a lit candle for ambiance), and she would take that opportunity to read a book to her girls and connect with them.

That resonated with me so much, I set to work thinking of how I could implement something similar with my daughter now. I figured out how often I wanted to plan our girls’ nights to take place, and set in motion some ideas of how to make the time special for her.

How often I host girls’ nights with my daughter

My husband has an evening commitment bi-weekly with our church, so that seemed like the most logical time for me to plan a girls’ night. Every two weeks, my daughter expects (and is so excited for) having some one-on-one time with me after her brothers go to bed.

At the moment, I let her stay up an hour past her bedtime, and we will do something fun to make the night special. If my husband and I ever have more daughters, and their age ranges make the timing work differently (or if our schedule changes), I may change the way I do this… but for now, this is working perfectly for our season of life.

Intentionality vs. spontaneity

While I love spontaneity, I also know that building relationships doesn’t usually work that way. So, I’ve decided to make this a regular part of life so that we can be intentional to invest in our relationship. I want to have a time together that’s fun, enjoyable, and hopefully, bonding.

It’s true, something like this is not an absolute must in order to have a good relationship with your daughter(s); but hey, it sure doesn’t hurt, right? Plus, it’s so much fun for both of us!

Ideas for making the night fun

So far, with a 5-year-old, girls’ night is a pretty simple time. My girl loves getting her nails done, loves a good treat, love a good story, and loves to color. So, for girls nights, we pretty much focus on one or two of those things.

Here are a few activities that I like to do with my 5-year-old:

  • Baking
  • Having something fun to eat or drink together
  • Coloring
  • Puzzles
  • Nail polish
  • Reading a good book (so far, we’ve been into a book of old fairy tales or the Little House books)
  • Occasionally, a short movie

Soon, I plan to add some of the following to my rotation:

  • Sewing
  • Embroidery
  • Crochet (I recently crocheted a baby bonnet for her doll while she colored; she loves it!)
  • Crafting
  • Painting
  • Christian devotionals/good literature to generate discussion

Some great recipes to try with your girl

Making cookies, brownies, or some other little treat is always a fun thing to do. Since at the moment I only plan for an hour of girls’ night (and baking takes time), I sometimes prep cookie dough ahead of time, and then I let her scoop them and bake them so that they are done in time to enjoy eating one with a good story or alongside a fun art project.

One thing that is a staple for our girls’ nights is a homemade (decaf) tea latte. I like to make her some variation of my London Fog recipe so that she can enjoy the special frothed milk and delicious creamy tea drink in the cup of her choice.

If you need some recipe inspiration, here are a few favorites:

My hope for the future

I hope that with these regular habits and good memories, we can create a space in our home where my girls feel loved and listened to. As they grow older and life’s questions become abundant, I want to be there for them to help guide and encourage them.

Eventually, I hope to include some sort of reading into our girls’ nights for the purpose of generating discussion with them, maybe on more sensitive topics that wouldn’t come up with their brothers around. I want to create a space where those conversations can naturally happen.

A few girls’ night must-haves (for us):

There are a few things I pull out for girls’ nights that we really enjoy. Feel free to check out these links for some of my favorite girls’ night supplies!

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A question for you

 What are some things that you have done to connect with your girls? I’d love to hear from (and learn from) you!

Let me know in the comments!

Bye for now,

Naomi

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