Father/Daughter Dance & Mother/Son Alternate Activity

My husband and 7-year-old daughter were invited to a dance at a local church on Valentine’s Day. She was beside herself with delight. It sounded like an amazing opportunity to me. Father/daughter relationships are important and we’ve never been invited to this type of event before.

Because we usually do activities all together as a family, my husband wasn’t sure how well the idea was going to go over with our sons. I assured him that all would be well and the boys and I would do “some fun alternative activity”. Ok, great! Now… what to do with the 2 boys…? I tried a Google search and found lots of mother/son activities but most involved outdoors and sports and I needed something that I could do in the evening 6:30-8:00 pm (right before bedtime). I needed something that would be fun enough to count as a viable alternative; but not so fun that it would overshadow the dance.

I finally decided to host a mother/son movie night. I offered a movie that my boys had not seen before. We invited my mama friend and her two boys (ages 3 & 7) to join us. We planned a DIY popcorn bar with freshly popped popcorn and toppings like: cinnamon sugar, Craisins (sweetened dried cranberries), mini M&M’s, coconut, peanuts and gummy bears. Here’s a link to a recipe from Raddish Kids.

A new-to-them movie + popcorn bar + friends seemed to fit the bill for an adequate dance alternative for our 9-year-old. However, our 5-year-old was still feeling slighted because he wanted a special outing with daddy too. Aye Yai Yai! More brainstorming needed…

We decided that E would take the boys to Playzeum a local children’s museum/play center with indoor and outdoor toys. The giant tube to roll around outside is a highlight!

Meanwhile K and I stayed at home to make Wellie Wisher crafts. Wellie Wishers are American Girl’s 14 inch dolls. We made necklaces, bracelets and treats for K’s doll and some for her friend L.T. who has the same doll.

Here’s the pattern for the treats. We just used tacky glue to stick two pieces of felt together and adhere bead sprinkles on top.

Finally, we had everyone covered: father/daughter dance, mother/son movie night, farther/son playtime, mother/daughter doll crafts. Whew!

🕰 We hope this post inspires you to schedule some special one-on-one time with someone you love!

🕰 Have you ever attended a father/daughter or mother/son event? Did you need an alternate activity for other kids?