Moms' Night Out is one of my favorite movies for a reason — it highlights the real life struggle that moms face when it comes to getting a little time off from their family! With the hustle and bustle of daily living, it can seem difficult to plan a mom night for yourself and your friends, but I am here to tell you that it is possible if you choose the right itinerary!
These moms' night out ideas are the perfect way to unwind, get some much needed 'me time,' and get some actual face time with your friends.
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.
Grab some chairs, turn on Spotify, and focus on warm drinks, winter cocktails, and sweet mixed drinks. These low-key hangouts aren't exactly a vacation, but if your time is away from the kids, the significant other, and the ever-growing list of 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 and even have a cocktail or two during the experience! Sign yourself and your friends up for a Friday night session and don't forget your bottle of wine.
If painting doesn't sound fun to anyone, you can also consider pottery or crafting classes that allow you to make decor for your home. As long as the class is social and creative, it will be a therapeutic experience.
Take a Flower Arranging Class
This is one of my favorite ways to get creative and spend time with friends! Many people don't realize that local florists offer flower arranging classes and even wreath decorating classes year round. These are designed for small groups, making this another perfect excursion for a moms' night out! Best of all, you get to enjoy your arrangement when you get home.
Host an 'Oprah's Favorite Things Party'
Back in the day, Oprah hosted a show where she gave all of her in-house viewers all of her favorite things! Why not take a cue from the Queen of Talk Shows and host a party that has the same vibe. Everyone has a list of their favorite snacks, foods, cosmetics, and clothes. Pick a budget that everyone can afford and have them select an array of their favorite things to share with each guest.
So for instance, let's say you and four mom friends will be attending and you have a budget of $100 per person. This means that you are spending $20 per person and each of them will be spending $20 on you. Pick up a six-pack of your favorite beverage to share, buy some mini candles from Bath and Body Works, select small boxes of your favorite chocolate, and snag a handful of your go-to nail polish. This can be a fun way to try new things and get a little pampered before going back to mom life.
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.
Enjoy a Trivia Night
Sometimes, the best way to make the most of your time away from home is to combine a few of the moms' night out ideas so that you get the ultimate experience! In this case, grab a drink and some bar snacks with friends and test your knowledge on your favorite topics!
There are so many local spots that host trivia nights with a new theme each week. Pick the one that interests you most, have a fun night with friends, and even work your brain a little.
Go to a Movie
For the parents like myself who have a close knit relationship with the pause and rewind buttons on the remote, going to see a movie where there are no small children to interrupt the film is a grand idea. Better yet, select a theater like Alamo Drafthouse that serves food and cocktails. Talk about the whole package in one quick moms' night out!
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. You can also hit the golf course for a round of twilight golf or go bowling!
Throw Your Frustrations Away
If you have never been axe throwing, then you are missing the mark on the best ways to throw off some steam! Many cities across America now have axe throwing facilities where you can safely show off your throwing skills. This is an amazing way to blow off some steam and even get a little competitive with friends!
If axe throwing isn't available, rage rooms are another option to destress. Best of all, you get to make a mess and never have to clean it up! Talk about a spectacular mom's night out idea!
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 worth the price. When you feel overworked and worn down, pretty nails or brightened-up skin can make you feel as good as new.
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. Get comfy on the couch, eat popcorn, and watch your favorite blasts from the past on the television screen.
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 spectacularly silly, 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 preparing a meal 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 put on 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 you! A few of these creative party games can really 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.
Enjoy a Wine and Cheese Tasting
Another fun food experience for a mom night is a wine and cheese tasting. Many local wineries offer mini classes where their sommelier provides an array of perfect pairings that include meats, cheeses, jams, jellies, honey, and of course, their large selection of wines. This can serve as an exciting way to learn, relax, and indulge in some tasty treats!
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 that include 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 your besties 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.
Sing Your Heart Out
In my days before kids, if you couldn't find me at home or work, the best place to look was the karaoke bar. With a little liquid courage and a dim stage, it is easy to sing your troubles away and have a fun jam session with your friends. If you and your gal pals are brave enough to take the stage, this can be a fantastic moms' night out activity!
Take in a Performance
Speaking of singing, if you have a couple hours to spare, get some of your best friends together and go enjoy a concert, play, musical, or ballet. It is amazing how these performances can provide the peace and quiet that every mom desires, despite the fact that they are filled with songs!
Go to a Dance Hall
As a native Texan, another fan favorite mom night is heading off to a local dance hall and two steppin' your blues away. We all have stressful weeks, and a little line dancing is a spectacular way to watch your troubles slide away!
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, put a different mom in charge of setting up a scavenger hunt.
Leave clues around town, ending in a different spot each time, 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 Most Important Consideration for a Moms' 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, how "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.
