Tips on Tuesday: Kid's Date Ideas, Part 1

As the best blog articles go, this one is totally taken from an email of a dear friend, Heather. She emailed this weekend with these kid's date ideas and I knew I had to take it and run with it. Please make sure you know that I didn't think it up, I'm just going to use
it. (Be sure to check next week for part two of this great idea!)

Heather wrote, "I was talking to a church friend about finding time one on one with our kids—specifically Daddy time. She had an idea for me. She has two daughters so they gave each daughter 12 gift cards or coupons…1 per month. They let the girls choose mom or dad to date(told them neither would be hurt not to be chosen). And they figured out their budget and worked accordingly. (This was the main Christmas present in their family for elementary/jr high aged kids.)"

Ideas for Kid’s Date Gift Cards

How it works:

1. Figure out how many date nights you want in a month (1 per kid, 1 per parent, 1 per month in the family—so if you had two kids you’d give each one 6 cards; 3 kids would get 4 each).
2. Make a list of places you/they like to go and approx. amount needed for 1 adult, 1 kid.
3. Try to arrange so that each child has the same number and cards of interest to them and you’ve spent about the same (if that would matter to them). If it’s a family favorite, maybe everyone gets a card to use, but some options may be only of interest to that child.
4. Find a wallet or small photo book to give/keep the gift cards in (kept by Mom in safe place after unwrapped).
5. Either get the gift cards ahead and/or make them as coupons and spend just that much. (If you want to create your own certificates/cards, check out this site for lots of free printables that you can customize and use.)

Here are some suggestions:

• A cookie, pretzel, smoothie at the mall
• Tickets to movie
• Bike ride a new trail ($ for gear/snack)
• Bowling
• Skating Rink or skate park
• Chuck E. Cheese or Kid Arcade or arcade quarters
• Putt Putt Golf
• Batting Cages
• Fishing (maybe some tackle or bait money?)
• An ice cream cone run
• McDonald’s, Subway, (cheaper restaurant)
• Dress up date (sit down restaurant)
• Local attraction, Kids Museum, etc.--admission
• Apple Orchard, Berry Picking, Pumpkin Patch (usually free to enter, but take $$ to buy a little of what you pick)
• Pony Ride (check local venues) or Carriage Ride (downtown)
• Ferris Wheel ride
• Take a train (or other) ride at the zoo
• Climbing wall or activity center or paddle boat, toboggan, etc. in season
• Shopping for seeds, flowers for their own small garden (and plant it.)
• Shopping for supplies for a new craft project (embroidery, knitting, scrapbooking, etc.)
• Take a class together (art, sewing, cake decorating, cooking (Whole foods) etc.) (check hobby stores for classes to to take)
• Swimming (pool or water park)
• Sprayground date (just you and your child BOTH romping in the water)
• Kite flying (a card to buy a kite)
• Lego, knex, robot, or other kit (and make it together on your date)
• Scrapbooking (Local scrapbooking store, Creative Memories crop?)
• Ladies tea shop
• Pedicure/manicure or getting hair done in an up-do, corn rows, etc.
• Fixing up a bike ($ to bike part store)
• Building/woodworking (Lowe’s has Sat. classes often once a month and supply projects and Home Depot has children's classes but not as often)
• Photography shoot (cost of developing)
• Buy and put together a jigsaw puzzle.
• Buy or take and play a new board game, card game (maybe at Panera-for apple cider?)
• Buy a pumpkin and carve it (doesn’t have to be for Halloween)

Tune in next week for even more ideas for Dates with your Kids.