Are you looking for some quality mother-daughter activities to enjoy in the comfort of your own home? There are plenty of fun and meaningful ways for mothers and daughters of all ages to bond, without having to go anywhere at all!
Create an Herb Garden
Mothers and daughters can have fun planning and creating a backyard herb garden. Work together to choose a selection of fragrant herbs appropriate for your season and climate, then purchase seeds or plant starts. Head into the backyard together and prepare the soil, or set up a container garden or raised bed. You'll enjoy bonding in the sunshine while getting everything set up; and you can continue to work together to tend your herb garden and harvest the bounty of your joint efforts.
Gaze at the Stars
For mother-daughter bonding after dark, spend some time gazing at the stars together. Whether you use a telescope or just go outside and gaze up at the incredible beauty of the night sky, this can be a moving and educational shared experience. In between your stargazing adventures, consider using these printable star charts to monitor how the constellations move.
Build a Sandcastle
You don't actually have to go to the beach to build a sandcastle. Pick up a few bags of play sand the next time you go to a big box home improvement store and set them aside for a special day of mother-daughter time in the backyard. When mom and the girls have the house (yard, really) to themselves on a sunny day, pull out the sand and some beach toys, then take to the backyard to create some sand-based works of art.
Play Croquet
While you'd have to leave home to go play a round of mother-daughter golf, you can enjoy a similar (and more budget-friendly) experience playing croquet in your backyard. Once you own a croquet set, this can become a regular mother-daughter activity that provides hours of outdoor entertainment.
Practice Yoga Together
Moms and daughters can get fit and Zen together by practicing yoga at home. Toddlers and elementary kiddos will love mommy and me yoga poses, while older daughters will enjoy mastering more complex yoga poses, or working through complete online yoga classes with mom.
Dance Across the Generations
Get active together and get ready for lots of laughs, by having a cross-generational dance party at home. Each family member should take turns teaching the others their favorite dance moves. Moms can teach daughters the dance moves that were "in" when they were teens, and young daughters can share their favorite steps that are currently in vogue.
Meditate Mindfully
Bond while boosting your well-being by meditating together. Tune in to some Zen music, or go through some guided meditation scripts for a uniquely relaxing experience. Moms and daughters may find this so rewarding that they get into the habit of engaging in mindful meditation whenever they can find the time.
Keep It in the Family Clothing Swap
By the time mothers and daughters can wear each others' clothes and/or shoes, periodically host a family-only clothing exchange. This would be a really fun activity to do around spring cleaning time, which is a great opportunity to clean out the closets. Get all the girls to bring the items they no longer want to the living room, then go "shopping" to trade out items that you've always secretly coveted from each other's closets.
Paint by Numbers
Order a few paint-by-numbers sets and some easels for a creative girls' night in. Consider ordering complementary images that hang side-by-side in the family room. Or, if you're a mother and adult daughter duo, get identical images so each of you can display the same painting in your separate homes.
Create a Family Scrapbook
Create a different kind of work of art by directing your mother-daughter energy toward creating a family scrapbook together. Open the drawer or boxes that mom has stuffed full of family photos, and gather a selection of scrapbook supplies. You'll get a kick out of reminiscing over family photos and organizing select images into a special scrapbook.
Dig Around in Genealogy Research
Doing genealogy research together is a unique way for mothers and daughters to bond over their shared ancestry. Once moms and daughters start building a family tree and taking a deep dive into family history together, chances are that the joint project will continue for years (or even decades) to come.
Learn the Art of Floral Arranging
Mothers and daughters who love the look and smell of fresh flowers can learn how to make lovely floral arrangements. Poised with a selection of fresh flowers (homegrown or from the supermarket), some craft supplies for floral arrangements, and a user-friendly how-to video, let your love blossom with the process of learning how to arrange flowers.
Make Jewelry
Stock up on jewelry-making supplies from a craft store and come up with some mother-daughter jewelry designs, such as bead bracelets or paper mache earrings. Whether you make matching jewelry pieces to wear as a symbol of your love, or you make gifts for other family members, this type of crafting leaves you with a prized memento of your time together.
Upcycle Household Items
Get creative together by breathing new life into no longer needed items that are lying around the house. There are a lot of fun upcycling project ideas to consider. For example, you can have a blast coming up with creative ways to repurpose and upcycle old t-shirts to use in a variety of new and different ways.
Enjoy an Audiobook Adventure
Mother-daughter story time usually includes mom doing the reading while the daughter listens, but audiobooks make it possible for both to sit back and enjoy having someone else read the story aloud. For a relaxing take on story time, get an audiobook that you will both enjoy, and curl up together with yummy snacks while listening to the narrator tell the story.
Binge-Watch Princess Movies
Make a list of beloved princess movies and carve out some mother-daughter time to watch them together. Whether watching with a young child for the first time, or re-watching childhood favorites with teenage or adult daughters, binge-watching stories of princesses is a lovely bonding experience for moms and their little (and not so little) girls.
Challenge Each Other at Cards
Create mother-daughter memories by playing age-appropriate card games at home. From easy card games for little kids (think Go Fish and Old Maid) to more advanced games that teenagers or adult daughters are sure to enjoy, there are many ways to bond over an afternoon filled with two-player card games that challenge speed or skill.
Host an At-Home Hair Salon
Designate a day for moms and daughters to take turns styling each other's hair. Set some ground rules (no matter how brave you are, no scissors is a good rule). Beyond whatever everyone agrees is off-limits, let creativity be the rule of the day. From playing with hair accessories to creating gorgeous updos or experimenting with hair styling tools, this is sure to be a beauty experience to remember.
Get Creative With Nail Art
Take manicures and pedicures to the next level with an evening of nail art creativity. Start with a basic at-home manicure and pedicure for mom and each daughter, but then get super creative with some simple nail art or some more elaborate nail art designs.
Have a Home Party Makeover
Invite someone who works with a home party makeup company like Mary Kay or Beauticontrol to come over and do mother-daughter facials and makeovers. You'll probably find some new must-have skincare or makeup products to add to your collection.
Bring in a Massage Therapist
Many massage therapists visit clients at home, so you don't have to go out to a spa in order to enjoy a mother-daughter massage. Just reach out to a local massage therapy studio and book the equivalent of an in-home couple's massage, but for a day of mom and daughter relaxation instead of a romantic interlude.
Hold Mother-Daughter Game Night
Instead of family game night, set aside a special time for mother-daughter game night. There are a lot of girl-friendly board games that mothers and daughters can enjoy playing together. In a one-daughter household, opt for some fun two-player board games. Or, simply take turns letting each daughter choose her favorite game, with the only restriction being that it should be age-appropriate for all the daughters playing.
Compete at Cupcake Decorating
Mothers and daughters can work together to stir up and bake a batch of cupcakes, then compete to come up with the most creative cupcake decorating idea. Set out a variety of cupcake toppings (frosting, food coloring, sprinkles, fruit slices, candy, etc.), then put your creativity to the test. When you're finished, invite others to judge the best designs and taste-test the results.
Master Candy Making
If you're ready for an advanced cooking challenge that involves creating confections, set aside an afternoon (or longer!) to master the art of making gourmet candy. Not only will you have fun and bond, but you'll also have a new skill that will last a lifetime. If you decide to share, the rest of the family will thank you!
Indulge in Ice Cream Sundaes
There's nothing quite as decadent and delicious as a girls-only ice cream sundae fest in the kitchen. Set out a spread that would put a soda shop to shame (ice cream, nuts, candy, whipped cream, cut-up fruit, sprinkles, brownies, and anything else you can think of). Build your own sundaes and enjoy eating them in good company.
Enjoy Mother-Daughter Activities at Home
There are countless ways for mothers and daughters to bond and have fun at home. Set aside time for these kinds of experiences on a regular basis, then let mom and each girl take turns choosing the day's primary activity. No matter how you spend your moments together, the fact that you carve out this special time is something that you'll all remember and cherish forever.
