Every year I go away with a group of my best girlfriends. It’s a time for us to take a break away from “mom duty” and enjoy a girls’ night in with little interruptions and lots of over-due conversations and laughter. Oh, and karaoke. Let’s not forget that. Being so busy with our day-to-day lives, it’s never easy to get-together and catch up as often as we used to and would like to. Life is just so busy and hard.
We have watched each other grow big bellies during pregnancies, go through the baby, toddler and preschool stages. And now, we are leaning on each other during these teen and college years. We’ve been there through sickness, divorce, infidelity and death. We’ve faced so many ups and downs through the years and have gotten through them all so far “with a little help from our friends.” Thank goodness for this tribe of mine. I am one lucky girl.
I keep saying I want to host a girls’ night in at my house and yes, I do plan on doing this sooner, than later. So, what makes a girls’ weekend or girls’ night in extra fabulous? The ideas are endless.
Girls’ night in favors are always a hit! Last year I did a little surprise “white elephant” type of game. I had a bag full of inexpensive gifts, had the girls pick a number and let them grab the hidden “prize” in order of the number they got. It was so simple, but so fun and appreciated. This year I got cute stemless wine glasses with a cute saying for everyone. Eight glasses under $40 – SCORE! Some other fabulous favors could include:
A good theme never fails. If you all were children of the 80s, there’s so many fun things you can do. Watch 80s movies, have girls come dressed in that ever-so-popular 80s gear (leg warmers, big hair, neon colors, faded jeans . . . ) Grab some of that nostalgic candy that was so popular when you were a kid of the 80s and have a candy bar for everyone to enjoy.
How about a good ole’ fashion sleepover party. That’s right . . . whether you go away somewhere or host one in your own house, it’s something even us 40 to 50 something-year-olds still love to do. If you want to have one at home, see if you could send the husband and kids to grandmas. Or, better yet . . . let the husband plan a special night with the kiddos – away. Have the ladies come in their pjs. Set up a charcuterie and dessert bar. Play some games and enjoy some facial masks. It’s the perfect time to spoil yourselves. Remember, you deserve this time.
A white elephant party isn’t just for Christmas. Choose a good price to stick to. $25 seems like a great price – not too cheap, not too expensive. You can have a theme such as only purchasing jewelry, bath and body, candles, gag … or anything else that comes to mind. It also doesn’t have to be a theme at all. Have each person bring the gift wrapped. Then, everyone picks a number and whoever gets number one chooses the first gift. Then, whoever has number two can either steal from number one or pick a new gift. This continues until the end. Everyone loves to see the things people bring, steal, want and then everyone leaves with a gift at the very end. Here are some genius under $25 gifts perfect for your girlfriends:
Whatever you decide to do, remember to take pictures and enjoy every second you have with your girlfriends. These kind of times don’t come around too often, so be sure to make it one to remember. Oh, and don’t forget to bring out the karaoke machine. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.