Mother’s Day is the perfect time to spend bonding as mother and child with your little boy – or big kid. If you’re looking for a few creative ways to spend time together, these 15 mom son date ideas are thrifty, creative, and unique.
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This post was inspired by my 15 Daddy-daughter date ideas. Of course, the activities in both posts are things that you can do with any parent-child pair or even as a family. The important part is spending time together.
Mom son date activities
1. Coloring contest
Have an at-home coloring contest. Get creative and use a variety of materials, like crayons, colored pencils, markers, watercolors, paints, or pastels. Set up an art station with your supplies. You can use coloring pages or draw your own pictures.
2. Dinner out
Go to lunch or dinner at a sit-down restaurant. It doesn’t have to be expensive or require reservations, just a place that you’ll both enjoy. Dress up “fancy” and practice good manners. You may want to talk about etiquette or look up the menu ahead of time.
If you are looking for some creative restaurants in the DFW area, try these:
- Reunion Tower, Dallas
- Medieval Times, Dallas
- The Magic Time Machine, Dallas
- Rainforest Cafe, Grapevine
- Mellow Mushroom, Fort Worth
3. Block walk
Go for a walk around your neighborhood together. Collect natural elements like leaves and pinecones for a nature craft, take binoculars to look for different species of birds, or turn it into a nature scavenger hunt.
4. Art museum
Visit a local art museum and bring along a sketchbook and pencils to draw your own interpretation of the artwork. (The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth hands out free activities for kids at the welcome desk.) Discuss which pieces you both like and why. Talk about the colors they used, the mood of the art, or the history of the time it was created.
5. Tiny boats
Build a paper boat or a cork raft and sail it at the local pond or just in the bathtub. Gather a variety of materials – craft supplies and nature elements – and test which ones float best. You may even want to turn it into a boat race.
6. Send a letter
Write a letter to someone, like your child’s favorite toy company, a celebrity, or an author. They could also write to a family member – whether they live close or far away. This is a great writing exercise and some companies might even write back. Choose pretty stationary and write a practice letter first to plan out what you’ll say and practice writing neatly.
7. Movie for two
Go see a movie at the theater, just the two of you. Even if you often go to movies as a family, the one-on-one mom and son date will feel extra special. Splurge on treats you don’t normally get at the movie theater or go out for ice cream afterward.
8. Go fish
Find a local park or pond where you can go fishing. (In Texas, kids under 16 don’t need a license but do need to follow state regulations. Many cities host local events.) In Texas, you can find participating fishing locations here or check your local community calendar for a learn-to-fish event.
9. Water battle
Have a water balloon or water gun battle in the backyard. For extra fun, set up a few obstacles ahead of time like a clothesline to hide behind or hula hoops that you have to hop through. Make sure you dress to get wet – and maybe muddy too.
10. Stargazing
Pick up a book from your local library on constellations. After dark, head outside with binoculars or just your eyes to see what you can see. There are also several apps for identifying what you can see at night from your location using GPS.
11. LEGO building
Go to your favorite store and pick out a new small LEGO set. Go home and build it together. This would be fun to do as a regular activity as you collect sets in a series.
12. Picnic
Pack a picnic lunch or a snack and visit a nearby park, beach, or natural area. You may want to bring along a blanket, sunscreen, and/or bug repellent.
13. Read to each other
Let your child introduce you to his favorite chapter book. Spend an afternoon lounging and taking turns reading out loud together. It would also be fun to pick up a stack of children’s books that your child hasn’t read in a while.
14. Volunteer together
For older kids, find a local place to volunteer your time like a food bank, animal shelter, or whatever fits your passion. (Many places have a minimum volunteer age, often 16.) For kids too young to volunteer with an organization, you can come up with your own service project, such as picking up trash around your neighborhood or making blankets for nursing home residents.
15. Pajama time
Have a two-person pajama party. Eat junk food and stay up late watching a movie in your jammies. Just choose what you like or create a theme.
A few dinner theme ideas to get you started:
- Watch Star Wars with a glass of blue milk and dark side cookies.
- Try a Disney and dinner idea from Meal Planning Blueprints.
The best thing about these mom son date ideas is that most are open-ended and you can modify them to fit your child’s age and interests.
What’s next? Try these other fun and creative ideas on One Mama’s Daily Drama:
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