Get the date set early!
There is nothing better than having a girls weekend to look forward to on your calendar, well in advance. The anticipation makes it all the better and gives you plenty of time to coordinate all the details (who will bring what? who will ride with whom? who sleeps where?).
Make it a three night weekend!
Let’s face it. Life is stressful these days. We are all distracted. It takes time to get unwound. On two day weekends I always feel like I am saying “goodbye” before I’ve caught up on everyones lives and rejuvenated my soul. That extra day and night really makes it feel like a vacay!
Do a meal plan.
Assign everyone a meal. Dinners can be assigned to two because they tend to be the meal requiring the highest time investment. Eating-in saves money and gives you more time together (and more time to scrapbook if you are at a crafting getaway). My gals have certain meals that we all love and look forward to year after year. Overnight Oats for breakfast and Home-made Broccoli Cheese Soup with Chicken & Goat Cheese Cups are just a few of my favorites.
Plan a “pamper” night.
It is so easy to do a spa night on your retreat with all the great products available today - like the single use face masks available now for all types of skin. Add in some nail polish and some body butter and you will all being saying “Ahhhh” before you know it. [Remember to get a selfie while everyone has their masks on… great memories for years later!]
Allow for some quiet time.
Not everyone is an extravert. It’s okay if someone wants to slip away for an hour to take a walk or read a book. Better yet…take a nap! I am an extrovert so I LOVE my girls weekends. I also rarely have time to myself with two school-age boys so having some quiet time to read the novels I started after my last book club meeting is so refreshing!
*Bonus tip for scrapbookers:
I love doing a “Scrapbook Challenge” inspired by the book by that name. You can gather a few unique products and pass them to the right. Each person has to create a layout with the products they were given. Another great challenge is to bring an enlarged group photo of your last visit for each person. Set a time frame and have everyone create a single page layout with the same photo! It is so cool to see all the different creative ways we enhanced the same photo! Some of the favorite pages I have ever created came out of a “Scrapbook Challenge” at my girls scrapbooking weekends.
Thanks for checking out my blog post! If you are looking for a new place to host your girls weekend. Check out the Barn Owl Retreat. We have space for crafters. But we are also very close to beautiful hiking at FDR park and miles of bike trails at Callaway Gardens. The perfect setting for a bonding ladies retreat.