With two little girls, I love having mommy daughter days. Seeing them so happy fills me up with so much joy and happiness. Here are a few ideas for some Mommy/Daughter days at the beach that you can incorporate into your vacation. And with so many families vacationing with grandparents, invite Grandmom along for a three generational day of fun or just have a Grandmom/Grand day! My girls love when they get one/one time with their Nonna.
Grab a Coffee Together
So for those of you that know me, this picture will not surprise you! It may even make you laugh! This is the reason I am late to school drop off like 95% of the time! I am 100% totally addicted to Starbucks and apparently I have passed that on to my children and my Saint Bernard (see below picture as she too waits patiently for her "tall" cup of whip (since a Puppuccino is like a shot glass to her and really more of a choking hazard). All joking aside, it is nice to have these little moments to share together and while our Starbuck's runs are more like a daily habit than a special treat, I still look at it as something we share together and we have these memories together! I know as the years go on, they will always remember their runs to Starbucks with Mom. And if you're wondering, there is a Starbucks over in Rio Grande, not far from Wildwood, however, if you want something a little closer and not as commercial, there is a really cute coffee shop a few blocks over from Seapointe at the Grand. You can order your coffee and a muffin and enjoy it on the beach together. There is also A Little Café close by where you can get your morning coffee along with breakfast. Such a cute place to have a special breakfast together.
Get Manicures and Pedicures
Another special treat my girls and I enjoy - the spa! I have been taking both girls with me sine they were about 2. As soon as they could sit still long enough, I started taking them with him. I love sitting there and watching them get their nails done and how excited they are when they are done. We also have mani/pedi day's at home which is also fun quality time. Any time spent pampering, is good time! There are several options in and around Wildwood and Cape May at varying price points. For a list of recommendations, check out our blog post titled Glamour Days.
Go to Lunch
Whether it's pizza on the boardwalk (at Sam's ;)), home made sandwiches or going out to a fun restaurant like Duffer's or Menz's, it's always fun to have a lunch date with the girls. Just spending quality time together over a good meal is a great way to ask about their day, plan a bucket list for the summer, or talk about what they want to do the rest of the day/vacation.
Have a Picnic on the Beach
Our girls love picnics and eating outside, especially the youngest who is my outdoors kid. Maybe pack up a few kites, beach toys and chairs and order hoagies from Primo's or just pack a simple lunch of your favorites and enjoy it together while you play for a while at the beach. What a great way to get some quality time together and also some salt air therapy and vitamin D.
Take a Paint Class
During the summer, there are several free painting classes being offered in Wildwood this summer as well as yoga and music classes. This could be a great way to spend time together without breaking the budget. There are a ton of free activities this summer throughout Wildwood. Maybe check out one of those activities - movies on the beach, family fun night at Sunset Beach....there is a lot going on and all geared towards kids. If you want a more traditional painting experience with pottery, check out Island Pottery in Stone Harbor. They have a lot of options including no fire pottery painting, to go kits, and even seashell painting classes. There is also Maverick Studios in Cape May that offers guided painting classes if your children are a little bit older.
Go Treasure Hunting
So this is what I call "antiquing". I love going to places like West End Garage in Cape May and looking for "treasures". I bring the girls with me to great little shops and they are allowed to find one "treasure" for the day to purchase. It's a lot of fun to see what they come up with. In Cape May, there are tons of places to "treasure hunt" including Washington Street Mall. You could also treasure hunt on the beach and look for special shells or Cape May diamonds. Whatever the "treasure", it's fun to go on the hunt together.
Go Shopping
There are plenty of shopping opportunities at the beach. Between the towns of Stone Harbor and Cape May, there are lots of boutique shops to browse through. Wildwood has it's own shops as well and of course there are the weekly farmers markets and craft shows which are my personal favorites. You can find tons of great pieces and unique things at the craft shows and you are supporting local small business owners which I personally love to do.
Tandem Parasailing
For those of you not afraid of heights, this is an amazing experience! It's so incredibly quiet once you get up there and the views are amazing. There are several companies on the island that offer it but Atlantic Parasailing has been rated very high and they also offer discounted rates and a coupon for guests. They have 32 Years of experience doing this with over 200,000 flights since 1987. Go together or separately but I guarantee you will have fun!
Go Biking
There are so many options for biking at the shore. You can rent a bike and ride the boards together, maybe try a surrey if your daughters are a bit older or you can try an e bike and explore the island or take the ferry over to Lewes and explore there for the day. There are so many possibilities based on the ages of your daughters. Since our girls are younger, we tend to rent the surrey (which my legs hate for me afterwards) and ride up to the boardwalk for a while, grab lunch to go and ride back. It's a lot of fun and the kids look forward to it every summer. (Although in full disclosure, we do this as a family but it can also be a Mommy/daughter day.)
Go Swimming
If you are staying at Seascape, chose one of the 4 pools and go float for a while, slide down the slide at Centre Court (yes, I do it and I'm 40 and I love it!), or hang out under the waterfall in front of Pinnacle. If it's winter, check out the Ibis pool and bring your dive sticks - make a game out of it. We always found Ibis to be great in the winter. Rarely any crowds and often the pool to ourselves. The kids love going swimming in the winter!
Have a Tea Party
You can set up the tea set at home and bring in donuts from Britton's (amazing by the way) or you could head over to Cape May and enjoy high team at the Harrison House where you will be served a traditional Victorian afternoon tea. Tea is served between 4:00pm and 5:00pm daily in their Grand Dining Room or you may also take tea outside on the lovely porch and watch as the trolleys and horse drawn carriages pass by.
Decorate Shells
When you're at the beach, there is never a shortage of shells! Find a few really nice ones and decorate them. I recently saw someone decorate the inside of a large clam shell with decoupage and it was awesome. I doubt though that you would have that on vacation so stick with the traditional washable markers and paints and get creative.
There is so much to do at the shore and so many ways to make memories together. The key is to make them! I hope you found this list helpful and if you have any additional ideas that you would like to share, please comment below!
Comments