My girls and I had special at-home time, just the three of us, one Sunday afternoon. I’d been wanting for ages to set up a spa for them so this seemed like the perfect time. I had ideas of doing their hair, painting nails, face masks, etc, but I still didn’t know exactly what I was going to do as my husband and son drove away. Still I announced to the girls that we were going to have an at-home spa day. Their first question: What is a spa? 🤦🏻♀️. So I explained it to them, and they were thrilled. By then I’d decided on wash and styling hair, pedicures, nail polish and perfume. See how quick, easy and possible it is to throw this together for your special little girls. Remember: it is more important to do it than to do it perfectly. If you spend all your time worrying about getting every detail right you may never do it at all.
The Set-Up
The thing to remember in this section is to use what you’ve got. There is very little that you actually NEED to make this a success. The things below are things that we used, or would have liked to use.
Hair
- towels
- shampoo
- brush
- detangler cream or conditioner
- hair elastics, clips, etc
Pedicures
- bowls of warm water
- towels
- foot scrub (if you don’t have a foot scrub just mix some lotion or soap with sugar to quickly make your own)
- lotion
- nail clippers and file
Nails:
- nail clippers and file
- nail polish
- decals or stickers
- nail polish remover and cotton rounds
- rubbing alcohol
Ambiance
- fancy beverage
- chairs
- perfume
- fancy trays or scarves or cloths to display things on
- music
- dresses to wear
How it Went:
My girls turned around the dining room chairs to be the waiting room. I told them that whenever I go to a spa I always get dressed up. They tore out of the room to “get fancy.” We also used fake names to really turn it into make-believe. I was Genevieve, my 5-year-old was Rose, and my 3-year-old was Emily. I asked the girls what music we should play and they said, “Oliver!” Our family has been on a movie cast recording of the musical “Oliver!” for months (what can I say? It’s a fine life!) When the girls “arrived” at the spa I said, “Welcome to the spa! My name is Genevieve and I will be helping you today.” They introduced themselves, being adamant that they were princesses, and I told them that I would be ready for them in just a few minutes.
When “Rose” walked into the main room she said, “This. is. awesome.” Honestly, it took almost no effort, but she was thrilled. You can see her little smile below as she drinks her tea. “Rose” is such a girlie girl, so this spa day was an absolute joy for her!
When I had finished bleaching the sinks (they needed a good clean before I put my precious daughters’ heads in them!) I told the princesses that they could come in. I sat Emily in a chair, put her feet in a bowl of warm water and gave her some Peach Passion Tea. The little details really make the experience for something like this. I had bought peaches at the grocery store that week, so I sliced some peach off of one to put in the tea cups (with sauceres). The girls were SO EXCITED about this! “Look at my tea!” they said, “There’s real peach in it!”
“Emily” soaked her feet in warm water while I washed “Rose’s” hair in the sink. To wash their hair I did what my Nanny used to always do to my sisters and I when we were little. I laid them on the counter with a towel at the edge of the sink. The child lays down with their head over the sink, then I wash their hair using the spray nozzle of the faucet. Always check the water on your wrist or hand first to make sure it’s the perfect temperature. I made sure to frequently use their fake name, and ask them questions about their imaginary lives, like, “How many kids do you have?” or “Do you get to go to spas often?” I love hearing their answers, and what voices they use to answer in character. I also said, “This is our new Paw Patrol line of shampoos. The one I have hear is Chase. Give that a smell and tell me what you think.” They loved being asked to do things and be involved in the process.
After I washed “Rose’s” hair I put her in her camping chair (which I’m sure she envisioned as a throne) with her feet in warm water, teacup in hand. I went back to “Emily” and scrubbed her feet. I used a Bath and Body Works body scrub to rub her feet (“that feels so good! That feels so good!), then rinsed them, dried them off with the towel, and gave her my finest and dearest lotion. She felt so special to be using Mummy’s Christmas lotion.
Next I washed “Emily’s” hair, followed by scrubbing “Rose’s” feet. Then we moved to the hair station. Rose wanted a french braid, and hilarious: “Emily” wanted one braid, one ponytail and one section down, (“Sure, honey, whatever you want”) I wouldn’t usually (I won’t say never) let them have whatever random nonsense they want in their hair (though I often take them to all kinds of places looking like the little ragamuffins they usually are🤷♀️), but today was a special occasion.
Then spray on perfume!
In the course of the pedicures and hair washing both girls got soaked, so they went and got their cozy jammies on while I made them a peanut butter and jam sandwich supper to eat while watching Cinderella. While we were in the messy, messy basement (see background) watching a delightful film, I painted the girls’ nails (you can kind of see “Rose’s” nails above. They always ask for one colour per nail). Then we finished off our Girls’ Day with a bowl of popcorn!
I think this is going to be something we do very often. It is so simple, forces me to bleach the sinks, and is so very special. I spoke to a friend of mine about this idea and she said that her young daughter uses avocado for a face mask. They happened to have one on hand, so it was perfect! What do you have on hand? Get off the internet and go spend some time with your girls👩👧👧! And let me know what you do! What spa supplies do you have kicking around?
But First We Craft 