Choosing a word for the upcoming new year may be cliché, but it’s a tradition I genuinely love. For 2026, my word is intentional. I want to be more deliberate in how I spend my time and energy, especially when it comes to spending quality time with my daughter.
She’s 13, and she definitely prefers spending time with her friends or time in her room alone over doing anything with me. I know this is normal for her age, but I also realize that time spent together is still really good (and necessary) for our relationship.
So, I’ve put together 12 months of ideas of intentional mother-daughter time, and I’m hoping we can accomplish at least 1 per month. I tried to think of activities that would be simple enough to do, could also be flexible for extenuating circumstances, but most importantly, would be meaningful without being “heavy”. I tried to think of activities that would be about 1-2 hours, and the only rules (for both of us) are: No phones. No fixing. No lectures. Just presence.
My daughter is Mexican-American, so a few of the activities are inspired by her heritage but, hopefully this will still be a good starting point for you to think of things to do with your tween or teen this year too! Here’s to a memory-filled 2026!
January
- Try out a new coffee shop and make vision boards for the year
- Movie Night – she picks the movie, I get to pick the matching PJs
- Painted pottery afternoon
- Try to make conchas together (have cinnamon rolls in fridge as a back up)
- At home spa night
February
- Find a local Galentine’s Day brunch
- Make a fun Valentine’s Day/Galentine’s Day Mocktail together and then have an at-home paint night
- Make chocolate covered fruit together at home
- Visit a local museum followed by lunch at a new restaurant
- Make DIY Valentine’s Day cards for friends and family
March
- Donate clothes that no longer fit, then go shopping for a couple of new items for her Spring wardrobe
- Day trip to a small town nearby during her spring break
- Nature Trail Hike, then go get smoothies
- Do puppy or goat yoga
- DIY craft night at home
April
- Farmer’s Market Morning Date
- DIY floral arranging (Trader Joe’s has super affordable flowers)
- DIY plant pot painting
- Visit a tulip farm
- Bookstore date
May
- Pick out plants for our pots we painted last month
- Donate clothes that no longer fit, then go shopping for a couple of new items for her summer wardrobe
- Go strawberry picking and then come home and let her pick a recipe to make our strawberries with
- “Yes Day” evening (with boundaries) – she plans the night’s activities (May is her birthday)
- Find someplace that has a patio for brunch or do a lunch picnic in the park
June
- Candle-making workshop
- Patio dinner night
- Pool day
- Make summer mood boards with accompanying playlists
- Ice cream sundae bar at home followed by bingeing a TV show together of her choice
July
- Movie date
- Outdoor morning yoga
- BBQ cooking night
- Go fruit picking
- Make BBQ for dinner night
August
- Back-to-school shopping day
- Get our nails done for back-to-school
- Order takeout then play a new board game together
- Go to a local professional sporting event
- Affirmation art – paint or letter positive phrases on a canvas
September
- Make a DIY fall wreath for the front door
- Go out for Mexican for dinner on September 16th
- Find a local Hispanic Heritage Month event to attend
- Go for a a nature hike then come home and make smoothies
- Fall photoshoot
October
- Go to a pumpkin patch then paint/carve pumpkins
- Make Halloween treats
- Make an altar for Día de Muertos
- Caramel Apple Bar at home
- Go to a Haunted House
November
- Gratitude jar for each other – write notes all month, open them on Thanksgiving
- Attend a local craft fair
- Volunteer at a local food bank
- Gratitude journaling at a new cafe or bakery
- Bake a pie together
December
- Go see holiday lights
- Hot cocoa bar night with toppings and then a movie.
- Make tamales together
- Make DIY ornaments for the tree
- Gingerbread house making contest
Intentional doesn’t mean perfect, and it doesn’t mean forcing connection when she’s not in the mood. It simply means showing up with openness and without expectations. Some months might get skipped. Some plans might turn into takeout on the couch. And some moments may feel small in the moment but will linger in ways we don’t fully realize until later.
Here’s to choosing intentional mother-daughter time over urgency, connection over correction, and memories that quietly root themselves in our hearts long after the calendar turns.
