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How to Plan a DIY Spa Day for Girls

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Our girls LOVE to play “spa”. Pretending to pamper and be pampered at a spa ranks as one of their favorite activities, so here’s how we host a DIY spa day for girls…

DIY Spa Day for Girls
While they’ve been playing spa for a couple years, now that Julia is 9 and Sophia and Olivia are almost 7, all three girls are super into it.

Often they’ll just do a simplified spa by themselves but, some days, I help out and we make it a bigger affair.

Here are 10 steps for hosting a DIY spa day for girls…

  1. Prepare Your Salon
    We lay out pink beach towels so each girl has her own “salon bed”. Some days the girls put out umbrellas next to their towels to pretend they are at the beach or at an outdoor spa. You can keep this really simple or add a few extra touches like rolling up extra towels to make the scene look a little fancier.

    DIY Spa Day
     

  2. Select Nail Polish
    Have each girl pick out their preferred polish color for their nails and their toes. I like to keep the fingernail polish a lighter shade, but I give them freedom in their choice.

    You’ll want to remind kids that they can’t use real nail polish without an adult helping. Explain to them how nail polish does not come out of carpet and clothes.

    At Home Spa Day for Girls
     

  3. Make Lemonade or Tea
    Your little spa girls will want to sip on a beverage as they relax before, during or after their treatments. I serve their drinks in cups with lids and straws to prevent spills.
     
  4. Make a Homemade DIY Facial Mask
    Our favorite mask is a simple combination of avocado, oatmeal and honey. There are an endless number of DIY mask recipes on Pinterest.
     
  5. Put on Relaxing Music
    I usually just pull up an Enya song or something like that on my iPhone. Or you could stream soothing classical music for kids. Playing soft music is such a great tip for a fabulous spa day at home. (And the music helps “Mom” relax too.)
     
  6. Apply Face Masks
    The girls may choose to apply the masks to each other, or you can apply it for them. Our girls also love to place cucumber slices over their eyelids. Have a handheld mirror nearby or the girls will likely jump up and run to a mirror to see how they look. They may get such a laugh at how they look that they’ll want to take a selfie. It’s all part of the fun!
     
  7. Massage Feet and Hands
    Using a nice lotion (possibly lightly scented), massage the girls’ hands and feet while their masks dry. The massage will help calm them back down after any giggles from face mask photos.
     
  8. Remove Face Masks with Warm Cloths
    My girls love how it feels when I use a warm cloth and a basin of water to remove their masks while they’re laying on their “salon mats”. If you’ve had a facial at a salon before, think of how the esthetician places the warm towel on your face to loosen the dried mask and then gently wipes and washes the mask off.
     
  9. Have Manicures and Pedicures
    The best part of an at home spa day is having your nails painted. Even if you don’t consider yourself a pro at painting nails, your kids will love having you give them manicures and pedicures. Our girls love to laugh as we place rolled up tissue between their toes before painting. Just take your time, and don’t worry about it being perfect.

    At Home Spa Day
     

  10. Relax While Polish Dries
    You may want to read a book to the girls while their nail polish dries, or if you need a break, put on a movie for them and YOU take a turn relaxing.

I hope you have fun hosting a spa day with your kids!

Kids Spa Party Ideas

As well as having many impromptu spa days for our girls, we also hosted a kids spa party for one of Julia’s birthdays and one of Olivia’s birthdays.

kids spa party ideas

To make the spa day extra fancy for a party, we decorated and printed out a “Welcome to our Spa Party” sign.

If you’re having several girls at the spa day party, you may want to have extra adults available to help paint their nails and give massages.

UPDATE: With the current stay-at-home orders, you may not be able to have friends over for a big party. But you can still host a fantastic little spa day party with your family at home.

girls spa day

We also had a craft station set up where the girls who were waiting for their “spa treatments” could craft. You could have each child make a DIY lip balm or a DIY aromatherapy neck pillow.

Our girls had so much fun. We hope these kids spa party ideas help you and your children also have a lovely time celebrating and relaxing together.

 

Pin It For Later

DIY Spa Day For Kids
 

More Fun For Kids (That’s Relaxing Too!)

If you’re looking for another fun activity for your girls and boys that’s also relaxing… try playing with Kinetic Sand. You can keep kids happily playing for hours and you’ll also enjoy how soothing it is. It’s the perfect calm activity to end your at-home spa day.

Kinetic Sand Best Kids Play Sand
 

Find More DIYs For Girls

For more fun ideas, check out our other crafts and DIY blog posts and Kids Activities Pinterest board.

 

Written by Susan Carraretto, co-founder of 5 Minutes for Mom
Talk with me: @5minutesformom and Facebook.com/5minutesformom
Pin with me at pinterest.com/5minutesformom

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65 Comments

  8. Thank you so much! My daughter always wanted to do a spa day, and this is absolutely perfect! Now both me and my daughter can both have a good time during winter break!

    Reply

  11. This sounds like so much fun. I wish we had spa days when I was a kid. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  13. These are great ideas! We are having a fun spa day Memorial Day weekend for my daughters and their friends!

    Reply

  16. I have 2 boys that would never go along with this but my grand daughter loves it. We do nail polish together all the time.

    Reply

  21. last year my neighbor did that with my daughter and her daughter and it was such fun, this year I am thinking of doing something along those lines during summer vacation so was glad to see some good ideas.

    Reply

  22. My daughter loves getting dirty and playing outside, but she’s also a girly girl who loves having her nails done! I can’t wait to try these other ideas for a spa day. One of the fun perks of having a sweet daughter. 🙂

    Reply

  24. This is such a fun idea! I wish I had a granddaughter to have a spa day with. I have a grandson so, maybe a girl soon?! Thanks for the tips too. 🙂

    Reply

  26. I love this idea! I think you could aim this idea to any age group. I have a 3 yr old granddaughter and a 12 yr old granddaughter. Both would love a spa day!

    Reply

  28. This is great! I hope this is something my son is interested in doing with me before he gets too old and I embarrass him!

    Reply

  30. I absolutely love at home spa days! They are a great way to get in my “me” time, usually after my son is in bed or sometimes while we’re having a movie night (I’ll sneak on a face mask while we watch!) 🙂

    Reply

  35. What a fun idea! My daughter would love this! She loves getting her nails done 🙂 Thanks for the tips!

    Reply

  38. So awesome and what a great bonding & fun experience I can’t wait to try this with our kids. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  41. This is wonderful, I only have one grandgirl who is up in age to have something like this, her and I share and sometimes a friend and an aunt joins in loll, thanks for the tips

    Reply

  43. What I would give to have granddaughters and be able to plan a spa day with them. I don’t think my little boys can leave the mud and dirt alone long enough to spend a day at the spa 🙂

    Reply

  44. Such a sweet idea! I can use this for soon to be grandchildren as this info is timeless! Thank you kindly!

    Reply

  47. Don’t forget to have a photographer! There are so many photo worthy moments besides the before and after poses.

    Reply

  49. This is a great idea ! my daughter would sure love this and its something I would love to do with her !

    Reply

  54. my grandaughters would so love this,,I may have to plan a day to have the 5 over and do a spa for them

    Reply

  56. I did this with my girls last week and they LOVED it! My one-year-old’s favourite part was the foot bath… we couldn’t get her out of it! She spent about twenty minutes there… until I pulled out the nail polish. 🙂 Then she was willing to get dried off to have her toes painted!!! We’re totally going to do this again!

    Reply

  57. Susan,
    Having two teenage daughters, this would be a GREAT way to spend an afternoon. Thanks so much for the information, love it!

    Reply

  58. Oh this sounds like so much fun! My daughter has been wanting to have a spa day but I’ve been just a bit hesitant about taking her to one. A spa day at home could be a lot more fun.

    Reply

    • Oh yes, definitely… I’ve never paid to take my girls to a real spa… I can’t afford that. But this is just as fun (if not more)!

      Reply

  59. Adorable! My daughter is a little young for this, but it’s a great idea to hang onto for the future!

    Reply