Girls Only Retreat

[twinkletoes]

Ok ladies, I need you to put your thinking caps on so I can pick your brain.

 

An old friend I hadn't talked to in over 4 or 5 years called me up yesterday, and it got me thinking. After 'meeting' all of you wonderful ladies on this forum, and creating virtual friendships, I thought it would be great to have a Girls Only Retreat/Getaway for some of the special women in my life. I miss hanging out with my friends :~( True friendships are really important to me and I treasure them dearly.

 

Majority of my friends all live in different states so it is hard for us to get together unless something like a wedding comes up! And even then, I have different circle of friends (like some from college, some from different jobs I've had, some I've grown up with, etc) So I kind of want all of us to come together and celebrate 'us'. Especially since we all have so much going on in our individual lives (marriage, kids, work, school, etc)

 

I want this retreat to focus on fun, friendship,fellowship/networking, and most importanly, balance. I don't want it to be too formal or structured, but would like some interaction among everyone. But I'm not sure really where to start. I mean, I've asked most of my friends would they be interested in doing some type of retreat and have gotten positive feedback. I have some ideas of my own, but am not sure if they would work, lol. But I want to kind of go ahead and get this thing moving. I'm hoping for this to be an annual type thing.

 

So, if you were invited to a retreat, where would you want to go (Examples: on a cruise, to the mountains, to the beach, to the spa, etc), and what would you want to do? And are there any activities or games you would enjoy playing?

 

Any advice, ideas, thoughts, etc would be more than greatly appreciated! TIA

[rodent]

3 of my friends flew to see me recently. We had such an amazing time we said we've got to do it again, but with everyone. So we planned to get together next summer at one girl's family beach house.

 

If everyone is scattered all over, I think the best thing is to pick a place that is cheap to fly to (like a major vacation spot- Florida is always cheap). You can rent a house. It's so hard to find a weekend everyone can make. I think if you declair the weekend way in advance it's easier.

[starchild]

What a lovely idea Christina! Retreats are great, I went on a few as a teenager.

 

I guess it depends on the size of your group. If it were small, like less than 10 women, I would love renting a beach house or a spot in the desert. (I love the desert!). If it's a large group a hotel would work better...but I would still prefer the ocean or desert.

 

What to do....guided meditation is something everyone can do. If you're in nature, a nature walk of some kind.

 

Have you heard of dream canvassing? I went to a session after I got engaged, my friend leads seminars on this. Basically you buy small-ish canvasses (sp?) from an art store, one for each person. Get a bunch of old magazines and craft supplies such as glitter, sparkles, glue sticks, puff paints, beads, etc. You tell the ladies to put together a collage of what their dreams are, what they want to achieve, who they want to be, etc. We sat around a big table and learned about each other, what we love, who we are. It was really special and all but one of these women were strangers to me.

 

Ours was at a tea house and chill music played while we took about 3 hours to make our dream canvas (and drink tea & eat munchies). The idea is to fellowship, share your dreams, and purposefully make your canvas so that it becomes reality over time. I think mine was pretty cool, I can find it and take a pic if you want. And some of my dreams did come true

 

Have fun!

[Kat81]

My mom and her friends always rented a beach house for a week. They spent time walking along the sand in the mornings and doing yoga out on the beach. When I got older I was allowed to go. It was a huge bonding experience. At night, one night we would talk about what we were the most excited about and what we were the most worried about in our lives. Some nights we would drink all night. Or others we would watch the sunset with a beach fire going. It was so rejuvenating. I have talked with my friends about starting a trip like this. We are just now getting to the point where we could afford to get away for a while. It really does wonders for your soul

[twinkletoes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Morgan If everyone is scattered all over, I think the best thing is to pick a place that is cheap to fly to (like a major vacation spot- Florida is always cheap). You can rent a house. It's so hard to find a weekend everyone can make. I think if you declair the weekend way in advance it's easier.

Yeah, I think FL would be more feasbile and fun for everyone! And a good place to go shopping, lol. Great tip about scheduling waaaay in advance. Thanks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by starchild What to do....guided meditation is something everyone can do. If you're in nature, a nature walk of some kind. Have you heard of dream canvassing? I went to a session after I got engaged, my friend leads seminars on this. Basically you buy small-ish canvasses (sp?) from an art store, one for each person. Get a bunch of old magazines and craft supplies such as glitter, sparkles, glue sticks, puff paints, beads, etc. You tell the ladies to put together a collage of what their dreams are, what they want to achieve, who they want to be, etc. We sat around a big table and learned about each other, what we love, who we are. It was really special and all but one of these women were strangers to me. Ours was at a tea house and chill music played while we took about 3 hours to make our dream canvas (and drink tea & eat munchies). The idea is to fellowship, share your dreams, and purposefully make your canvas so that it becomes reality over time. I think mine was pretty cool, I can find it and take a pic if you want. And some of my dreams did come true Have fun!

I love nature walks, but some of my friends are totally 'girly-girls' and that would not flow well with them at all, lol. But maybe I could still do it with the friends that are down for it.

Oooh, the dream canvasing sounds like a great idea, even though I've never heard of it b4!!! I am defitenly writing this idea down in my notebook. I would LOVE to do something like that. It sounds interesting and fun!

[Kat81]

Oh another thing we would do is draw names when we first got there. Then everyone over the course of the trip had to buy something for the person they drew. Nothing over the top. Just something that represented a Woman in your opinion then we would explain it. Some people would buy mirrors that displayed the beauty of a woman. I bought this girl one of those keychain water sticks you know the ones with the glitter that you can put upside down and it all falls to the bottom?? Anyway my reasoning was a woman is constantly changing but always beautiful. Just fun stuff like that.

[lucy106]

This is an amazing idea! There is something to be said for great girlfriends. How about one of those spa retreats? Here is a great link to help out.. Girlfriend Getaways it has all sorts of ideas, from spa days to bachelorette parties!

[twinkletoes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kat81 Oh another thing we would do is draw names when we first got there. Then everyone over the course of the trip had to buy something for the person they drew. Nothing over the top. Just something that represented a Woman in your opinion then we would explain it. Some people would buy mirrors that displayed the beauty of a woman. I bought this girl one of those keychain water sticks you know the ones with the glitter that you can put upside down and it all falls to the bottom?? Anyway my reasoning was a woman is constantly changing but always beautiful. Just fun stuff like that.

Ooh, that sounds like a good idea too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucy106 This is an amazing idea! There is something to be said for great girlfriends. How about one of those spa retreats? Here is a great link to help out.. Girlfriend Getaways it has all sorts of ideas, from spa days to bachelorette parties!

Thanks for the link! I knew you ladies could help me :~) I'm so excited, lol

[nikkianddean]

I think the beach house idea is great. I was recently trying to plan a reunion for my sorority sisters. We were planning to rent a house in Hilton Head. I think hanging around with the girls and cooking and relaxing is a great way to catch up. I love the gift idea that Kat mentioned above too!!!

 

Sounds like a lot of fun!!!

[rodent]

one thing that often works well is to spilt up the meals & put different people in charge. So one night you might be incharge of dinner & the next night someone else cooks.

 

You can bring board games too.

 

when my friends were up a few weeks ago it was like a weekend long slumber party. It was hard to believe we are 25-26, not 15 when we get together.

 

Another tricky thing is who sleeps where. I think the best thing to do is draw numbers & let people pick in that order. It's hard not to be a little annoyed when you are sharing a bunk bed & someone else has a king and you'll all paying the same.