I’m not much of an artist. I don’t know how to do most traditional handicrafts. But last year, driven by a desire to build community with other women in my neighborhood, I started hosting a monthly mother-daughter craft club. I called it Crafternoons.
I may not be very gifted in the making…but I am an evangelist to the power of inviting your neighbours into your real, imperfect life.
I am someone grounded in community.
I am someone who brings people together. I believe it is crucial for our collective mental health.
Why I started hosting a craft club
When I started thinking of hosting Crafternoons, the American federal election had just happened. I felt so disappointed at how it seemed that both sides of the political spectrum were silencing women. There’s not much I can do all by myself about what’s happening in federal or even state politics. What I can do is envelope my family in a positive and supportive community.
I can teach my daughter that she is worth listening to.
I can reach out to other women in my neighbourhood and build relationships with them so that my daughter has many positive female role models in her life.
I can make sure that my daughter has friends who live nearby and that no matter where Artificial Intelligence takes us in the future and how it affects social dynamics – my daughter can walk to a friend’s house – needing zero technology to connect with another girl in real life.
I started writing out a plan and I wrote at the top: “My goal with Crafternoons is to host a consistent group of girls to encourage female friendship, learn home-centered and entrepreneurial skills, build confidence in their power as girls, and provide giving and service opportunities.”
A year of gatherings later and I can say, we did grow in friendship. We did learn how to make pie crust in the food processor. We did teach the girls how to iron and how to braid. We did host some older ladies in our community for a Galentine’s tea party
Was it chaotic, loud, and messy? Yes.
Did I know where everything was? No. (Where do ALL THE SCISSORS GO?!)
Did I have samples prepared of the craft I was trying to teach? Nope.
Did we finish crafts to have a hope of gifting or selling them in the spirit of service and entrepreneurship? No.
Was my kitchen and home under major renovation? Yes. Boxes (and dust) everywhere.
Reflecting back, I think the best part of Crafternoons was that my daughter and her friends got to see what leaning into friendship in the midst of real-life chaos looks like. The girls got to see their mothers struggle with things, learn while doing, take on a challenge and fail at it. Most things we were all doing for the first time…and the end results didn’t look like the picture.
This is so important for developing the growth mindset with our kids. It’s good for kids to see adults struggle, because so often adults are already good at doing things kids are just learning because adults have been practicing these skills for years.
In November, we all baked mini pumpkin pies for the first time together. We made pie crust together, and the filling. We were surprised at how soupy-the pie filling was. Is it supposed to be this liquid-y? We attempted to put pie crust on top…and it sank down through the liquid filling. “Okay, I guess that’s why you never see a top crust on a pumpkin pie”, we laughed. We learned by trying, doing, failing – and our daughters were right there laughing along with us.
Could I have done a better job of planning out the craft and the baking activities? Preparing samples, knowing what I was doing, having a kitchen that wasn’t half-under construction? Sure. I could have waited until everything was perfect and I was super organized and ready to host…but then it honestly wouldn’t have happened at all.
I still agree with this overall goal for the reason for gathering – but as we continue Crafternoons in 2026, I think the biggest goal is for the girls (and moms) to show up and try.
And so, instead of re-inventing the wheel of yet another craft-instruction or recipe-blog article, I’m writing instead to inspire you to host a mother-daughter craft club this year and give you the freedom to make it what you want, rather than a prescribed “curriculum” of ideas. There is no perfect execution here. You gather, you make, you fail, you make, you gather again.
I’d love to hear all about it.
If crafts really aren’t your thing, but you do really want to make more of an effort to gather in community with others, I have another post featuring casual get together ideas that might also resonate!
Warmly.
-Heather
ps: This post contains Amazon affiliate links from which I earn a small commission. Thank you for supporting my blog! I am a real person and I write all my content myself based on my real lived-in life.
Enjoyed this post? Check out some of my other recent posts!
- Hosting a Mother-Daughter Craft Club
- Building Community by Watching Sports Together
- Making Homeschooling Work During Home Remodeling
- Why Halloween is Important for Kids
- Kids Books about Trustworthiness
Don’t want to miss a thing? Subscribe to my mailing list and get an email to your inbox when I publish something new. I try to post once a week, usually on a Saturday.