The words “Hey, little Buddy” tumbled out of my mouth as the nurse placed my newborn son in my arms.

Buddy? When did I decide he was my “Buddy”? I never said anything like that to my first-born, my daughter. My pain-numbed mind made a note to think on it later. After two and a half years, I have it {sort of} figured out.

He is my buddy, my pal, my teddy bear. He dazzles me with his charm, but doesn’t try to play me…yet. He says, “You’re pretty, Mama” and it means I’m the most beautiful woman in his world. I hold his hand to keep him safe, and I know one day he’ll do the same for me.

Ok, I really don’t want to get all “As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be” on y’all. But for reals. This mother-son thing is pretty sweet. I’m still learning how to relate to him and teach him as best as I can. But there is a significant difference in raising a daughter and a son. With girls, moms can rely on intuition–we rely on our own personal experiences as a daughter. With boys? Well, it’s a great, big, unknown world.

What I do know is that spending quality time with this funny little boy is the best thing for both he and I.

Now, as my son is only two and a half years old, there has not been an abundance of dates. While I intuitively know what works for a mom and daughter, I needed to consult an “expert” in the field of mother-son dating. My cousin, Karee, is just the expert I needed for this project. For as long as I can remember, I have looked up to her. Not only is she a wonderful role model and friend, but she is a stellar mom to three boys.

They are good boys–they are gentlemen. No joke, when I was pregnant with Coco I stayed with them for about a week. Every morning when I would take my shower, they made my bed for me. A seven-year-old made my bed.

They are respectful and sweet to their mom. They are good with little kids. They are bright, interesting, and funny. They are good boys. Gentlemen.

I asked Karee for a few tips in writing this post. I wanted to get the golden answer as to why her kids are so wonderful. What struck me is the unique relationship she has with each of her sons. How do you have a unique relationship with each child?

Simple. You need to spend quality, one on one time with them. You need to date them.

Today I’m sharing 20 date ideas for you to try with your son. Some of these are from Karee, some of them are from me. If you have an idea that isn’t on the list please share in the comments! I would love to hear from you.

And now, without further adieu:

1.) Frozen dessert and Firemen. Grab some ice-cream, fro-yo or a smoothie and go gawk at your local fire station. If you play your cards right (read: look pretty) you might just get him a free tour.

2.) Mud Fight. Ok, your mom klout will soar if you do this. Put on clothes that you don’t care about and dress him the same. Find a nice, dirt field or hose your backyard. Whatever. The point is–find mud and play in it. Bring a soccer ball and watch your little guy turn from mommy lover to goddess worshipper in five minutes flat.

3.) Coffee and Games Take him to Starbucks and bring a game. Depending on his level of intelligence age this could be anything from CandyLand to Monopoly. Of course, the lovely baristas of Starbucks might not have the patience for something as drawn out as Monopoly. I certainly do not. But you get the point, I hope.

4.) Cheap Zoo. Here’s something my best friend does with her little guy: take him to PetCo or a local pet store and pretend its the zoo. As long as he’s under the age of five, this is sure to be entertaining. If he’s over five, he’ll probably convince you to buy a hamster–so steer clear.

5.) Bug Hunt. What little boy doesn’t love to find bugs? When I was a kid, I had a sick fascination with catching wasps in a milk carton and then killing them by the mass. You could say I was a mass wasp murderer.

You could opt for something less violent and more “kind” by just finding lady bugs, butterflies, and maybe some crickets. It’s all about the kill hunt. I just assume that the world is a better place with less nasty wasps flitting about.

6.) Adventure. Pack food and blankets in backpacks. You need a natural, woodsy location. But actually, the beach, desert, or even a nice park would work fine.

Put on your backpacks (it’s important he has his own pack) and set out for a little hike. Stop to make camp and have him gather firewood. Arrange your picnic and pretend you’re sitting by a crackling fire. Then, pretend it’s bedtime and you’re sleeping out under the stars.

You can fill an afternoon with a faux camping trip, complete with ghost stories and bears. Make it extremely imaginative and let him take the lead. It’s an adventure in survival–boys LOVE that stuff.

7.) Book Store. Take him to a book store and let him discover new interests. Of course this will depend on his age, but you might find that he enjoys more than just the kid section. For example, Karee’s oldest has been interested in airplanes for about as long as he’s been talking.

The kid is in high school and has already flown a plane. He knows more about flying than anyone I have ever met–and I know people in the air force. Karee did a wonderful job early on by encouraging this passion and cultivating it into an actual skill set. I have no doubt he will end up being a professional pilot. No doubt.

8.) Little League. Take him to a little league baseball game. My son isn’t yet playing sports but he is totally obsessed with them. Whenever football comes on TV he stops as if in a trance and then tries to mimic the play. How cool would it be for your toddler to see the “big boys” play and learn that he, too, can one day play on the field.

I want my son to be a good athlete, just because I have that competitive mother-pride in me. But more than that, I want him to be a good team player. I don’t want the kid that is a ball hog, or a prima donna. Watching other children play together is an excellent way to foster a team player.

9.) A Play. Take him to a local play or musical. Just make sure you pick something high energy and with lots of color. As much as I love the old Bard, don’t do Shakespeare.

10.) Park Play Date. Take him to the park and play with him. No, really. Go down the slides, climb through the tunnels, and wow him with your mad monkey-bar skills.

11.) Water Fight. If the weather’s warm, have a water-gun war and call truce with popsicles.

12.) Fancy Dinner. Teach him what a date is. Dress up, give him a wallet with money, and have him open the doors for you. I would go somewhere like Chick Fil A or a nice deli so that you won’t have to wait around very long for your food. Let him “pay” for the meal and work at having a conversation with him. If I were to do this with Chaucer right now our convo would go something like this:

Me: So, how was your day?

Him: I want to have juice.

Me: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Him: Spiderman…a zebra…I wanna be a firetruck.

Me: Great! Spiderman is a wonderful hero, and maybe you could also be a zookeeper. Or a fireman.

Him: Can we go to the zoo right now?

Yes, we’re not quite into the elaborate conversations yet, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t practice them with him. It is so important to teach our boys how to LISTEN and sit politely while someone else talks. Your fancy date is a great place to model this.

13.) Horses. We live near an equestrian center and my son loves to go visit the horses. We bring carrots and can easily spend a solid hour just petting the horse and slipping them carrots. I’ve also taken him to a place where they have pony rides and that might have been the most exciting thing in his little life. When he gets older I am definitely going to have him take riding lessons and that will be another date option for he and I.

14.) Gift Shopping. Boys need to learn how to give good gifts. Right? They need to learn how fun it is to plan and give something to people they love. Give him a wallet with some dollar bills and head over to the $1 store. This is a great opportunity to teach him about money, and consider other peoples’ interests. “Grandma might not need a new Spiderman toy, dear. She does love coffee, though. How about this lovely mug?”

15.) Bike Ride. Take him on a bike ride. Where should you ride? To a food place, of course.

16.) Play Johnny Appleseed. Stick some pots on your heads and head to a local orchard for good ol’ apple-pickin.’ Tell him that the only way to get the good apples is to sing the Johnny Appleseed song while you pick, “The Lord is good to me, and so I thank the Lord for giving me the things I need, the sun and the rain and the appleseed, the Lord is good to me!”

You may skip the Appleseed song, if need be.

17.) Laser Tag. Do I need to say anything about how awesome this is for boys? No.

18.) The Movies. Ok, one of the coolest things my mom does with my two younger brothers is go to all the midnight Harry Potter showings. How cool is she? My youngest brother is in college, but he drove three hours to keep the tradition with my mom. Epic.

19.) Running. Now, if you have a little guy like me–going on a serious run is probably not very feasible. However, he will love being active with you. You can “chase” him, and make it into a total game. Eventually, running together might just be a regular activity ???? Karee has run with her boys and participated with them in 5k’s. My friend, Sue, over at the Spin Cycle wrote an amazing post about running with her son and teaching him how to lose.

20.) Stargaze. This is one that I included in my original Mommy-Daughter Dates post. I think it’s a perfect date to share with both daughters and sons. Get some cozy blankets, pillows, and hot cocoa. Settle in for a wonderful time enjoying beautiful nature. You’ll probably get a little kumbaya–but that’s ok. If you don’t do anything else on this list, at least do this. No matter what his age or where he is at in life he will be amazed.

Cheat-sheet/printable for your fridge!

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If you missed 20 Mommy Daughter Dates go and check that one out. Also, there is an Older Daughter Edition if you’re looking for something to do with teenage or adult daughters.