Relationships are the secret not-so-secret to life. Connection is something all human beings crave, and this desire can be met in lots of different ways. In a culture that holds up romantic connection as the pinnacle of connection, I will say that the platonic friendship is truly underrated. While I’m fortunate to have a caring spouse as a partner, my life has also been so enriched by friendship, particularly friendship with women.

Did you know?

And it’s not just my experience. It’s a thing! Research suggests that women may experience stress differently and chemicals in our brains encourage us to make and maintain friendships with other women (the researchers from UCLA called this “tend and befriend” ). This may be evolutionarily advantageous, as these social ties reduce our risk for disease, helping women live longer than men. And it’s not just length of life. A study out of Harvard Medical School found that female friendships impact the quality of life also, reducing the likelihood of physical impairments and increasing experiences of joy and satisfaction.

With all these benefits, why wouldn’t we prioritize connecting with the women in our inner circle? Life. And the burden of the mental load in our homes. That’s why. It’s overwhelming to even think about planning something to enrich and celebrate friendship. But as we just established, it’s important. We deserve it. It serves both us and our families for us to have these connections and experience joy.

We made it happen!

I just got back from a lovely weekend away with two friends to Raleigh, North Carolina despite full calendars, potentially icy roads, a 2-hour school delay, and the needs of 9 kids between us, so where there’s a will, there’s a way! We drove to a halfway point, rented a lovely Airbnb for two nights that was central to activities, each with our own bedroom and a comfy living room to lounge in. Our goal was to connect, relax, and follow our bliss. We explored a new city through walks, local eateries (and a bakery), had lots of time to talk and binge watch a show in our jammies, shared product recommendations and borrowed each other’s makeup, and we read and relaxed in our rooms after that. Most importantly, we were together, we didn’t cook or clean a thing, and our sides hurt from laughter!

Want to try to make this happen for you and your village?

Take a deep breath. We’ve got you covered.

I’ve compiled these six considerations and guiding questions to help you talk to your friends and get started with planning. And stay tuned to how we might be able to help you even further.

Six considerations and guiding questions to get your girls’ weekend planning started.

Purpose and vibe.
Is this trip for connection, relaxation, adventure, celebrating, partying, a cultural experience, or a combination? Do we want a structured itinerary, a go with the flow weekend? Or a menu of prepared options we can choose from based on how we’re feeling?
Logistics and availability
How many days/nights do we want to be together? Or sometimes it may be how long of a window is possible, given our family’s needs, our work schedules? When are possible dates that could work for all of us? Do we want a road trip or a flight? Do you have a place already in mind? What feels equitable in terms of amount of travel - is it a place we can all reasonably get to with similar effort? If you have a place in mind, what’s the best season to visit this place? When are support folks available to watch our children or care for our pets? What budget do we have in mind?
Budget
What is everyone’s budget range for accommodations, food, and activities? Should we split costs evenly, or can some of us shoulder larger cost burden if some of us aren’t able to pay as much? Do we need to set a per-person spending cap?
Accommodations
Do we prefer a hotel, resort, Airbnb? What are our individual needs for housing, such as wheelchair accessibility, our own beds, our own rooms, shared bathrooms? What amenities are a must-have — internet access, ceiling fans in the bedrooms, a kitchen, washer/dryer, an electric car charger, pool, spa? Should we stay near activities and transportation hubs for convenience or look for something more private and peaceful? What is the cancellation policy of our booking, in case life happens?
Activities, experiences, preferences, and dynamics
Depending upon your purpose and vibe, do you want to research, plan, and/or book any special events? Do we want high-energy or relaxing experiences? What are our fitness level, interests, and preferences? Any dietary needs that will impact where and what we eat or try? Do you prefer or avoid certain cuisines? Is it a priority to try something new and local, or would you rather go to brands you know well? Are we early risers or night owls? How do we handle decision-making - majority rule, rotating choices, we each plan an element? Are there any non-negotiables or dealbreakers for anyone? How do we make sure everyone has a great time and feels included?
Coordination and communication
Who will take the lead on paying for larger costs and how will we reimburse that person? How will we organize and track bookings — email, group chat, shared doc, app? Do we need a backup plan for unexpected changes? When do we leave, arrive, let everyone know we’re safe? Who will confirm our bookings or manage communication with hosts? Are we bringing anything to share — snacks? meal ingredients? adult beverages?

Ready, set, go pack your suitcase!

I hope this blog post is enough to motivate you to plan and enjoy a friends’ trip. But if you need more support, here are additional resources:

If you get overwhelmed about finding cool things to do in a new place, Google “girls getaway” + the name of the location you want to visit. There are so many bloggers and even tourism groups that may have done much of the local research for you.
If you want to be really intentional to make something special of your trip, consider reading Priya Parker’s book, The Art of Gathering for principles and examples of intentional celebrations and gatherings.
Or maybe you need to delegate the task entirely! We can manage planning a friends’ trip for you! Shoot me an email and we can flush out details.

We can help with this - and so much more!

At Laura Kassner Consulting, our suite of Life Wife services include memorymaking and travel planning and so much more! Our mission is to reduce your mental load so you can pursue things that bring you joy. From devising systems to make your home function smoothly to research and planning skills to make memories or navigate big life decisions, we are here to support you.

Need a girls’ getaway? Six considerations and guiding questions.