Grown Up Play Dates Should Be A Thing – Worthington, Ohio Edition

Inside: Join along as I take you on a fun grown up play date in my favorite neighborhood – WORTHINGTON!

Naps. Sugary cereal. Play dates. Sometimes it seems like kids are the ones getting to have all the fun, am I right? Well, recently a group of my friends and I spent a day exploring my favorite neighborhood – Old Worthington.

There’s something pretty special about Worthington.

I’m probably biased, because I was born and raised here – but when it was time for me to settle down and start a family, my husband and I racked our brains and couldn’t think of a better neighborhood than Worthington to call our home. It offers everything my family values – a close-knit and supportive community, wonderful schools, a cute historic district filled with delightful shops and restaurants, the best farmer’s market in town, an awesome art and performing arts scene, and tons of family-friendly community events on the historic village green.

So I was thrilled to spend a day out and about in Worthington with my friends on a fun GROWN UP play date! Here’s what we did:

Stopped in to Mrs. Goodman’s Bakery Co. for breakfast pastries.

Mrs. Goodman’s is a Worthington institution! I’ve been visiting this bakery since I was in middle school, and so many of our celebrations – birthday parties, graduation parties, weddings, and baby showers have included their delicious cakes! In addition to their cakes, they have a full menu of pastries, scones, and cinnamon rolls.

After we fueled up on pastries and coffee at Mrs. Goodman’s, we headed next door to the Salt House of Worthington.

Our next grown up play date stop was The Salt House

The Salt House of Worthington was my first experience with halo-therapy (salt therapy) and it was fun to be able to experience it with my friends.

Salt therapy is said to help promote better breathing and can help alleviate several types of respiratory and skin conditions. I loved how bright and beautiful the space was, and they even had a salt box full of toys where your little ones can play while Mom sticks her feet in the salt!

If you’re thinking of giving dry salt therapy a try – grab a friend and head over on a Friday for their “Free Friend Friday” special – buy one salt therapy session and get one free! You are also welcome to bring your own beverages and they will provide adult sippy cups! This one has grown up play date written ALL over it, right?

After a fun session of salt therapy, we headed down the street to wander through the Worthington Farmer’s market.

I’ve been going to the Worthington Farmer’s Market ever since I could walk and I can’t believe how much it’s grown over the years. When we were brand new parents – we loved to go extra early and have breakfast on the patio of La Chatelaine before pushing the stroller, and walking our puppy through the market to sample goodies and stock up for the week. Six years later, and it’s become one of our favorite family traditions.

After picking out some goodies and trying a million samples along the way, we stopped for a snack at The Half Pint.

The Half Pint is known for their beers and burgers – but my personal favorite is an order of their cheese curds.

And then we crossed the street and stopped by the Whitney House for their Boozy Cereals!

You guys – these are genius. Totally fun and the perfect snack for a grown up play date with your friends!

Have you been to the Whitney House? It’s one of my favorite places in Worthington for a date night, family brunch, a lazy lunch or even a late night ramen pop up. (Dear Whitney House; if you’re reading this – please PLEASE bring back your late night ramen party. It was the best thing ever. Signed – Your biggest ramen fan)

I always get the exact same thing – their incredible ramen, and I get it with extra sambal chili sauce on top. But since I just ate a bucket of cheese curds, I decided on a quick snack instead – BOOZY CEREAL!

You can pick from following options:

Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, served with a shot of milk, apple pie mead, and spiced rum.

Cocoa Puffs cereal, served with a shot of milk, Kahlua, and Frangelico.

Fruit Loops cereal, served with a shot of milk, citrus vodka, elderflower liqueur, and Chambord.

Cookie Crisp cereal, served with a shot of milk and Rumchata.

Next we headed to AR Workshop for some crafty fun.

What a fun experience! I’m not crafty or artsy in any way, and so I was a bit anxious about a diy kind of place, but AR Workshop breaks everything down and makes you feel like you can create something beautiful (even me).

AR Workshop hosts all kinds of classes – including team building events and children’s camps and sessions! You can pick from a ton of different projects and I loved walking around their cute shop to get inspiration. Seriously perfect for a grown up play date!

And then we wandered down to the Porch Growler…

Have you been to Porch Growler? It’s such a fun, chill spot. My husband and I love it because we have totally opposite tastes in beer/cider and there are SO many options to choose from that we can always find something we love.

And I feel like the space is super family-friendly, and we love bringing our six year old with us. We get an ice cold beer, and she gets to sip yummy root beer or orange soda.

When we go as a family, it’s fun to sit and play checkers or Uno (they have a stack of board games available!) Plus I love that you can bring in your own food, or get something delivered. Worthington Pizza Primo is across the street and happily delivers!

At this point, we were ready for some nap time. Did you know Worthington had so many cool things to do? It’s the perfect place to spend a day exploring and eating.

Thanks for coming along on this grown up play date! Have any ideas for a fun play date with friends? Leave a comment, and I’ll check it out!

Related: Family Weekend Getaway to Lancaster, Ohio