Joanna Gaines Reveals Peek Inside Her ‘Favorite Day of the Year’ With Her 5 Kids at Family’s Waco Farmhouse

Home guru Joanna Gaines has given fans a glimpse inside life on her sprawling Texas farm as she celebrated her "favorite day of the year" alongside her five children.

The 48-year-old "Fixer Upper" icon took to Instagram to document the family's annual Honey Harvest Day at their Waco, TX, property, sharing a behind-the-scenes look at the process of collecting honey from their own beehives.

Joanna—who recently opened up about the bittersweet emotions that come with watching her children grow up and leave home—turned the annual tradition into a family affair, enlisting the help of Drake, 21, Ella, 19, Duke, 18, Emmie, 16, and Crew, 8, whom she shares with husband Chip Gaines.

In the clip, the family could be seen carefully extracting the honey from the hives and working together to harvest the sweet reward.

"My favorite day of the year—Honey Harvest Day at the farm! Always amazed and grateful at the gift these bees give us every year,” Joanna captioned the clip.

The home guru added, "Thanks for the celebratory sign for my fav day, Ella,” referring to a poster made by her daughter that reads, “Welcome to the Honey Harvest."

At the start of the video, Joanna and Crew could be seen prancing down the farm while sporting beekeeping suits.

Joanna then took a step away from her son to snap a photo of herself as bees surrounded her.

Moving inside, the HGTV icon and her son scraped honeycomb and prepared the honey to be poured.

Joanna then poured the fresh honey into a glass jar.

Duke, Ella, and Drake then stepped in to help their mom and began pouring honey into the jars.

The video then cut to a clip of Gaines climbing out of a window because the bees were "waiting for us at the front door."

At the end of the clip, Gaines showed off her honey shelf, which was situated near her window, allowing for natural light to shine on the glass jars.

The video comes just one week after Gaines dropped some helpful knowledge about another topic she’s become well-acquainted with—college move-in day.

In an Aug. 16 Instagram post, the “Fixer Upper” co-host opened up about the bittersweet experience of having children move away from home.

“To all the parents sending their kids off to college… I know that feeling all too well,” Joanna wrote alongside a collection of photos from memorable occasions such as 19-year-old daughter Ella Gaines’ 2025 high school graduation and subsequent move.

“Thinking of all the parents sending their kids off to college this season. I’ve been on that side of move-in day… as hard as that goodbye is, there’s nothing more fulfilling than watching your kid grow beyond you—it’s one of the greatest gifts of being a parent,” she continued. “May you find joy, comfort, and gratitude in letting go.”

The Magnolia entrepreneur empathized with parents of university-bound children, nodding to the familiar emotions behind “holding on a little tighter before letting go” and “feeling proud of who they’re becoming and wishing time would slow down.”

Parents in similar situations flocked to the comments to join in on the conversation, with one user calling Joanna’s words “medicine for my soul.” Others praised the television personality: “Successful parenting is having kids confident enough to leave the nest! Good job.”

Joanna and Chip, 51, have lots to be proud of when it comes to their family. They’ve already seen two of their now-adult children leave the nest.

Drake, 21, is pursuing a degree in business entrepreneurship at Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton, TX. Although they have not publicly shared where Ella is attending school, Joanna has previously noted that the second-born Gaines child is continuing her education “across the country” from the family’s home in Waco, TX.

Ahead of Ella’s first day of freshman year in 2025, Joanna detailed what she’d miss most about having her eldest daughter around the house.

“We love to go to antiques shops, plant shops, and go get coffee—that's our rhythm,” she said. “I kind of feel like I’m losing a friend in my everyday life.”

Chip and Joanna have largely kept their brood out of the public eye. However, that’s begun to change as Ella has shown interest in the family business.

In 2025, Ella appeared on “Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House,” following in her parents’ footsteps as she helped revamp a cottage as part of her first design project.

“The idea that my daughter, who is now an adult, has decided to take on what her mother does and I get to teach her, I don’t know, it just feels like this beautiful full-circle moment” Joanna said at the time, noting the “biggest hope with letting her tackle this cottage is [that] it builds confidence in her.”

While Joanna expressed excitement for the opportunity to show Ella the ropes, she also found a careful balance in letting the aspiring designer make her own decisions.

“For me, it’s stepping back,” the proud mom shared. “And where she wants help, or she wants a suggestion, I’ll step in, but I’ve really tried to shut my mouth.”