Date Night

When Scott and I went through our marriage mentoring class about 5 years ago, our teachers, the Bacaks, explained how important it was for a married couple to set aside time each week to continue to "date" one another. You know, quality, one-on-one time with the one you love most. "Of course," we thought..."no problem"...."we will always do that"...."right?" Ok, veterans of marriage, you can laugh at us now. Something that seemed so essential to our marriage in the beginning has been replaced by...well...life, I guess. We still go out occasionally but not as often as we use to. We are either too tired, can't find a babysitter, the house is a mess, etc. There is always a reason NOT to go out.

Well, I (and subsequently Scott) have been motivated once again to fire up our date nights. I was inspired when reading my friend, Kirby's blog. She was inspired by this idea....Project 52: Date Nights. Basically, this couple decided to start having a date night once a week...at home. Their budget didn't allow for them to go out every week, so they came up with creative things to do in their own home. She would be in charge of planning them for a month and then he would do it the next month. Genius right? Why haven't we thought of that? It's not about going out, it's about spending time with your spouse...no matter where you are. It's about staying connected and having fun. Here are a few ideas from their blog:

A list of 16 creative at-home dates…. That’s enough to last 4 months

• Discuss a book you both recently read. Create a cafe or coffee shop atmosphere at home.
• Play the First Words game where you read a word card and the other person say the first thing that comes to mind. Here’s a free download of the First Words game.
• Look through old photographs, wedding albums, other photo albums or scrapbooks.
• Flip through both of your high school yearbooks.
• Go through your digital music library to make a CD or playlist of each other’s favorite songs or songs that reminds you of each other.
• Sketch out a blueprint of your dream house.
• Borrow or purchase travel books and plan your dream vacation.
• Write down and discuss each of your bucket lists.
• Have a cookie or dessert baking contest. Each person try a different recipe and see which one you like best.
• Browse through magazines and catalogs to a collage of clothing and fashion styles you would like to see the other person wear or try.
• Watch family home videos.
• Ice cream or soda or cheese tasting. Try flavors you have never tried before.
• Set up a photo booth in your home, put the camera on timer and take pictures of the two of you.
• Go through each room in the house and talk about what you would like to see done to the room.
• Learn a new skill together – photography, painting, carpentry, massages.
• Turn your story of how you met into a children’s book. Your kids will love reading it.

She has more ideas listed here. Sounds fun right? Well, I thought it was a great idea and I just wanted to share it in case any of my wonderful readers (I have a few readers right?) wanted to give it a try. Let me know if you decide to try it....we can swap ideas!!