If you've been following my blog for a while, you might remember my post Simple Rules for a Happy Marriage. One of those rules is to observe a weekly date night. I've got to tell you, if you're married and not having a weekly date night, you are missing out!
Date nights do not have to be elaborate nor costly to be enjoyable. Even if you have a houseful of little ones and can't afford a sitter, you can have date night. During our early years of marriage, sometimes date night consisted of playing backgammon or watching a movie after the kids went to bed. What you do on your date is less important than remembering to have date night consistently. Just the act of labeling date night makes it special, even if the activity is not exclusive to date night. It's a way to tell your spouse that he or she is important enough to merit your full attention on a regular basis.
When our kiddos were young, we would exchange babysitting with another couple. That gave us a chance to get out of the house without the expense of hiring a sitter. (One of the more memorable dates was seeing the movie, Men in Black. On the way to our friends' house to pick up our kids, we noticed strange lights moving in the sky. We were almost convinced the movie was true. The 10 o'clock news informed us the lights were just a bunch of Russian space junk entering the atmosphere. The news reporter had no imagination!)
Besides the standard (or memorable!) movie night, you could have a picnic, play frisbee golf, go for a walk, go to the local hardware store and dream about your next project, play tennis, watch a ball game, go swimming, peruse the thrift or antique store, go out for ice cream, . . . the possibilities are endless.
What are your favorite date ideas?
Thanks for my date, who asks every week, "Do you want to go out with me tonight?" Why yes, yes I do!
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| We don't go to Disneyland every week, but boy, would that be fun! |
Date nights do not have to be elaborate nor costly to be enjoyable. Even if you have a houseful of little ones and can't afford a sitter, you can have date night. During our early years of marriage, sometimes date night consisted of playing backgammon or watching a movie after the kids went to bed. What you do on your date is less important than remembering to have date night consistently. Just the act of labeling date night makes it special, even if the activity is not exclusive to date night. It's a way to tell your spouse that he or she is important enough to merit your full attention on a regular basis.
When our kiddos were young, we would exchange babysitting with another couple. That gave us a chance to get out of the house without the expense of hiring a sitter. (One of the more memorable dates was seeing the movie, Men in Black. On the way to our friends' house to pick up our kids, we noticed strange lights moving in the sky. We were almost convinced the movie was true. The 10 o'clock news informed us the lights were just a bunch of Russian space junk entering the atmosphere. The news reporter had no imagination!)
Besides the standard (or memorable!) movie night, you could have a picnic, play frisbee golf, go for a walk, go to the local hardware store and dream about your next project, play tennis, watch a ball game, go swimming, peruse the thrift or antique store, go out for ice cream, . . . the possibilities are endless.
What are your favorite date ideas?
Thanks for my date, who asks every week, "Do you want to go out with me tonight?" Why yes, yes I do!
An adorable picture and a piece of awesome advice!
ReplyDeleteThis is such good advise Kristi. Even after 44 years we still have date night and we still look forward to it. When our kids were little and we had zero money our date nights were at home. The kids were sent to their room with strict instructions to stay there unless there was blood involved! :} They used to giggle and peek around the corner but they still remember that this was very important and not to be messed with adult time and it gave them the message that our relationship was important to us.
ReplyDeleteLovely couple you make. And indeed, a good advice I should take. After 15,5 years of marriage, we rarely go out together. Yes, for birthdays and such, but not just the two of us doing something fun. OUr weekends are mostly hanging in front of the tv or surfing the web, each with our own laptop. Now that I wright this down I see how neglectful we go about our weekends. Usually I always said we only see eachother in the weekends and so every weekend is special. But really, they are not....
ReplyDeleteThanks for your eye-opener. Going to call my guy and ask him out for saterday, seeing a movie or something.....
Thankful for a wise Friend.
My husband and I have been married nearly 30 years now. Our favorite thing to do, as of late, would be going to the movies. It's nice to relax and take in a show...but mostly we go for the popcorn. ;)
ReplyDeleteBecause my husband works local we have the opportunity to have lunch together. So our date night hhas really evolved into a date afternoon. It seems so much is going on at night at our house. Our afternoon break revives us.
ReplyDelete