It’s so easy to get caught up in the day to day. Suddenly, weeks go by, months go by, even years before you realize that you actually haven’t been on a real date with your spouse for who knows how long! It’s so important to nurture your relationship with your spouse. It’s so easy to become complacent with the routine and the busyness of life – to the point where the normal routine might not even include time to connect with your partner about the week ahead, or the week that went by, let alone go out on a real date!

We try to have a date night at least one time every month. I love the idea of taking turns planning date nights so that you each get to surprise each other, or at least each take on the responsibility of planning the date. It’s fun to think of ways to spoil each other, or even just to have your partner experience your kind of fun. Taking turns is also great because it shares the pressure of planning or even just generating the ideas! You both gotta do the work, for you both to have some fun!

Here are some simple ideas:

Free/Home Dates

• Indoor or outdoor picnic – I mean ya gotta eat anyway, right?
• Homemade wings and sports night
• Chocolate fondue and Rom Com
• Board games (try out some cooperative games if you get overly competitive! It could be a marriage saver!)
• Spa night (try clay face masks, candles, serene music and a soak in the tub)
• Video games
• Snuggle up by a fire (or even make a “fire” by tying some red, orange, and yellow tissue paper to a box fan and set it sideways on a table, watch the “flames” flicker – it’s practically the same thing just a little cooler *literally!!
• Re-watch old favourite TV shows, share your favourite parts
• Go for a nature hike to a local waterfall, or just hike in nature
• If you’re outdoorsy and have the equipment, go kayaking or canoeing

Cheap(ish) dates

• Ice cream at the local mom and pop ice cream shop
• Coffee date at a swanky local café
• Walk around a book store and pick out a book to read together – better yet, read it out loud together on your picnic date!
• Find your local Bingo Hall and go out for some potentially stressful bingo fun
• Rent a kayak or a canoe for the afternoon (if you don’t have your own stuff)
• Go play mini put, or billiards
• Get some take out, then enjoy a night in or out.
• Go buy some good quality markers or pencil crayons and do some colouring together
• Go buy a new board game
• Buy a massive amount of solo cups and see who can build the taller tower
• Peruse Groupon or another discount site to plan your next date night

Fancy date or weekend getaways – If you’ve got the funds why not use some money to go all out!

• Go out of town for the weekend
• Go to a super expensive, swanky restaurant
• Rent a boat and a driver if needed
• Go to an amusement park together
• Cross things off your bucket lists
• Stay at a bed and breakfast place
• Get an air BnB for a weekend, and pretend it’s your house!
• Go on a road trip

There are literally hundreds of ideas if you do a simple internet or Pinterest search.

I think it’s so important to try to stay connected with your partner. If you have kids and don’t have easy access to childcare, you can still make the most of it by trying to have a date night at home. If your kids stay up really late, maybe wake up early and have your morning coffee together before the kids wake up.

Life is busy, there are lots of other commitments on your time and energy. Rather than always giving each other what is left of your energy, make it a priority every now and then to give your true effort. Just like it was back when you were dating.

It’s special to take the time to try to remind one another that you still love each other, and remind one another why you fell in love way back at the beginning. It doesn’t have to be a grandiose gesture, just simple time together, reconnecting and pausing the busy chaos for one night is enough.

We often try to leave certain conversations off the table for our date nights. No kid talk, no work talk, no financial talk – those are different reconnecting opportunities, because you do have to talk about all that stuff too at some point. But the idea behind date night, is that it is like a real date. Like back when you had no other commitments, and life seemed simpler. Ignore the dishes, or clutter of the house, and just focus on each other and whatever creative adventure you can come up with.

On that note…I am out to pick up some take out for date night!

Thanks for coming home!