Freshen Up...Your Date Nights

It's PODCAST TUESDAY!!! And this week it's all about Ryan, because tomorrow is a big day! The big 4-0! Celebrate him with me, won't you?

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I'm pretty sure most of you know this by now, but Ryan and I are really serious about our date nights. We made a commitment, back when we were actually dating, that we would not fail to be intentional about this. We had seen too many couples date diligently throughout their dating and engagement seasons and then let it all fall by the wayside after they got married. We did not want to let that happen to us. We determined that whether we went out or stayed in, we would commit to having a date every single week. It's important to invest set apart time in our marriage.

By the way, "set apart time" is important even if you don't have kids - or don't have kids living at home. Just because you may not have your attention divided between your spouse and your kids doesn't mean your time isn't divided between your spouse and other things - like work, hobbies, or other commitments. For us, date night says you are important enough to me that I'm not going to answer the phone or texts or be available to others right now. I'm focusing on you, on us, on our dreams, and on our marriage.

We're still finding our groove again in date night creativity. During the months of Ryan's mom's illness, our date nights were pretty much simplified to grocery shopping and a quick meal out. That's all we had time to do, but we determined to make it fun, even though it was predictable and not the most exciting outing. (And we did!)

But today I want to throw out some ideas for how to freshen up your date nights if you've gotten in a rut - or if you've gotten out of the habit of dating altogether.

1. Go on alphabetical dates.

If you've been reading here for a while, you might remember this one! Back in 2017, we dated our way through the alphabet. We did 26 dates in one year, each inspired by a letter of the alphabet. It remains one of my most favorite projects we've ever done. I got the idea from Pinterest, and it was such a winner!! (You can find the list of our date ideas here, along with links to read about each one.) We did some really creative things that year; some were once-in-a-lifetime kinds of things and others were more common, yet really fun. You are welcome to borrow any of our ideas or make up something that suits you a little better! But I think you'd have a lot of fun!

2. Check out the Dating Divas site.

Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash

I learned about the Dating Divas back when I worked at WBCL. The creators have a passion to get couples in the habit of dating, so they concoct all sorts of themed date ideas. I've used some of their ideas before, and they are fun! Many of their posts include printables to incorporate into your dates. Some are free and some have to be purchased, but I've used both kinds and can assure you the purchased parts are worth the money. They have all kinds of ideas on their site, and not all of them will zing you. But I am positive you can find something fun on there!

3. Go on a scavenger hunt.

Back when we lived in Marion, I found a scavenger hunt list (for a park setting) on Pinterest, so I printed it out. On a really nice spring evening, we stopped by the root beer stand, got dinner to go, and headed to the park. We set up our picnic in a gazebo and enjoyed our dinner while we watched dads and daughters heading to a dance in one of the buildings nearby. Then we went all over the park, conquering our photo scavenger hunt. It was so much fun! (And other than dinner, it was also free!) You can do all kinds of hunts, and I think they all make for a fun date!

4. Have a totally free date.

Photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash

I think there are too many people who feel like a date has to cost a decent amount of money to be fun. Not true! In fact - what if you challenge yourself to a no-spend date? Figure out a whole evening (or day) in which you don't spend a single cent, but you do something purposeful and fun. (Aka you can't just stay home and watch TV.) I will tell you that you can find some ideas on Pinterest, but see if you can't come up with something on your own first! (You might surprise yourself with your own creativity if you really put your mind to it.)

5. Draw from the jar.

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

As creative as I like to be with planning dates (and I feel like I do pretty well with it most of the time), sometimes I absolutely draw a blank. Sometimes I want to plan something fun, but I just can't think of anything new or different. This is when a date idea jar would come in so handy. Keep a jar in a central location, scrap paper handy beside it, and when either of you thinks of a fun date idea, scribble it down and drop it in the jar. Then when you need a date idea, you can find something your other half really wants to do! This also helps prevent the old, "You know...I had this idea, but now I can't remember it!"


Happy dating! Hope you found an idea that works for you!