Dating when you have 3 children isn't easy. Being in a new town and away from most of our family we have to find someone to hire to babysit. It's hard to know who you can trust and it's also expensive. We can't really afford to pay someone to watch the kids and still have money to go out and enjoy ourselves so I am always looking for fun and creative ideas of things we can do at home. Yes, we can always rent a movie and pick up a pizza but it doesn't take much more effort to spice it up a little and make it more fun... make it feel like an actual date...
I'm a huge fan of The Dating Divas. They have some great dating ideas, not just for at home dates but group dates, family dates, gifts to make for your sweetie, etc. When you check this particular date out be sure to browse their site for more!
This date idea has been my favorite so far. I created once a month dates for a whole year based on this and they provided great free printables for me to turn it into an actual package that I could present to my hubby. It's an around the world dating experience. You can pick 12 destinations to theme your dates around, print a passport (that you can actually personalize with a photo and everything), print a travel itinerary, and even print personalized plane tickets! Here is the link to the details for putting this date package together, complete with the printables you need: Passport to Love Date Package
I am having fun researching recipes and activities to enhance these date nights. I will find recipes, plan some kind of activity (even if it's just a movie that fits the theme) and even incorporate some decorations to make the night complete. I will also put some little date reminder in my hubby's lunchbox as well so he can have something to think about and look forward to at work that day, maybe a little hot pepper for our Mexican date night... you get the idea!
I keep a binder at home to organize everything in my life, dating my hubby and keeping things fun for us is a major priority so I added a section in my binder for date night notes. I'm going to share with you the sheet I made to help me keep myself organized when planning dates. I hope you enjoy this free printable:
Date Night Notes Printable pdf file
If you need some ideas, here are the places I selected and a few ideas I had, I'm still planning so I will update my definite ideas and even post some pics from these dates as we have them:
Greece: Greek food, My Big Fat Greek Wedding movie
France: Still brainstorming on this one, there are so many choices!
Italy: Italian food (my favorite) I have some great new recipes to try...
Australia: Aussie Chicken and Bloomin Onion for sure
Germany: Hello Oktoberfest!
Mexico: Mexican Fiesta - Decor, Margaritas, Mexican Food, 3 Amigos movie, Mexican Train Dominoes
Egypt: Mummy movie marathon
Ireland: Maybe some family tree research, being that we both have Irish bloodlines...
The Caribbean: Bring some of the tropic to Indiana, I'm thinking a luau and some fruity cocktails.
Africa: Maybe some Big Game Hunter or Animal Expedition on the wii
England: Fish N Chips anyone?
China: Chinese food (duh) maybe some fun reading on Chinese horoscopes, Chinese checkers...
What are you waiting for? Enjoy these free ideas and get creative, put the kids to bed early, and set off on an adventure with your sweetie!
Love this idea! Even with just one kid it seems impossible to have a date night. These are really great ideas!
ReplyDeleteWOW! I love the fact that you came up with the "Date Night Notes"! I was wondering how I was going to do my one date a month for a year using this Passport to love and keep track of all the extra little things I will need to get. Once I'm at the store I look at my list and typically if it's not on there I don't get it...then I get home and usually say "AW MAN I FORGOT..." because it was a last minute idea! Brilliant! This was my take on the "Passport to Love": When I saw this I fell in love instantly! My husband and I are always talking about traveling the world...I took this idea and ran with it making a mess as idea after idea added on. For pictures and a better and deeper explanation you could always stop by my blog: http://megananddax.blogspot.com/2013/02/valentines-day-passport-to-love.html . That will lead you directly to my adventure creating brochures for all the countries we are to visit and so much more! I LOVED learning about each country we are going to visit and I think all of this will make beautiful and treasured keepsakes.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas Megan! Thank you for sharing. I'm sure your hubby will love your creative dates!
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