It seems like every marriage/relationship book suggests to regularly "date" your significant other.
But what is a date? Does it always have to involve getting a babysitter, going out to eat and then going out to a movie? Not necessarily. That can get really expensive, really fast. I personally think any time spent together can be considered a "date."
Here are a few ideas for frugal dating:
- Go for a walk or a bike ride
- Stay home and make a meal together
- Borrow a movie from the library (or rent one from the $1 redbox)
- Go ice skating
- Go for a drive and park somewhere to watch the sunset
- Go on a picnic
- Go swimming
- Visit a state park
- Have a date in the morning over some coffee - before work and before the kids get up
- Play a board game
- Go to a book shop (like Barnes & Noble or Borders) and sit and chat
- Visit local free museums or zoos
- Read a book together
- Window shop
The other night, my husband and I had a date at home. He took the kids to Grandma's house while I got our meal ready. We put out the nice tablecloth, used nice dishes and lit some candles. It was great! We didn't have to cut anyone's food and we could complete a whole conversation without any interruptions. Then we watched a movie in the comfort of our own home......and we were able to turn the volume up without worrying about waking up the kids.
The main point is that we didn't have to spend any money to have a great evening together. Dating can get expensive but it doesn't have to be.
So be creative!
These are great ideas! For our anniversary, my husband was going to take me out to dinner, but I just couldn't justify spending $20-30 on just the two of us when that is at least a weeks worth of food. Instead, we went to the grocery store, picked up an appetizer we would normally would never buy for ourselves, bought each of us a Lean Cuisine dinner. I already had made fresh bread that afternoon, so we bought ingredients to make a salad, and some ice cream for dessert. We came home, set the table with a nice linen table cloth, put out the candles, turned on some nice music, dimmed the lights, and enjoyed a wonderful evening together with just the two of us. The whole dinner was around $8.00 and we had leftovers for the next couple of days. It was our best anniversary ever!
ReplyDeleteThat's great Janelle! I enjoy "dating" at home, too. We aren't distracted by all the noise and we don't get interrupted by the waiter/waitress. (And I'm not distracted by how much it's going to cost). :)
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas!
ReplyDeleteWe love our bi-weekly date night. We do splurge and eat out because I can't relax when a messy kitchen is calling me, but we never go to movies or any other spendy entertainment. When the weather is nice we go for a walk after supper, when it's not we sit in Barnes & Noble and read things we have no intention of buying until they kick us out at closing time.