As any mom will tell you, what we often miss most are date nights with our significant other, second only to showering in peace of course! While hubby and I try to get out together as a couple once a month, we often have trouble deciding what to do. Very often, we are both tired from the week and end up going to the same old places and doing the same old things. However, I was inspired recently by some interesting ideas on Pinterest and decided to embark on a challenge of my own to create 12 months of dates. Each month I will be posting about the date I created and how it went. Many of the places we will visit will be right here in Fairfield County, so feel free to take some notes and try to make your own date-night challenge!
How does it work? There are lots and lots of ideas out there about the way the dates should be coordinated. Some included hubby in the planning, while others left the planning up to the wife. Many used only “at home” dates, others suggested going out to a different location each month, and still others had a balance between staying home and going out. I went with the combo, since I am super social, but hubby tends to be a bit of a homebody. Essentially, you create a date (as simple or as elaborate as you wish) for each month of a calendar year, and let the fun happen. The wonderful thing about this idea is that you can tailor it to your needs as a couple to include themes, budget activities, or adventures. Your dates can take place during the day or at night, depending on your schedule. You can even pre-pay or purchase gift cards or tickets for the events or places you will visit on each of the dates. The possibilities are endless!
How I started: I began to think that it was going to be super easy, mostly because I am very organized and one of the things I love to do is to plan activities. As I began to think of all the places I wanted to go, I realized that my 12 months of dates was going to be uninteresting and not very adventurous. Our go-to activity is always going to dinner, so making 12 months of dinner dates didn’t seem very enticing, since my goal was to get out of a routine. I had to really think of things that would be interesting and fun for both of us that didn’t involve our traditional plans.
Make a list: Because I have an obsession with calendars and list-making, I went right to the list. I had to decide which month we would begin our dates, and what kinds of ideas I had. Since we are in a variable climate, I had to take into consideration that a date in the park in March might be nixed due to impending snow. I also wanted to include things that were time-appropriate, such as going for hot cocoa in the winter or beach picnicking in the summer. I decided that my date idea would begin in June because it was Father’s Day, and it would be a great gift for hubby! Others started on anniversaries or at the end of the year, but any month is really fine. After I decided on the start month, I created a file on my computer that listed each month along with a possible idea for a date. I wanted a balance of home dates and “out” dates, so I tried to alternate by month.
Make a to-do: After I listed all of the possible dates, I realized that there would be things I needed to prepare in order to get ready for each date I created. Under each month, I created a to-do list that included gift cards I needed to buy, tickets I needed to locate, or reservations I needed to make. This took me quite a bit of time, because I wanted to make sure that just about everything was already taken care of before the night of the actual date. It’s also important to factor in costs for each date, as I did. Once the to-do list is made, you can jot down the estimated cost for each date so that you can plan accordingly. Some dates were very inexpensive, while others (like our anniversary date) cost a bit more.
Setup your pages: You will be giving 12 envelopes to your significant other with the activity enclosed for each month. Some people used index cards, some handwrote their activities and decorated envelopes and others used the computer. Since I have little to no artistic abilities and like things neat, I opted to create each page on my computer with the month, a catchy (some are pretty cheesy) title, and a little bit about the date for that month. I also created an overview page, which tells hubby all about how each month works and what he can expect.
Create a nice presentation: When you are ready to give the gift of dates, you can put the envelopes in a basket, create colorful bags, or simply clip the envelopes together. Again, you can be super creative here or keep it simple. Be sure to let your significant other know whether or not you will tell them about each date in advance or keep a monthly surprise. I decided to keep them a surprise until the month before so that we can plan for babysitting and around work and travel schedules.
Join me next month for the big reveal of our first date! What are some cool and fun date nights you have created?
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