Interesting Date Ideas

Have you ever been wondering what to do for a “DATE” when there’s $0.47 in the bank account and you have children under 11 years old running around at home?

We wonder this ALL the time!

Lately I’ve been thinking back to things we did when we were first dating, and tweaking them for our ‘now’ situation. I also try to be creative, but it’s been tough when my sweetie is so busy.  Anyway, here are some ideas:

• “Drive-Thru Etad” :  This one requires more than 47cents, but it’s fun!  If you do happen to be out of the house together without the kiddos and you want a good laugh, choose your favorite “Drive-Thru” restaurant and go through the drive-thru BACKWARDS (that’s why I call it an “Etad” which is “Date” spelled backwards). All you need to do is order 1 coke or ice cream cone. It’s hilarious to see the looks on the faces of the people inside the window as well as the other drivers.
• “Dessert Date” : On occasion my sweetie will pick up a nice dessert on his way home, or I have put a simple but elegant dessert together just for us. After dinner, when the kiddos are in bed, we put on some coffee, and have a “Dessert Date”. It’s best in the summer when we can go out on our deck, but we’ve done it other times, too.
• “Sweetie Time” : I happen to have 3 mornings a week when all my kiddos are in school (littlest one is in pre-school). I almost always thought about dates for evening/night time, until this school year. Now I’ll arrange for some “Sweetie Time” during the almost-2-hours that I have. Monday morning is ALWAYS our time together. Having that time set aside regularly makes a big difference. Our time might be a coffee time, a walk in the park, or just some quiet time together.
• “Dream Date” : This one can work even with the kids if need be. Visit your local home improvement store – our favorite is Home Depot. Pick a section or two and stroll down the aisles, looking at all the possibilities. Tell each other which things you like and which ones you don’t. We often call this our “Dream Date” because we dream together about improvements we would like to make in our home together. Building dreams together is very important, and these dreams are fun and they teach us more about each other. This can work at any store or mall.
• “Elegant Evening Date” : I prepare a nice meal, and the children and I set a beautiful table, complete with centerpiece, tablerunner, and candles. We all get dressed up and share the meal together, practicing our best table manners. We all use our nicest glasses, and drink nice juice or wine (for the adults). We usually play some nice music in the background. My sweetie pulls out all the stops and goes into full “courting” mode, complete with standing when the ladies approach the table, pulling the chairs out for my daughter and I, and telling us lovely things over dinner. I love it, and the kids get to learn about some of the finer points of ‘dating’ and see how a gentleman treats the lady he loves.
• “Star-Studded Date” : Invite your sweetie to join you at a given place outside your house – balcony, deck, porch, front lawn, trampoline, etc. – after dark. If it’s cool, be prepared with a blanket and maybe a thermos with a warm drink to share. Sit or lay together and look up at the stars. Look for your favorite constellations, watch for shooting stars, or track a satellite as it goes slowly across the night sky. If you have a lot of light pollution, you can still lay out and enjoy the “glow” of the night together.
• “DVD Date” : Your regular “movie on the couch” idea – but you can tweak it in all sorts of ways. Pick a romantic movie and smooch when the characters smooch. Or pick a comedy and laugh heartily together. Enjoy being close to each other.
• “Dance on the Deck Date” : This one kind of speaks for itself. Turn on some music and dance together, somewhere in your house or on your deck/balcony.
• “Scavenger Hunt Date” : This one was much more elaborate, and planned by my sweetie, and completely and totally unforgettable. He gave me a few clues early in the week about what I could expect. He arranged with friends to stay with our kiddos – no $ for a sitter. On the day of our date he gave me the car and a card and sent me on the hunt. That card had the clue for my first stop – a florist, to pick up a corsage he bought for me the day before. With the corsage was a card sending me to the 2nd stop – a laundrymat where the manager was keeping a new skirt for me along with a card. The 3rd stop was a dry cleaner – all I had was the name of the shop and a claim ticket – for a beautiful new blouse, freshly pressed! Hanging with the blouse was a 1-hour photo claim ticket. When I got to the photo mart, the owner brought me a small box. In the box was a new camisole to go with my skirt and blouse, and a key to a locker at the recreation center down the road. In the locker was a backpack with a pair of my high heels, stockings, new hair clips, a menu and a note. The note said that he wasn’t sure if he’d gotten the right sizes, but if he did, he would love to see me in my new outfit – I was to meet him at this little restaurant for dinner. He had obviously placed all the hints/articles the day before, and gone through some work to get the new outfit. He was very frugal and got it mostly on sale, too! When I arrived in my new ‘suit’ his eyes sparkled and he was so excited to see me. We had a simple but lovely meal together and went out for coffee and dessert afterwards. The whole thing was a real treat for both of us.
  • Your Scavenger Hunt wouldn’t have to be this elaborate. It could be clues placed around the house, ending up with a special treat and some time “designated” as date time.
• “Drive Date” : Jump in the car and take a drive, just the 2 of you. You might scope out a few nice places ahead of time. Put some nice music on the radio, and just drive.
• “Tell Me More Date” : Set aside one night every month or 3 months or something to ask each other questions. Not questions about the house and the kids and the car and the bills and what you’re going to do about them all. Questions like:
  • Where was your favorite place to be when you were a kid?
  • If you could be any person for a day, who would you choose?
  • What are you most excited about this week?
  • What have you heard God say to you in the last month?

There are lots of resources for finding good questions for couples. One of my favorites is TheRomantic.com. There is LOTS of good stuff there!

• “This is a Date? Date” : See my post on this subject for more ideas!

Dates are about being together, spending time in each other’s space, and they can be interesting, creative, fun and romantic without costing a fortune. They don’t have to always be an ‘event’ even though they can always be special. The dates you choose for staying at home means that you don’t have to pay for a sitter AND the date, too.