When you first fall in love, almost anything can be considered an amazing date because you’re together. Going to the movies, eating leftover Chinese food, hanging out at each other’s places—heck, even grocery shopping is fun. But what about when you’ve been married for a while, and curling up on the couch to binge Netflix, starts to get old?
As we talked about in Monday’s post, with all of our real life responsibilities, it can be difficult to make time for each other. And it can be easy for us to fall into ruts romantically. To count our time in front of the TV, recovering from our day, as a date. But our marriages deserve so much more than that. Our relationship with our spouse is one of the most important things in our life. Why shouldn’t we give it at least the same effort we do our jobs, or our relationships with others?
What about when you’ve been married for a while, and curling up on the couch to binge Netflix, starts to get old?
In other words, we regularly need to make time to go on dates. In the same way we can remember to make our hair appointments, plan a weekend to do yard work, or schedule plans with our friends—we need to put some effort into how we spend our time together. We need to be proactive by carving out a night or day on the calendar, getting a babysitter, and then actually making a plan for the date. But let me tell you why this last part is so important.
When we take time to plan our dates, we are able to come up with experiences that will give us new things to talk about, put us in a different headspace, and create memories or traditions we will cherish for years to come. When we try new things together, they help us see a different side of each other, draw us closer, or at minimum, bring more fun into our relationship. Being intentional with our time together to do new things, is investing in the future of our marriage.
After almost nine years of being married, Tony and I have found the greatest gifts we can give each other are the experiences we share. Whether it is taking a hike just down the road from where we live, or exploring foreign countries, we’ve found active time together feeds our relationship. Now, every couple is different, so date ideas need to be tailor made. But today, I want to share five our favorite date ideas in hopes of inspiring you to get out and enjoy some time with your spouse.
Go for a hike.
According to the American Heart Association, being outdoors and getting exercise relieves stress and helps ward of anxiety and depression. And going for a hike, easily combines both of those things. Also, you don’t have to be a super athlete to enjoying hiking. Going for a hike together, takes you away from all the stress at home, gets some endorphins going, and gives you quality time to be together.
Volunteer.
Serve a meal at a local soup kitchen, participate in a build for Habitat for Humanity, or hold babies at the hospital. Find ways to live out your beliefs and values together. You may discover your partner has some wonderful traits you didn’t know they had.
Check out a local museum or gallery.
Spending an hour or two looking at art can put you both in a creative space and offer some good conversation starters. In our city they have what is called First Friday. It’s like a pub crawl except for art galleries. On the first Friday of every month, all the local art galleries stay open later. Each one features local artists and sometimes live music. There is free food and sometimes wine. It makes for a great date night, especially if the weather is good. See if your city has something similar or check the hours of your local museum to see if they are open nights or weekends.
Plan a day trip
Sometimes, you just need to get out of town. And getting out of town together for a day may be just the adventure you need. Is there a nearby city, beach, national park or historical attraction that looks interesting? Research it online, pack a lunch, find a cool place for dinner, and then hit the road for a day of fun.
Cook together
When you cook together, dinner becomes the event and an experience all in one. Creating a meal together is creative, and includes a delicious ending. If you’re not very experienced in the kitchen, take a cooking class together. If you are, find a fun or exotic recipe online—like seafood Alfredo or Chicken Tikka Masala. Open a bottle of wine and get cooking.
Are you and your spouse in need of a date night?
What does you and your spouse’s favorite date night look like?
Are you in the midst of making a decision? Contemplating a life change? If so, you may be interested in my FREE Making Changes Checklist that I give to all my email friends. Want your free copy? subscribe here.
Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
