Sometimes date nights can be tricky to squeeze in due to childcare, or maybe you just aren’t ready to leave your little one yet. And that’s okay!! So why not try a date night in?
Tuck your sweet babe(s) to bed, and enjoy time with your partner. I asked for best date night in ideas from my Sleeping Beautiezzz instagram family and they did not disappoint! Here were their ideas.
1. Board/Card Games and Wine Night
Some of the board games that came up as favourites were Monopoly, Qwirkle, Phase 10, SkipBo, King of New York, Chess. You can even have a double Zoom date night, get some friends together, order the same food and drink the wine! It will feel like you are there together!
2. Movie Marathon
This one was a popular one, from people recommending the God Father movies, to even Disney such all 4 Toy Story movies. A movie marathon never disappoints. Support local and order some movie theatre popcorn and enjoy!
3. Wine/Beer Tasting Night
There are some local breweries where we live, and the beer is fantastic! I am all here for supporting local. You can order a flight of beer, or go to the liquor store and select different wines from different countries. (good for your theme night described below as well).
4. Virtual Cooking Class
Sorrentino’s has amazing cooking classes and they have moved virtual during this time! What’s even better is you don’t need to live in Edmonton to enjoy their classes, or leave your house in this cold - connect where ever you are!
5. Theme Night
Did you have a trip booked, but it was unfortunately cancelled during this time? You can still experience the culture, but in your own home. Pick a country, research recipes/cocktails and activity that fit your theme and explore!
6. Fondue Night
Plan ahead. Decide if you are going to have dinner and dessert, or both. Maybe you want to add a cheese fondue for an appetizer too! Whatever you decide, prepare all your food ahead of time. For example, decide on your kind chocolate, cheese and/or broth, slice up your bread, fruits, vegetables, and meat. You can store it all in the fridge until you are ready to use it!
7. Candlelight Dinner
You can add some candles to your fondue night to “set the mood”. You can even just order in from your favourite restaurant, or plan and cook dinner together. The most important part is enjoying each others company!
8. Spa Night
Hire a mobile masseuse and get a couples massage in your home. Or you can each offer up relaxing spa treatments to each other. Massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, whatever treatment you want! You can end your evening by enjoying a bath together and adding infused salts and essential oils to create a relaxing therapeutic bath.
9. Living Room Picnic
All you need is a charcuterie board, beverages of choice, a big blanket and maybe some cushions for your booty. You can choose just to engage in meaningful conversation, or break out your favourite board/card games.
10. Create a Family Photo Book
You can create one together online, such as Shutterfly or Costco photos. You can also go “old school” and print your photos, and put them into albums. If you are into scrap booking, you can create a family photo scrapbooking project. This could tick off many of your weekly date nights, by just hanging out and creating photo books from the last 5+ years. Anyone else not develop photos in a really long time? Truth time - if you came into my house, you would think I only had one baby. This “baby” is now 5 years old, and my husband and I have 3 children now. We are in need of updating our photos!!
11. Yoga Night
Support someone local and attend a class. If you know someone offering weekly classes, put it on the calendar and have it something that you and your partner attend weekly. You can also find great spaces on YouTube, such as Yoga With Adriene for example and follow along with her practice.
12. Virtual Dance Lessons
Learn to dance, at a fraction of the cost! You can also go at your own pace, take your time, learn some steps, break for some snacks and then pick up where you left off. What’s nice about these lessons is that they are private, and you can learn without the pressure of other people watching you. Have some fun, and when the world opens up again you can go out and show off your moves.
13. Project/DIY Night
Do you have a project that you have been meaning to get to for some time? Start it now! This one may be a date night every week for a bit, depending on how long your project may take. I had friends who ordered in food and renovated their basement for their “date nights”. Not glamorous or romantic, but they said they had the most meaningful conversations, and the best laughs during this time while they were painting.
14. Plan a Weekend Getaway (then plan a dream vacation)
Think of somewhere you would want to go with just you two. It doesn’t have to be far, but it could be. Possibilities are endless. Plan it out. Where would you stay? What would you do? How much would it cost? Look at your calendar and think when you would be able to go. Pencil it in, and secure childcare.
These don’t need to be used just for Valentines Day, put them on your calendar to set some time aside to focus on each other! You can create a date jar and write all your different date night in ideas on popsicle sticks. When you are planning your date for the week, just simply pick a stick and enjoy!
The goal of date nights are to unplug from distractions in your life whatever that may be, and spend time focused on one another to connect and strengthen your relationship. One of the greatest pieces of advice I received on my wedding day is “continue to date your spouse, especially when you have children”. At the time I nodded and said thank you, but now having 3 small children 8 and under, I now fully know how important it is to continue to date your spouse!
If you have a little one who doesn’t sleep and your evenings are filled with bouncing and rocking, and you are looking for a change: send me a message!
Let’s get your evenings back!
Schedule a 15 minute free Discovery Call to find out more about how I can help your family nurture healthy sleep. Don’t hesitate to reach out: andrea@sleepingbeautiezzz.com