Date Your Spouse | 5 Inexpensive Date Ideas

Written with love, by Karley Kiker

There is something about getting fixed up (AKA putting on mascara for the first time in a week) to go out with my husband that makes me so, so happy. Don’t get me wrong – I love our day-to-day together. There’s no one else I’d rather do laundry, register library cards, and go grocery shopping with. But as exciting as it is to co-exist with your best friend, there’s just something about intentionally setting aside time to really be together. To get dressed up. To hold hands. To ask each other questions that go beyond “What sounds good for dinner?” and “When’s the last time you cleaned the toilet?”

With that said, Taylor and I are always on the lookout for fun (and preferably inexpensive) date ideas. In case you’re on the hunt as well, here are a few fun date ideas to get you started!
 

1. The Great Outdoors // Hike + Picnic

Hikes have quickly become one of our favorite day dates. There’s something about being outside that makes it so much easier to turn off your phone and focus on really connecting with your spouse. Bonus: hikes, biking, and nature walks are FREE activities. Yes, please. Pack a picnic lunch to save on cash and create a fun and unique dining experience for the two of you.
 

2. Cultural Craving // Art Museum + Coffee

Every time we travel to a new city I put galleries, artisanal workshops, and art museums at the top of my must-visit list. Many museums are free to visit, and galleries and workshops almost always are! Top off your day of aesthetic appreciation with a good old-fashioned coffee date at a boutique shop you’ve never tried before. No Starbucks allowed (just this once).
 

3. Bon Appetit // Cooking Class

Did you know that many larger grocery chains, such as Whole Foods, offer cooking classes? Yes, you’re going to pay for this experience – but probably not as much as you might expect! PLUS you’ll get to enjoy the fruits of your labor after you’ve finished cooking, and take home a few new recipes as well.
 

4. Happy Holidays // Seasonal Events

Hooray for the holidays! With the approach of Thanksgiving and Christmas comes a calendar full of seasonal events. Check out your city’s website to see what’s happening around town in the coming weeks, pick out your favorite activities, and make plans accordingly.
 

5. Homebodies // Dinner + Movie

Pizza, wine, a movie, and (if I’m lucky) white cheddar popcorn are the ingredients of our go-to stay at home date night. When we’re feeling fancy we go shopping for specialty ingredients together and kick our dinner menu up a notch. Either way, it’s always fun to make dinner prep a team effort…and enjoy a movie together when it’s time to dig in!

Now it’s your turn! Any easy, inexpensive date night ideas you would recommend?

7 Healthy + Budget-Friendly Date Night Ideas

Written with love, by Jennifer Dene

Hey lovely brides!

Is wedding planning taking over your love? Ironically, spending too much time thinking about the most romantic day of your life can make you forget that you're in love right NOW!

If you want to add the spark back into your love life, without breaking the bank (or wasting calories at restaurants and bars), then you'll love today's post.

Head on over to Mind Body Bride for 7 date ideas that are fun, healthy and budget-friendly. See you there!

Date Night Ideas // Not The Same Old Game

Written with love, by Felicia Zammit-McMann

I am a huge proponent of date nights! They are a great way to take a dedicated time each month, or each week with your loved one and disconnect from all the interruptions of our tech-filled lives. Between Facebook, texting, work, duties at home, and all the other people and things that seem to pull at us every minute of the day, it’s the ones we love the most that we end up never being around as much.

free date night ideas

Now, I love a good dinner out just as much as the next person, but I’m going to throw an old-school idea at you to try the next time your date night approaches. I challenge you to harken back to your childhood and think of all the games you used to play. I grew up in the ’80s before PlayStations and X-Boxes, before the Internet, before binge watching. I didn’t even have cable growing up, so for me it was great! I was able to explore my imagination, come up with my own games with my own rules, and spend hours playing board games with friends during sleepovers. In a way, those were the good old days.

Lately, though, I’ve noticed a resurgence in board games and puzzles. In fact, this year for Christmas, board games, puzzles and card games were on the top of my list. Santa did not disappoint! They’re not just for kids any more. Fortunately, for me, the world of pop culture and the world of board games have melded into something totally awesome! My husband and I LOVE the CBS comedy “Big Bang Theory,” and we LOVE Disney (which now includes the whole “Star Wars” franchise, so my hubby is extra-happy). Throw in a deck of cards and a pack or two of old-school card games like Uno, and you have one heck of a date night that adds a bit of fun and competition as well.

Not one for games? How about puzzles? I remember working on puzzles all the time as a kid. I remember the excitement of finishing and then leaving it out on the table for a few days because I always felt sad to break it apart and put it away. Some of them I actually framed because they were so big and took forever to finish. These days, puzzles are anything but ordinary. You have 3-D puzzles, photomosaic puzzles, lenticular puzzles. You name it, there’s a puzzle for it. If you have little fur babies (a.k.a. cats and dogs) running around your house, just make sure you either start the puzzle in a place they can’t get to, or put it away each night. The last thing you want is to get to the end to realize little Fluffy or Fido ate a piece.

So, I want to ask, what’s your favorite old-school game to play? Do you ever do a game night date night?