It’s easy to get into a date night rut, especially as parents. When this happens, it’s time to get creative. Today I’m sharing Real Life: Weeknight Dates Ideas.
Until about 2 months ago the hubs and I were definitely in a date night rut! Date nights were still fun but they were all pretty much the same, dinner and a drink. Food and drink is easy, relaxing and nice to enjoy especially sans kids. But living in a city with so much to offer, we definitely needed to try some new things.
So we decided to change it up. Yes we still eat, of course, because it’s us and we LOVE FOOD. But along with food, we have been seeking out some fun activities.
Our date night parameters are: try something new, do not overspend and keep it to about 3 hours. Since we go out on a weeknight, we don’t want to be out too late. Plus who am I kidding, we start getting sleepy at 9:30 anyway!
I have to add that we are definitely very fortunate. For the last few months, we’ve had a weekly date night kid-free courtesy of our incredible family who volunteered to spend time with our kiddos. Without our awesome loving family, date nights would definitely not be as frequent. Sooooo grateful!
I’m excited to share our date night activities because I know it’s easy to get into the dinner/drinks/movie rut. So I hope this inspires you to try something new with your date, friend or family member! And I’d love to hear any ideas you have too! Do you have any fun different date night ideas to share? Leave a comment 😃
1. Hike and Picnic in the Woods
We are lucky to live in a city with lots of great hiking nearby! A favorite of ours is Lebanon Hills. This park offers beautiful short hikes you can do in 30min to 2 hours depending on the trails you take. There are also some hidden picnic spots which are perfect and romantic.
For our date, we packed Cubanos, Oranginas and some killer chocolate. We hiked a few hours and found a picturesque picnic area. This date idea was a winner!
2. Making Errands Fun
Sometimes as much as we want to go out, we also really need to run errands. So a few weeks ago we saved up some “fun” errands and turned them into a date night.
Started off with a great happy hour dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (Lyn65), then off to do some returns and fun shopping. And maybe ice cream! For a night of errands, this was pretty darn fun.
3. Getting Active
Especially before winter comes, we have tried to do as many things outside as possible. A little tennis followed by take out picnic at the park; hike and picnic in the woods; coffee stroll through the city.
Having a more active date night instead of simply sitting at a restaurant, has been invigorating and refreshing. It’s good to get outside.
4. Getting Creative
One thing we are trying to be better at is trying new things. For us this means: plays, music, sporting events, art. The key for us here is to find something we are both interested in but that still pushes our comfort level a little bit. At the same time, neither one of us wants to drop a ton of money on tickets.
Thus far we had a great time at a local performing arts festival, are headed to hear the Minnesota orchestra in a few days, have our sights set on going to a pro soccer game, and plan to visit some local museums during the winter months. Excited to get artsy, woot woot!
5. Craft Drinks and Travel Plans
The hubs loves his craft cocktails and beer. And I love doing travel research. Put those 2 together and it’s pretty much the perfect rainy date night activity. New breweries or tap rooms have been a favorite date night spot for us.
Armed with food or snacks, as well as our laptop, we love chilling with a drink in hand while making fun travel plans for us and the girls. Sometimes we do restaurant research (ha, we do this a lot), other times we look into fun family activities, or holiday plans. Although this kind of research can seem like work when pressed for time and doing it at home, it’s 100 times more fun doing it with my honey, at a lovely place with a delicious drink.
As we head into the cold months, I’m excited to keep trying some new ideas and sharing them with you! Perhaps rock climbing, snow shoes, cross country skying, who knows but I’m ready to give it a go! What weeknight date night activities do you love or want to try?
Originally posted 2018-09-23 07:02:54.
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