Goals 2011: Date Nights
Date nights use to be so fun, exciting and easy.
And then along came a baby and nights became a period of time where we sludged around just trying to make it to 9:00 pm so we could collapse into bed an exhausted heap.
So, this year, I have resolved to attack date night planning with a renewed energy. To get me started I simple set the goal to plan 12 dates for the entire year, so if all else failed, we'd at least have one night of quality/quantity time a month. I figured Danny would plan a few date nights on his own and that we'd also have a few nights of just dinner out.
Danny has promised not to read this post so as not to spoil any surprise (if you mention any of these to him before the assigned month I might just have to wallop you), so here are the date nights I came up with. And please know I am not this creative all on my own.
My resources included:
January "New Years Reflection Date Night"
We have already had this date night, so I can say it was a success! We grabbed dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, a cheap bottle of wine and bar of excellent chocolate from Central Market and had a picnic on our NEW TO US living room floor.
I printed out the 20 Questions for a New Years Eve Reflection and we just talked our way through them. I want our family to make time capsules every few years, so I thought it would be fun to start now.
February "Childhood Date Night"
I'm going to track down our favorite childhood cartoons (hopefully between the library, Blockbuster and YouTube I can find Smurfs by golly). We're going to make our favorite childhood snacks and enjoy watching a piece of each other's childhood.
March "Painting with a Twist Date Night"
I bought a Groupon for Painting with a Twist a while back, and I really hope it won't be too late to use it. Basically this is a painting class for adults. You simply follow the instructor and go home with a piece of art you created yourself!
April "Sailing Lake Ray Hubbard Date Night"
Most of my date nights were planned on the "cheap" EXCEPT for this one. This is a surprise that I've been saving up my sleeve for a while, so I'm excited to finally get it on the calendar. For $25/person we're going to enjoy dinner on a sailboat!
May "Drive-In Movie Date Night"
We've been wanting to visit the drive-in theater in Ennis since we moved back to Dallas. So, May is the month! Dinner, two movies and lots of candy to snack on will be on the ticket for the evening.
June "Pick Your Own Fruit Date Day"
This might have to be more of a daytime or afternoon activity, but we're going to go pick our own fruit. Hopefully it will help knock out the grocery list and provide some quantity time together all in one outing.
July "Canoe the Trinity River Date Day"
Another date afternoon (Mom/Dad, are you reading this? Can you handle this much of Cannon?) One of the things we miss most about South Carolina is all of the fun in the sun outdoor activities. So, when I found a way to go canoeing outside Dallas, I knew we had to try it out!
August "Cooks in the Kitchen Date Night"
After a few big date nights, I thought I'd bring it home. All we're going to do this night is shop for some nice food at Central Market and then enjoy spending time cooking and eating at home. Maybe we'll splurge for steaks or some other delicacy we never buy.
September "Putt Putt Golf Date Night"
This is going to be exactly what it says, a night of playing mini golf and arcade games at Putt Putt. Here's to a little friendly competition!
October "Legacy Date Night"
I want to make a video of us answering the following questions:
- What was your home town like?
- How well did you get a long with your siblings, parents, teachers?
- If you could re-do anything from the past what would it be?
- What were you like in grade school, junior high, and high school?
- What are some of your happiest memories from your childhood?
- List 4 dreams (2 practical and 2 fun)
- List 2 fears
- What are 2 of your favorite breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, and desserts?
- Name 3 hobbies.
- How did you meet mom/dad?
- Name three of your favorite traits of mom/dad?
- List two of your favorite traits of each child or share your favorite memory of each child.
- What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
- What is your favorite color, animal, book, movie...
- What is your happiest memory.
- What was college like?
- List three pieces of advise.
- Anything else?
November "Bike Riding Date Night"
Another straight forward evening of bike riding around Allen and conversing about life.
December "Camping Out in the Living Room Date Night"
You might be thinking that we already did this, but I thought it would be fun to actually grill hot dogs and roast marshmallows in our fire place for this date night.
So there you have it. A year of fun for the Stillers. I'll let you know how it goes as we move through the months! And, if you need a few ideas to spark your date nights into action, feel free to steal/tweak/modify/use any and all of the things listed here. I'd love to hear any of your creative suggestions as well. I'm always looking for fun, new things to try!
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