I am excited about this announcement. And it involves you. Yes, you! I want you to participate and report back.

We approached that time of the year where we think about new goals and projects for 2010. I have been contemplating doing a Project 365 myself. Project 365? Set a goal to do something every day for a year all the while blogging about it or recording it somewhere somehow. You know, Julie & Julia. Then the more I thought about it, 365 is a bit too much for my schedule. If I am going to commit to the project, it has to be doable. So I am turning my Project 365 into Project 52. Cutting it down to just once a week. That’s feasible.

The project. I recently read an article in a magazine about a couple’s experience having date nights at home. Hum… sounds interesting. Nathan and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary in 2010 and sad to say, we have neglected consistent date night ever since Kaye was born over 3 years ago. We have the same excuses many of you also face. Nathan is in graduate school most evenings. We don’t want to find and pay for a babysitter every week. Our current financial situation leaves little allowance for date nights. We are too busy. We can’t think of anything to do. The house is a mess. We are tired. The excuses continue.

After reading the article, Nathan and I decided this was something we need to work on in 2010. We need to get better at setting aside time to enrich our marriage. And now, I introduce you to our Project 52: Date Nights. More specifically in house date nights, for us. The main points are for us to be creative, cheap and spend quality time together. Nathan and I have committed to do date night each week with the following criteria…

• Every Friday night from 9 -10 p.m. is our date night. We usually have both kids in bed by 8:30 p.m.
• Majority of the time the dates will be at home so we don’t need babysitters.
• We rotate being in charge of date nights on a monthly basis.
• Can’t do the same thing twice in one month.
• Dates need to be free most of the time. If not free, then under a budget of $30. Cheaper than if we went out.
• No children allowed.
• Must create a date-like atmosphere. No frumpy clothes or pajamas. Make it a special event. Mind the details. But most of all, keep it simple.

Not only are we going to have date night beginning January 1st, we will be blogging about it here on SMM. Every Tuesday we will recap what we did for our date night the previous Friday. You will get a he said/she said critiques of the date.

Here is how YOU are involved. Yes, we want you to participate in Project 52: Date Nights with us! Whether you are in a relationship, engaged or married, I want you to commit to having weekly date nights with your special someone. I want the both of you to take this pledge. Read it, fill it out, sign it and post it somewhere you can see frequently. A little hesitant? Don’t worry, you can join Project 52: Date Nights any time.

Take the Project 52: Date Nights Pledge

Then check in with us every Tuesday for ideas, comments, feedbacks from our Project 52: Date Nights and yours. We want to hear from you and what creative ideas you came up with for date nights. Make comments and report how your date nights went each week. By the way, this is a family friendly site. So all dates and ideas will be appropriate for all ages. And please keep your comments family friendly too.

The pledge. Here is the Project 52: Date Nights pledge in PDF form for you to print out. Print one out for yourself. And maybe a few extras for your friends or family members to get them in on the fun. Discuss the project with your special someone. Talk about what is feasible for the two of you. Set a date and time to help you pencil that date in your calendars. Come up with a few criteria of your own. If you don’t want to do in house date nights, then plan going out date nights. The two important points here are be creative and keep it simple.

So… are you in or not? Make sure to involve your friends and families. Get them to take the pledge with their special someone. The more couples we get to do this, the more ideas and motivations we get to support each other in Project 52: Date Nights. While doing Project 52: Date Nights with us, if you come up with great ideas let me know so I can feature you on SMM! Come on! It’s only once a week. Only 52 dates to last you the whole year. Let’s do this!