This was long overdue. Our first date in a long time was our first date for Project 52: Date Nights. We had some friends who were crashing at our house for the evening on New Year’s Day after a long flight. We weren’t sure if they would be up for date night with us after a long cross country flight and having to drive several hours home the next day. So Nathan and I moved our date night to New Year’s Eve. Lesson #1: Flexibility is allowed.
January is my month to be in charge. I planned a little in-house New Year’s Eve party for the both of us. We ditched other New Year’s Eve parties because with little kids, we couldn’t keep them up until midnight and a few other reasons mentioned yesterday. Since it was a special occasion being New Year’s Eve, I picked up a few appetizers at the grocery store. Our date nights occur after dinner and after the kids went to bed. Then I had about 30 minutes to prepare the food and for the date. Rather than decorating, I picked the toys off the floor. Having a clean house helps to create a more date-like atmosphere for us. Lesson #2: Simplicity is good. Even something as simple as a clean living room helps to set the mood.
The date consisted of us eating appetizers and talking about some of the things we wanted to do this year — personal goals, family goals, trips, so on and so forth. It was refreshing to have a conversation without interruptions from children. It also got us excited about 2010 and the things we wanted to do… Nathan will be finishing his master’s degree this year. So the possibilities are endless. Lesson #3: It doesn’t always have to be a fancy date. Do what fits your lifestyle and schedules.
We were going to watch a movie and the ball drop, but our power went out around 10 p.m. So we grabbed flashlights and lit candles. I would say the evening was a success even though it ended with power outage. Lesson #4: Things won’t always go as planned, but it can still be fun.
Nathan said: I was excited for this first date. Tiffany did a great job making it feel special and like a date. The food was good and it was fun to talk about some of the fun trips and events we want to do in 2010. When the power went out I thought we might have to cut our date short but with some flashlights and candles we had a great evening. I can’t wait to see what she has planned for this week.
It’s not too late to join us in Project 52: Date Nights. In fact, it is never too late. Even if you don’t join us in having date night once a week, please comment and tell us some fun date ideas you have done. We need all the ideas we can get, well 52 to be exact.
Thanks for this inspiration; something as important as marriage needs time too. I don’t have any fantastic ideas – but I do like to play Ticket to Ride with my husband after the kids go to bed. I’ll keep thinking.
Hey! I’m huge on dating after married so you might get lots of comments from me. Sometimes we go to Target or Wal-Mart and pick out a game that we both want to play. Last time we picked out the game of Life. The best part is that we ended up playing a few nights in a row so I got a lot more than one date with hubby.
This is such a fantastic idea. I’m so excited to see what you guys come up with. My husband and I always seem to just default to the same-old same-old, and never really feel refreshed from an evening at home. I can’t wait for some ideas. And I LOVE the idea of swapping responsibility for the planning. That’s the hardest part – but the most rewarding, too!
What a great idea, I may just have to copy you! And I am so excited to find your blog, and look for other great inspiration!
p.s. I love your bedroom redo! (obviously from my blog name, remodeling is one of my favorite things… but family is first!) Great job!
I heartily applaud your decision to have regular date nights with your husband! When my husband and I were married 17 years ago, we made the decision that we would schedule time once a week to be together. (We had both been married before and realized that not paying enough attention to the marriage was one reason for the demise.) We had very little money so we found fun things to do – picnics in the park, outdoor concerts, taking a walk, etc., in warm weather; during cold it might be something simple like going to the bookstore and browsing then sitting down with a cup of something hot. Our number one ground rule was no talking about the kids. If invariably one of us mentioned them, the other quietly said “time out”, and we’d have a laugh and go back to adult time. Seventeen laters we are still going strong, and kids are out of the house, so we must have done something right. Keep up the good work!
thanks so much for sharing, cyndia. i am glad to hear that it has worked well for you and your husband. that’s great encouragement for the two of us.
I love the way you redid your bedroom – it’s beautiful! As for the date night challenge – my husband and I have had a regular weekly date night for most of our marriage (31 years in Feb.), which led us to start a blog to share our ideas with others. I thought you might enjoy taking a look at our blog for ideas with your challenge! Thanks for leading such a worthy goal – romancing your spouse! I must tell you it gets better and better!
oh i will check out your blog because we need all the ideas we can get! thanks for sharing, debi!
Hi there!
I’m stopping by from The Inspired Room – what a great goal for 2010! It’s so important to cultivate that marriage relationship by spending quality intentional time together. I’ve been working on a years worth of novel dating ideas that I share on my blog for several weeks now!! I share a new idea every Friday – stop by if ever you need some inspiration.
Cheers!
HI! I love that Heidie stopped by from The Inspired Room! Love it!
Okay… I posted a Facebook about this (because the idea is awesome)
I wrote an introduction post on my blog
http://crunchygreenmom.blogspot.com/2010/01/project-52-date-nights.html
Then I wrote another post about mine and Dave’s first date night of 2010!
http://crunchygreenmom.blogspot.com/2010/01/project-52-week-1.html
Thanks a ton for the great idea. I can’t wait for the next 51 weeks
Cool! I did make it one of my new year’s resolutions to make more time for date nights with my husband, so I will definitely be following Project 52 to get ideas.
I think this is such a great idea! My husband and I are going to jump on the bandwagon and join you.
On Tuesday my first post will be published about Project 52.
Project 52 is such a great idea. My husband and I are coming up for 10 years of marriage in May and we are looking forward to trying this out! I have just started a blog (it’s only a post old) but I would love to link (if I can work that out!) to this and follow on with you. My husband has made one of our rules that we must take a photo together on each date. That will be fantastic because we hardly ever get pictures together.
i am so excited about this. we will be starting in january! we dont really have a date night problem. we do make a lot of time for those, especially with a 7 month old. but i am looking forward to being creative and cheap!!