Chris in VA Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 I can't do much, but I'm making a Date-a-month calendar for dh for Christmas and need some really fun date night ideas. I can get some movie tickets, and a dinner out certificate, but what else could we do cheap or free? Can be racy, but let's not post those, ok? lol (In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, it's just a calendar with an envelope for every month that he'll open as he comes to them. Inside is an explanation of the date, the tickets or certificate needed, and all the love I've got! lol) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise1mds Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Ice cream sundaes under a full moon at a park in summer... get a friend to babysit in the middle of the day and meet for a lunchtime rendezvous... go roller-skating or bowling or play pool or all of the above... find a local winery and go for a wine tasting... go on a picnic... go see a local play... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denise in Florida Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Is there any special date you remember from before you were married. Can you re-create that? other ideas: picnic in park Do you enjoy a common musical or sport interest. Pick a cheap matinee or spring practice to go to. Lots of museums, state parks, etc have a free or low cost day. Really, it depends on what the two of you like. We have friends who go fishing (not for me if I live to be 100 :001_smile:); my husband and I go to nightclubs where a local oldies band we like plays (would not be able to drag the fishing friends there on a dare.). It wouldn't be as intimate as just you and dh, but some churches do dinner group circles (usually 4 couples), depending on how will the group blends these can be a lot of fun and not expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in St Louis Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 Maybe check out restaurants.com for cheap gift cards to local restaurants. I don't know current prices, but a while back it was $2 for a $10 card! :D Great idea. My hubby would LOVE this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 We like to do dinner and then go to Borders and walk around...I browse books, he looks at music. Here in NOVA..how about a hike at Huntley Meadows, we love it there and I know you do too. :) Or for something harder the Billy Goat Trail. Does he like music? You can get pretty cheap/inexpensive tickets to see live music at Jammin Java. Or the Songwriters Association of Washington has frequent events where they showcase various artists. http://www.saw.org/. We have a friend that plays often with them and it's usually either free or a minor cover charge. This link has their regular showcases...http://www.saw.org/html/showcases.asp.The one at Bangkok Blues is a very good Thai restuarant and it used to be that if you got there at 5:30 it was half price appetizers so you could do a cheap dinner and live music for a reasonable price. I don't know if you guys like museums that much but we like to go downtown when we can and many are free. Maybe one you haven't been to in awhile or haven't been to yet...American Indian, Renwick Gallery, American Art/Portrait Gallery. This is very pricey but for a special occasion one of the most fun things dh and I have done here is do a Segway tour of DC. It was so much fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ereks mom Posted December 20, 2009 Share Posted December 20, 2009 ...to the used book shop for coffee and browsing. There's one about 40 miles from here, and it is a thrift store book shop full of all kinds of used books -- some cheap paperbacks and also some collector's editions. They serve coffee made to order (like Starbucks, only better -- and cheaper) and they play soft music throughout the store. It's a lovely place, very relaxing. We like to sit on one of the couches or at one of the bistro tables and browse through some books while sipping our lattes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in St Louis Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Alright, no I'm sitting here doing this for my hubby. He will be thrilled that I'm taking the initiative to plan dates. Thank you. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Chris, Thanks for the great idea! I am going to make on for my dh, too. I think I will do a 6 month calendar, because planning for a whole year is overwhelming. So far I am thinking of getting a Starbucks gift card, movie tickets, Borders gift card (we love to go there and browse and drink coffee), restaurant gift card, map to a new hiking area and a gift card for take out to correspond to our town's Music in the Park event. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Well, great! Thanks for all the ideas! I am checking into restaurants dot com. Does anyone know if you can use 2 certificates at a time? Many of them have a minimum purchase. Some things we did last time I tried this--arcade coins, miniature golf certificate, Blockbuster (or Netflix this time around! lol) night, massage night, penny walk (flip a penny at every corner to see which direction to go--go for a set time then come back to a glass of wine or a homecooked dinner w/o kids--we are dry now, so just the dinner or appetizers/dessert now). Have fun everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Very good ideas! This is kind of OT, but what do you do for babysitting while you implement these ideas, if you're on a low budget? We don't have anyone to help with free babysitting (mom nearby, etc.) We are kind of losing touch with each other because of not being able to go on dates. Maybe we could do some ideas that we could do at home after the kids go to bed? I'm thinking: -game night together-Scrabble, etc. -coupons for various flavors of TEA (;)) -blanket out on back lawn during summer with popcorn, wine (for dh; I don't drink) and star-watching -a hobby we can do together This is an inspiring thread-thank you! Dh and I are foregoing presents to each other to save money, but I might do this! Good ideas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 That's a great idea! How about dropping the kids at granma and stay home. Alone. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted December 21, 2009 Author Share Posted December 21, 2009 Haha--I'd love to, but both g'mas are 10 hours away, in different directions. No family close here! lol We do date nights w/o the kids, tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in St Louis Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I went out today and got some gift cards to put in my hubby's date calendar...a few of the cheaper ones were mini golf ($10) and bowling ($5). I'm also printing out a thing to go take a tour of Anheuser-Busch (free, and part of StL history), and for a picnic at the park....still working on more ideas!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 One of the local museums does a star watching party once a month in the summer months, & it's free. Most of what my dh would like is stuff that I find for the kids to do--iow, he likes interesting stuff. If we go see a special exhibit at a museum, he'll google the artist or style or whatever & read up on it. Then he likes to lecture to me or the kids or whoever on the way there about everything he's learned. It's a nice compromise, since I rarely have the attention span to read about stuff. ;) We've also done game nights from time to time--his parents watched the kids one weekend for his birthday, & I invited our brothers & a couple of his friends over for a full game of Axis & Allies. Risk could be a shorter version. But then, we did stuff like that together before we were married, in smaller doses. I've also done a scavenger hunt for him. One clue in the card hints at where the next clue is, & he gets to go all over town looking for clues. It takes some planning--you have to plant clues the day before & make sure you find out who's going to be the manager on duty if they're at stores. But then there has to be a prize or conclusion of some sort. That one always gets me. :confused: GL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 Very good ideas! This is kind of OT, but what do you do for babysitting while you implement these ideas, if you're on a low budget? We don't have anyone to help with free babysitting (mom nearby, etc.) We are kind of losing touch with each other because of not being able to go on dates. Maybe we could do some ideas that we could do at home after the kids go to bed? I'm thinking: -game night together-Scrabble, etc. -coupons for various flavors of TEA (;)) -blanket out on back lawn during summer with popcorn, wine (for dh; I don't drink) and star-watching -a hobby we can do together This is an inspiring thread-thank you! Dh and I are foregoing presents to each other to save money, but I might do this! Good ideas! Our kids are older so they are going to stay home by themselves. I tried to think of dates that would keep us close to home in case we needed to get back fast. When our children were younger we tried trading babysitting with another couple. We watched their children once a month and they watched ours in return. It didn't work out because they were late night owls and we like to go to bed early, but our kids had a blast. Maybe something like that would work out for you. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elfgivas Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 breakfast in bed a "get out of jail/the dog house free" card for when he forgets something or does something silly hmmm.... must think.... what a great idea! ann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelBee Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I am doing something similar for my dh. :lurk5: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profmom Posted December 29, 2009 Share Posted December 29, 2009 We wanted to take a ballroom dancing class at the local community college, but it's on a bad night for us -- same night as our lifegroup & dd's youth group (that ends 30 minutes before the dance class does). :-/ The class is one night a week for six weeks and costs $59 per couple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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