This day in age, dating really can be expensive. Whether you’re in a brand new relationship or have been married for forty years, we all need to spend some time alone with our partners. It’s part of what helps keep the spark alive. Right? My situation is a little different in so far as I’m divorced from my kids father and he takes them overnight every Friday night, so I get to spend time alone with my husband once a week, which is really, really nice.
What makes a date is how you interact with each other during your time alone, not by the price tag of the evening. Some of the best dates I’ve ever been on were “cheap” or even free. Being creative makes for some really amazing quality time with each other – plain and simple.
Here is a picture of myself and my hubby, Chris, while we were out recently:
With three kids between the two of us, we don’t have all sorts of extra cash to be throwing around, so sometimes, we look for fun alternatives to the pricey night out.
Here are some ideas for fun dates that won’t cost you an arm & a leg:
- Go on a hike
- Have a picnic lunch
- How about a water balloon fight?
- Build a snowman
- Go sit at Dunkin Donuts & people watch
- Play Guitar Hero
- Play a good old fashioned board game
- Go kite flying
- Make t-shirts. Simply get plain white t-shirts and design away with fabric paints or even regular old markers.
- Have a marshmallow fight
- Play frisbee
- Have a movie night! Redbox movies are only $1 or if you’re like me and already have a Netflix membership, rent a movie & make some popcorn!
- Go to a local fast food joint and each order a few things (but don’t let your partner see). Then blindfold each other & try to guess what the food is.
- Grab a couple of coffees and go to an open mic night!
- Make dinner together
- Go to a dance class together. Many places offer the first class free. Why not?
- Do a puzzle
- Feed the ducks at a local pond
- Go to open houses & see how the other half lives
- Check out a local wine tasting. I know of several liquor stores in my area that have them monthly, so check around & I bet you’ll come up with one!
Your turn! Do you have anything to add to the list?
We live near a lake and there is a spot that is gorgeous at night time.. I love going there and just sitting in the moonlight by the lake.. so peaceful and quiet
My husband and I went fishing the other night just the two of us and it was perfect! The weather was good, and we got to watch the sunset. Plus we caught 3 catfish
We like to go to the park and play without the kids. Swing, play hide and go seek and etc.
Go for a bike ride, or a museum! Stumbled!
Love cheap dates! Netflix movie in bed with a bag of popcorn is our favorite. Stumbled you.
I stumbled you – please consider stumbling my post at http://www.actingbalanced.com/2011/08/mmmmonday-back-to-school-lunch-ideas.html
VERY *cute* post!!
I stumbled you – please consider stumbling my post at
http://www.alittleumbrella.com/2011/03/how-to-get-cash-back-shopping-for.html
Lay a blanket out on the lawn and look at the stars. This is one of my favorite things to do. It is so romantic to me and I love laying by my man. Make sure to bring the wine!
Why not take a trip on the back roads? You will have to pay for gas, but I love just going for a drive with my hubby. I enjoy it so much. We do some talking or play a game with the songs/artists, but generally we just talk about “what ifs” and dreams we have. Some time we end up in a good make out spot and roll back the time and we are teenagers again!
Stumbled!
Mine: http://uhohmom.com/2011/08/vinegar-and-its-many-uses/
I wish my hubs would do some of these! Dates are very hard for us. The going rate for a sitter in our area (even a older teenager) is $12 – $15 an hour for two kids. We live pretty much 30 minutes from most things, so we’ve automatically lost an hour there, plus time to actually do anything. Even if we do cheap dinner and a movie, after a sitter we’ve sunk well over $100 into a date. Needless to say, that’s why we don’t do dates often.
I stumbled your post. If you want to stumble back, here’s a link: http://www.mamamommymom.com/2011/08/sweet-chili-stir-fry-itll-rock-your.html
Have a great weekend!
Jamie @ http://www.mamamommymom.com
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