Date Night Sticks (in a Jar) and 50 Date Night Ideas at Home

Parenting is hard work. Someone once told me that in order to raise happy kids, you need a happy marriage and your spouse/partner should be your first priority (your kids are second). They also mentioned how hard it is to make time for each other when everything else is competing for your attention: work, kids, chores and other commitments.

Reflecting on my own marriage, our date nights are not quite the same now as it was before having our little man. Weekly date nights previously would include heading out to a restaurant for dinner, followed by either dessert, movies at a theatre, random drive to a beach or exploring a new neighbourhood. Nowadays, our date nights are once every three months when we go to the movies while my wonderful sister-in-law babysits the little man.

Those who have kids can attest how expensive and hard to come by good babysitters are. If you are lucky enough to live close to family who offer to babysit, count your blessings!

Last year, I saw this idea for Date Night Sticks in a jar. I thought it was a great way for couples to spend some quality time together at home and reconnect with each other after the child(ren) go to bed.

Materials
Blank craft sticks (you can buy them from the dollar store)
Jar (I reused my Better Than Bouillon glass jar)
Pens/sharpies

Directions
1. Write down each date night idea you have on the craft sticks.

2. Set a date each week/month for a date night. For those date nights you do not have any plans, draw a stick from the date night jar. Since some of these ideas require a little planning, you can draw a date night stick a few nights beforehand so you have time to purchase the materials/ingredients.

TIP

• We used the other side of the date night sticks to write Play Date ideas for our little man. Here are a few select ideas we had:
• Find a new playground
• Build a fort
• Make a craft

Here are 50 Date Night Ideas at home

1. Dance to your favorite songs
2. Order in take-out from your favorite restaurant and have a picnic in your living room
3. Give each other a massage
4. Take a bubble bath
5. Camp out in your living room
6. Watch home videos
7. Plan a trip
8. Work on a jigsaw puzzle
9. Play a two-person board game (Blokus, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dutch Blitz)
10. Play a card game (Rummy)
11. Play a children's board game (Connect 4, Guess Who, Twister)
12. Play chess or Chinese checkers
13. Learn a new language
14. Create a scrapbook/photo book of special moments
15. Share a late night snack and chat about the week that ended/coming up
16. Watch a movie (Library, Netflix, or Redbox) and eat popcorn

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17. Record a video of how you met (similar to When Harry Met Sally type interview)
18. Make a fort in your living room and chat
19. Find a plant/vegetable to grow in your garden
20. Read a book aloud to one another
21. YouTube Karoke (I'm currently obsessed with "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?")
22. Build a snowman (bring a baby monitor if you have really young kids) and bring a thermos filled with yummy hot chocolate

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23. Collect ideas on home renovations/dream home
24. Bake a dessert
25. Try a new recipe and dine by candlelight

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26. Make smoothies or milkshakes
27. Sit in the backyard and gaze at the stars on a clear day
28. Have a cheese and wine pairing
29. Plan a picnic
30. Watch a sunset (great in the summer when the sun sets later)

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31. Binge watch a new show (I'm personally looking forward to Downton Abbey Season 5!)
32. Create new Date Night idea sticks
33. Paint (on canvas, paper) + wine
34. Invite another couple over for games night (if they have kids, have the all the kids over for a sleepover while the adults have some fun)
35. Create a scavenger hunt for each other
36. Plan and play a prank on someone (keep it safe folks!)
37. Write a story of a memorable moment you shared
38. Cuddle
39. Play a video game (Tetris, Wii games, etc)
40. Set up a String Laser Maze
41. Make a felt story

42. Listen to an E-book together
43. Watch a sports game on TV
44. Blindfold your spouse/partner, feed them various foods and have them guess what it is
45. Watch funny YouTube videos
46. Dress up and take silly pictures of each other
47. Have a theme night (Italian - antipasto, pasta and gelato. Add in a movie like The Italian Job or Roman Holiday)
48. Chocolate/cheese fondue - need I say more?
49. Make a homemade pizza (try my 35 minute pizza recipe from scratch)
50. Learn to make cocktails/mocktails

Source: (Date night sticks) Celebrate Every Day With Me

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