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Date Night 2013



Inspired by this blog post, found through a pin on pinterest, I gave my husband twelve dates for his birthday this year. I'm sure this is true for all of us, but we've struggled to find time to spend one-on-one time together, particularly since the birth of our third child. And when we do have some time miraculously appear, we can never decide what to do!

So I researched and investigated and used old Christmas cash that never got deposited so that I wouldn't leave a credit card trail . . . and put together eleven date-night (or day) envelopes. (We already have a date scheduled for January, so I didn't make an extra one for the first month. Don't want to overuse the free babysitting from in-laws, you know.) Many of my ideas came from The Dating Divas; some are local attractions we haven't visited yet.

Around the beginning of every month (or the end of the previous month), we'll sit down with the calendar, consult the appropriate envelope, and schedule our date. Each envelope contains directions, gift cards, instructions, or whatever else is necessary to make the date happen.



Isaac has chosen not to open the envelope until it's time for the date, so I can't tell you what's in store for the year! I'll blog about each date after it happens. There are two family dates, two movie-related dates, a few at-home dates (no babysitting necessary!), two more extensive (and expensive) dates, and a few other miscellaneous activities. Just for fun, I used printable month-by-month love notes from The Dating Divas. (I can't find the link to the printable now, I think because it was a special perk if you're signed up for their newsletter.)

These pictures looked brighter on the camera.

Being a super planner, I had so much fun putting these together. I suspect it will be just as much fun (or more!) to go on these dates!

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Comments

  1. Amy SamadDecember 30, 2012 at 12:38 PM

    Christy, this is such a wonderful idea! I just advised a soon-to-be mom to continue dating her husband and make sure to keep their relationship a priority. It's harder than you think and it's easy to get lazy and just go out to dinner over and over for date nights! Good for you. I might just steal this idea!

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  2. ChristyJanuary 2, 2013 at 1:03 PM

    Thanks, Amy! Isaac and I were never very creative in dating even before we were married, so this will be a big stretch for us. :) I should have come to you for ideas -- you guys are so good about getting out and exploring this city! I've already started a list for 2014, just for fun even if I don't put together another official present out of it, so I'd love to hear if you come up with any unique ideas.

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