So, I hinted a few times before Christmas that I had come up with the BEST gift for my husband. And, I wasn’t exaggerating. It was, absolutely, the most perfect present for Hubby.
I gave that boy a year of pre-planned dates.
It’s a simple scrapbook but inside there is one 12×12 page for each month. And as Hubby thumbed through those pages, he found the potential for romance, intimacy, laughter, and — most importantly — time together.
Using ideas I found for date nights on various blogs, as well as ones I planned myself, we now have twelve fun dates planned for 2012. None are incredibly costly — in fact, several are completely free!
(which made Hubby even happier)
Regardless of cost, the point of this gift was to carve out time for Hubby and I to be together. Not time worrying about the kids or projects around the house, but time that hearkens back to those days before marriage … when you nervously anticipated holding each others hands for the first time.
When you were courting each other.
Twelve fun and, sometimes, silly dates for 2012 — I think it’s going to be a very good year.
2012: A Year Of Dating
January: Ring in the New Year
(This was our one, semi-serious date. For this date, we met for breakfast and spent about 4 hours planning and goal setting for the next year, focusing on the areas of finances, our children, our relationship, our physical health and our personal growth and development. It was AWESOME -- four hours of REAL communication .... with out kids. Bliss.)
February: An Anniversary Date
(Next month, to celebrate our 8th Anniversary, we are going ice-skating and then coming back home to recreate the dessert we enjoyed on our 1st anniversary. There's also another element I have planned for that night, but it's a surprise for Hubby. I'll share later!)
March: A Cowboy Date
(We're gonna head out to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo!)
April: A “Love In the Park” Date
(a day at the park for a picnic and model boat races)
May: A Kindergarten Date
(A day for just having fun and being silly. Two things spouses do best)
June: A “Walk On The Wild Side” Date
(We always take our children to the zoo, but we never go alone. That will change on this date!)
July: A “Red, White, Blue and YOU” Date
(heading to Texas coast for gulf seafood and fireworks over the water)
August: A “Bookworm” Date
(A silly name for a FUN time -- we will be heading to our favorite bookstore for a scavenger hunt, of sorts)
September: A “You Bowl Me Over” Date
(Yep. Bowling. One of our favorite activities and we haven't done it in ages.)
October: A “Popcorn For Two” Date
(A Movie Night where HUBBY gets to choose what we see. This may be a first.)
November: A “Daddy Does Dinner” Date
(I gave him ONE date to execute on his own. This one. He better do well. Just sayin'.)
December: A “You-Tube at the Spa” Date
(December is always crazy and stressful, so for this date, we're going to play it low key. It's an "At-home" date of watching silly, stupid You-tube videos and then giving one another massages. Laughter and back-rubs -- the perfect stress relief for the busy holiday season.)
So … Hubby’s reaction? He teared up a little.
Yes, he did. He is excited that after years of putting our kids first and our relationship second, I am finally realizing that OUR partnership is the most important thing in our family … for us and our children. That’s why I made this gift … because it is way past time we cherished our relationship and one another … and gave ourselves a few hours each month to do nothing but laugh and love.
(p.s. In case you were wondering why 12 x 12 scrapbook pages? The goal is to take pictures on each date and then place them there… at the end of the year we’ll have visual reminders of all the fun we had!)
Update: If you want an easy way to put together your own Date Night Project, the Dating Divas, one of the resources I used, is now offering the “Ultimate Date Night Ebook“ chock-full of date night ideas and plans!!!
*Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links
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