5 Easy Ways to Sneak Date Night Into Your Marriage Regularly

By Christine St. Vil on Friday, March 28, 2014

5 Easy Ways to sneak date night into your marriage regularly

When you think of “date night,” does getting dressed up or spending alot of money come to mind?

Have you ever thought, “I just don’t have time for a date night?”  If either of these thoughts describe you, this post by Christine St. Vil is for you!  

Christine gives us four easy ways to sneak date night into our marriages regularly.  And I hope she doesn’t mind but I’d like to add one more.

For the past eleven years, Keith and I have made it a priority to go on:

Starbucks Dates

We call them Starbucks dates but it’s sort of like calling all tissue Kleenex.  It just means we go on a date to a coffee house.  

Prior to becoming lactose intolerant, weekly Pinkberry dates were my absolute favorite (and on most weeks, we’d try to squeeze in a few of those after dinner).  

Date nights don’t need to be expensive, time consuming or cause either of you any sort of stress. Simplicity is best because its purpose is connection.  So if you are spending time alone -connecting- believe it or not, that is the most perfect kind of date.

Until Monday…make it a great weekend!

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One thing that I’ve come to realize since having kids is that alone time with my hubby is a precious commodity. And date night is something that we literally have to plan even if it means locking the bedroom door to let the kids know that “mommy and daddy are talking” (whatever that “talking” may be at that moment).

With us working opposite schedules (he works at night) and homeschooling the kids, we definitely have to be creative when it comes to spending time together. Up until recently, I viewed “date night” as something where we got a sitter, got dressed up and went out for a night out on the town. But seriously, we don’t always have time for all of that. So we are learning to be creative.

We’ll be celebrating nine years of marriage this year, and I know that in order to continue celebrating for decades to come, dating is an integral part of our marriage that we can’t afford to let fall by the wayside. It’s so easy to get caught up in the busyness of life and all of the demands. But when I really think about what’s important in life, when I think about what matters the most…it’s my family, and the unit of our marriage that holds it together.

The words, “Date night” just mean, are you taking time to truly connect with your spouse in an environment that fosters love and communication? Once I understood this, I let go of the “date night” expectations that I had allowed to take over. It’s taken the pressure off both ends to simply view date night as quality time. Regardless of if we plan to do something, or plan to do nothing, the time spent together is all that is needed in that moment.

Here are a few easy ways to sneak date night into your marriage regularly:

Appetizer Date

Time is of the essence, I know. So if carving out an extra hour a day leaves your palms sweating, then start out by taking baby steps. Try 15-20 minutes of time set aside that is non-negotiable (unless it’s life and death). Think about the most important client meeting you’ve ever had or would like to have: just like you wouldn’t miss that one, intimate time with your spouse shouldn’t be missed either.

Breakfast Date

I am by far not a morning person…at all (especially since I work late into the night). But since hubby gets home by 7am, and the kids don’t generally wake until closer to 9am, it’s the perfect time for us to connect without distractions and interruptions.

Lunch Date

If you have the ability to do so, try meeting your spouse for lunch. If it’s too far, then see if you can meet halfway. Since life can get even more hectic in the evenings, a lunch date might work out best. Lunch dates can work well if both spouses either work from home or are both home during the day…there’s always room for dessert.

After Dinner Date

If you have smaller kids, set aside a schedule to tag team with your spouse to get them fed, bathed and in the bed at a decent time so that you can take advantage of the quiet house afterwards. Use this time to catch up on the best part of your days, and any pressing matters that need to be addressed.

While it’s nice to connect at the same time every day, I’ve found that flexibility is also key. Depending on our schedules, we may have to do a combination of these dates during the week.

QUESTION: What about you? How do you define date night in your marriage?

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Christine St.Vil is co-author of the Whose Shoes Are Your Wearing: 12 Steps to Uncovering the Woman You Really Want to Be. A happy wife to an amazing hubby of 8 years, and homeschooling mother of three, she teaches moms how to FLY (First Love Yourself). She uses her corporate background to work with women who are ready to start a new business, accelerate their career growth & design a life they love. She's on a mission to help moms to battle the mom guilt epidemic, so they can begin to put themselves first on their never-ending list of priorities. Sign up at MomsNCharge.com for her FREE audio: The Truth About Mom Guilt: 3 Tips to Getting Over it so You Can FLY (First Love Yourself).

 

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  • http://www.reaalducente.com/ Rea Alducente

    I can certainly relate. One of my goals this year is one date night with my husband but it never happened just yet. That’s because I always think of date night as a night out when it can be really simple not knowing that we’ve been doing it all along! We try to cook together, watch dvd movies together when our son is already asleep and so on. Now I know they count as “date nights” too and I wouldn’t have to be pressured. :)

    • http://www.happywivesclub.com/ Fawn @ Happy Wives Club

      Absolutely! Take the pressure off and just enjoy connecting. You’ll be so happy you did, Rea :) .

      • Christine St.Vil

        Whew! Yes, it was so nice to finally relive myself of that pressure (and Phil is happy too lol) Fawn! :)

    • Christine St.Vil

      Yes indeed Rea! A lot of us do it without realizing it :) Sometimes it’s just not possible to get out of the house. My husband and I like to catch up on our DVR shows over the weekend. It’s nice to have that time to connect and just laugh and chat :)

  • Kelly Farley Kantola

    Yesterday, my husband and I had a nice lunch date. We even shared a bottle of wine. Lunch prices for food are typically cheaper than dinner prices & I can never finish my meal anyway so I took my leftovers home to eat at work last night (I work night shift as an RN-hubby is laid off at the moment). We had a nice chat. It was quiet in the restaurant so we could actually hear each other talk.

    • http://www.happywivesclub.com/ Fawn @ Happy Wives Club

      That’s a great idea, Kelly! Lunch is definitely cheaper than dinner at restaurants but it can be the same experience (if not better).

    • Christine St.Vil

      I love the perks of a less crowded and a quieter restaurant when we do the lunch dates. And you’re so right, Kelly about it being cheaper, and being able to take leftovers home (love leftovers) :)

  • Kasey Werner

    I love going on little dates with my husband! The way we have made it work (since we’re both graduate students on a very tight budget) is to ask for gift cards for birthdays and holidays. We started doing that since before we got married, and now for any occasion our parents send us gift cards to our favorite restaurants (IHOP, Red Robin, etc.). It’s perfect because it gets us out of the house and allows us to spend time together just enjoying each others company. And since we use gift cards, it keeps us from feeling guilty that we’re spending money on going out. :)

  • http://portofpeacecounseling.com/ Marie Mertilus

    Great post. I love the breakfast date idea. That is a great way to start the day with romance.

    • http://www.happywivesclub.com/ Fawn @ Happy Wives Club

      Agreed! Can’t really think of a better way to begin the day.

  • Meggie Dill

    We got rid of our television nearly 3 years ago. Now when the kids go to bed, or go play in the basement, or head outside to play we can’t help but focus on one another! Truly we got rid of it to benefit the kids, to help get their imaginations back in working order, to get them off their tooshies and feed their minds some endorphins… but in the end I think it benefited my husband and I the most. Once it’s just the two of us in the house there is no TV waiting to suck us in. There is only quiet time to talk, cuddle, dance or read aloud to each other. It may sound cheesy, but every night is a date night for us. I doubt I will ever miss that TV.

    • http://www.happywivesclub.com/ Fawn @ Happy Wives Club

      We were without TV for a year or so and I have to tell you, it was fantastic! I didn’t miss it for a moment. My husband loves mindless activities because his job requires him to be thinking all the time, so we brought the TV back in. But we watch it a whole lot less and I’d be perfectly happy to never watch it again (working on that :) ).