Family Capers

We were on our date and the phone rang. It was a call from home.

These are usually benign requests for a dessert or a movie. Occasionaly they are reports from the daily town crier concerning a great injustice done. Nope not this time, this was a legit S.O.S. The downstairs laundry closet/hallway was flooding.

In my mind, there is something very sensual (no pun intended) about  having a signature scent. It has taken me awhile but I had finally selected mine.

It is Date Night, and I have no idea what to wear. Not that I don't have clothes or options, this is not the issue.

Living in a college town there are many paths to explore. We like to take advantage of  the large campus. To make a night of it we'll stop by our local coffee shop (sorry Starbucks) to grab a latte to-go and wander.

 I am on demand 24/7. I don’t mind, as a matter of fact I love it. It can however, get a bit overwhelming, leaving you feeling drained and unmotivated. People can get overlooked a bit. It has to be a conscience decision to make time for everyone...including and most importantly, my husband and our relationship.

We just had one of the best date nights in recent memory. It was our annual winter trip to NYC. Every year for the past ten years we take a trip to New York City around late November. We love to see the city all dressed up in her Christmas attire. As the kids have gotten older, our trips have lasted longer into the day, allowing us to enjoy more of the city each time.

Here are several ideas for date night adventures:

1. Date Night Reinvented = simplicity = coffee house + scrabble board
2. Personas - pick a different personality for the night - i.e. be british, be a nerd, be anything but you - have fun and laugh
3. Make people laugh - see who can make the most people laugh or smile throughout the night. Keep track of points.
4. Weirdest place to have picnic - pack some sandwiches and other picnic items then set up in weird place like the lawn in front of the municipal building
5. Get people to say a secret word - pick a word for the night and see who can get the most people to say the word throughout the night
6. Paris remembered 1, 2 & 3 - reminisce about your all-time favorite trip
7. Cow tipping remembered - reminisce about dating before marriage
8. Dancing with the stars - Take some dance lessons. Try whatever you both enjoy like ballroom or line dancing.
9. Smell Fest - go perfume shopping to find your favorite new scent. either bring a cup of joe or some coffee beans to clear your nose.
10. Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Dress up nice and go to jewelry stores and try on the most expensive items. No purchasing - just browsing!  Play it up like you are Thurston Howel the third. Use silly descripives for the jewelery and why you don't want to buy it. i.e. that necklace is too stringy or that diamond is too edgy.
11. Sparkling Fountain - find a local fountain and just be romantic and chill with a latte
12. Grocery Shopping 1 - husband hates shopping! but turn it into something fun by flirting all night
13. Grocery Shopping 2 - creating scavenger hunts to look for exotic items
14. Grocery Shopping 3 - divide list in 1/2 and race to see who can check out first
15. Grocery Shopping 4 - items can only be placed into the cart in alphabetical order (all "A" items first like apples then "B" items like bath soap)
16. Kidnap your spouse - switch the night spontaneously and playfully kidnap your spouse away. Get some toy handcuffs and use a blindfold. Then drive to some unknown place and laugh!
17. Library adventures - Go to your local library or the one in the next town over if it is better. Find some hidden tucked away place and chill out reading books and magazines.
18. Date night auction - Both are given $1,000 (monolpoly money) to start. Then throughout the date you bid on items (movie to see, restaurant to go to, store to visit, item to purchase). Once the money is used in a successful bid, it cannot be use again that night. Don't forget to save some bid money for your dessert (back in bed!)
19. stay-at-home date ideas - how to hide away from the kids in your own house
20. go on international trip without leaving your town - plan an exotic trip in your own town. do some research and make it authentic.
21. Plan the perfect Museum Caper - Go to a museum (or just a store if a museum is not convenient) then pick out your favorite piece of art (or store item like a necklace). Then sit there and scheme about how you would get it in Mission Impossible style.
22. Don't get caught smooching - This time P.D.A. is ok. Try to find unique places to make out.
23. Silence Is Golden - Go an entire date night without saying a word. Use this to learn to communicate in various other ways. This can be very interesting if going to a restaurant.
24. Get Caricatures Done - Find a local street artist or mall artist to do a couple's caricature.
25. Poker at McDonalds - Bring a deck of cards and bid with french fries.
26. Pick up lines - Act as if you are meeting for the first time ever and try your best pick up lines on each other. First one to break character and laugh loses.
27. Play H.O.R.S.E. - Grab a basketball and go to the local playground and play a game of horse.
28. Take a class - Sign up for a class at your local community center or college.
29. Photographers - Bring your point and shoot digital camera and have fun using the timer to take crazy pictures all over town. Get creative with where to set the camera to get a decent angle with both of you in the picture. Also, ask strangers walking by to snap a picture of you both.

Welcome to Date Night Adventures. If you and your spouse already have a regularly scheduled time apart from the kids, then jump right into the Date Night Adventures Blog. If you like most and struggling to reconnect with your mate, we hope this site offers helpful ideas to get you started.