Disclaimer: This is going to be a long post; I get a bit
excited when planning date nights with the Hubby.
In
my previous post I mentioned wanting to do something memorable for our last
Christmas just the two of us. After compiling my list of 50 dates I
realized two things...
1.
There is no (sane)
way to have 50 dates in 25 days.
2.
We live in San
Antonio. And while I love living here we don't get all that white stuff falling
from the sky that people call snow. So all of the fun outdoor snow activities
were out.
Since
50 dates was out of the question, I opted for the 25 Dates of Christmas. (That
has a nice ring to it, right?!) I will be creating an advent calendar with
envelopes and having the Hubby open it each morning to give him a hint of the
date each night. Since some of the dates will be more involved, or require more
time, I will plan out the days we have each date rather than putting them in
the calendar randomly.
**These dates can
easily be tweaked to accommodate a family.
I have listed some local things that are only offered in our area but
feel free to pull date ideas from my previous post or find something fun &
new from your area to take their place. Now on to the dates….
Christmas
Movie Night
·
Put on your
favorite PJ’s (Don’t forget the fuzzy socks)
·
Grab a comfy
blanket, big enough for two
·
Pop in a Christmas
Movie(s) Here are a few of my favorites….White Christmas, Holiday Inn, The
Grinch, Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, A Christmas Story, A Muppet Christmas Carol
& Charlie Brown Christmas.
·
Start a fire in
your fireplace
·
Pop some Jiffy
popcorn in the fireplace
·
Make S’mores for
dessert
·
Have some Sparkling
Cider or you favorite adult beverage
·
If you’re feeling
adventurous you can even try roasting chestnuts
Christmas
Themed Game Night
Play your favorite Holiday themed or normal games;
here are a few 2 player games we like…
Holiday Fluxx
& Rudolph Monopoly , Ticket to Ride, Rumikub, Blokus, Headbandz, Tenzi
& Quirkle
·
Have a Snowball
fight
I live in Texas; the real thing isn't an option here
so we’re going for the next best thing... Grab some flour, go outside and have
at it! If you’re feeling crafty you can even make your own. Here’s a link to
show you how http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryhowtoguide/ht/fakesnow.htm
·
Have an “Indoor
Ice Skating” contest
Wrap your feet in wax paper & secure with rubber
bands. Judge each other on Technique, Execution & overall “Creativity.” If
all else fails, you can slide around the house like you’re Tom Cruise in Risky
Business ;)
·
Snowman bowling
Save your soda bottles & paint them like snowmen
to use as the pins. Use a squishy ball as the bowling ball.
·
Race to see who
can drink a glass of milk & eat a cookie the fastest
·
Put together a Christmas
puzzle, you can race each other or work on one together
·
Play name that
tune with Christmas music
**All of
these can be used to “Spice Up” your evening. You can wager certain things on
each game or make them “strip style” it can be as wild or as tame as you want. (Click & print the picture below for your own wager cards)
Dollar
Store Stocking Stuffer Date
The whole point of this date is to have fun & be
silly. You don’t have to get them practical gifts, think fun & outrageous!
·
Head to your
favorite dollar store
·
Each person gets
$10 or $20 if you’re feeling generous ;) and 15 minutes to pick out the
stocking stuffers for their spouse
·
On the way home
stop for take out
·
Before dinner, stuff
your spouse’s stocking, preferably in separate rooms so you can keep the gifts a
surprise, have dinner and exchange stockings
Windcrest
Christmas Lights
Do some research and find out what neighborhood has
the best Christmas lights, for my area it’s Windcrest.
Here’s a link to the Windcrest Light Up http://www.windcrest-tx.gov/index.aspx?NID=190
·
Bring along Hot
Cocoa or your warm beverage of choice
·
Don’t forget the
blanket or warm jacket. We roll down our windows when driving through, a lot of
the homes add music to their displays and we don’t want to miss it.
·
Hop in the Car, put
on some Christmas Music, drink your hot cocoa & enjoy the lights
·
Check off your
Christmas lights scavenger hunt list below
Christmas
Tree Sleepover
·
Turn off all the lights
except the tree
·
Grab your
fluffiest pillows & blankets and make a pallet under the tree
·
Dance by the
light of the tree to your favorite songs
·
Write out your
Christmas wish list. Click on the photo below for a minimalist Christmas wish list.
·
Listen to an old
timey Christmas radio show. You can find them on youtube, Amazon or Pandora
Christmas
Fort
We all loved forts as kids, I know I did. So for this date
we’re taking the same concept and adding a few Christmas touches. Tonight is
all about having fun and enjoying the season through a child’s eyes. Embrace
the silly, goofy and ridiculous tonight.
·
Set up your tent,
the more blankets the better, it doesn't have to be Pinterest perfect. Think fun, whimsical, and romantic
·
Add Twinkle
lights & Christmas decor... ornaments, garland, pillows, scarves, banners
·
Set up a picnic
in your fort, nothing fancy, you’re “roughing it” tonight
·
Write down your wishes for 2015 and the highlights 2014, you can write as many or few as you want. Put each in the stocking
to read next year. Click & print the photo below for the printable
·
Have Christmas
music playing in the background
·
Read your
favorite Christmas book growing up. Here are a few of my favorites….‘Twas the
Night Before Christmas, Polar Express & How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Hot Cocoa
Tasting
This date will be mostly about making & tasting
the cocoa. To keep the focus on the tasting I’m going to have some fruit and
nibbles for dinner that night. I mean, we’re already going to get more than our
caloric intake for the day in chocolate, why add more?
·
Try making a
bunch of different kinds & judge/rate the cocoa. There are about a 1,000
different recipes out there, pick which ones you think you’ll like best. Here’s
what we will be tasting…
Traditional Hot Cocoa, Spicy Hot Cocoa, Nutella Hot Cocoa,
Salted Caramel Cocoa & Frozen Hot Cocoa
·
Rate each Cocoa
on the Tasting printable I’ve created. I’m treating this like you would a Whiskey/Bourbon
tasting.
·
I’ll also have
fun toppings for the Cocoa, just in case they need a little something extra. Whipped
cream, sprinkles, shaved chocolate, nutmeg, cinnamon & raw sugar
·
To Spice this
date up you can blindfold your spouse and have him taste each one without
looking. Each one he guesses correctly he gets something from you in return
Fondue
for Two
I love Fondue it’s probably my favorite kind of meal.
We don’t have it often because of the labor & planning involved, but trust
me the work is worth it! If you’re nervous about taking on an entire meal just
do dessert! This website has all you would ever need to know about fondue http://www.bestfondue.com/
·
Fondue can be a
very sensory dining experience. If you want to spice up the evening, treat it
as such. Turn off the lights and eat by the light of your Christmas tree. Feed
your partner their food.
Every time a piece of bread or fruit is “lost” in the
pot you must kiss your spouse, I mean really kiss them. Who knows, you may not
even make it to dessert ;)
·
We will be having
3 courses
Cheese served with french bread & green
apples. Oil served with tuna, steak, scallops, potatoes, mushrooms &
other veggies. Chocolate served with raspberries, strawberries, marshmallows
& more
·
Make it fancy,
romantic & all about you two. I will
be adding lots of candle light as well as the twinkle of our tree
·
Share some sparkling
cider or you Adult Beverage of choice
·
Put on some Christmas
music
·
Start a
conversation. The best part of a Fondue meal is the time it takes to eat one.
There is no possible way to eat quickly, so to help with the conversation I’ve
attached some fun Christmas questions for you and your spouse I've even left a few blank for you to fill out.
Riverwalk
Dinner Date
We live in San Antonio, and here we’re known for The
Alamo and The Riverwalk. This time of year is, in my opinion, the best time of
year to visit. The trees along the
riverbank are covered in miles of twinkle lights; it creates a beautifully
romantic atmosphere.
·
Get dressed up,
walk around, take part in any festivities, have dinner and just enjoy the
atmosphere and each other.
Alamo
Drafthouse Date
This is my hubby’s favorite movie theater; they serve
food & have great quote-a-longs. Here’s a link to their site to see if you have
one in your area. http://drafthouse.com/
Wassailfest
This is a once a year event offered in downtown New
Braunfels. There’s nothing better than
walking through a small town at Christmas time, drinking FREE Wassail!
·
Here’s a link to
their website http://www.nbtexas.org/index.aspx?nid=1490
Make a
Christmas Treat
I have never been a fan of cookies but my hubby LOVES
them so we will be making a few things as our treats tonight.
·
Chocolate
Chip Cookies, Puppy Chow, Candied Pecans & Spicy Chex mix
Try a New
Meal
Pick something festive but new. It can be as simple or as in depth as you want,
depending on how daring you’re feeling.
·
Grab the
ingredients & get to cooking!
To make this evening as stress free as possible, add
the dishes’ shopping ingredients to your normal list, that way you don’t have
to scramble the day of the date to get all the ingredients. Just be sure to have a frozen pizza as back
up, just in case the experiment goes awry ;)
Make a
Christmas Ornament
This
year I wanted to start a tradition of making an ornament that signifies
something special from that year. Since
I’m planning a somewhat jam packed 25 days this will be a nice low key date at
the house. You can do this at your local pottery place or make one at home. Remember to make it fun & something
memorable from this year.
Movie
Marathon/ Waffle Bar Breakfast
I know most of you are thinking this is craziness,
wasting an entire day watching movies. So
I ask you, how often do you actually get to do that? AND, I hear any leisure time pretty much goes
out the window the moment you have a baby, so why not indulge while we can?
·
I plan on
spending the day in our PJ’s, indulging in a day of movies & waffles.
·
Here’s what I’ll
be serving on our Waffle Bar; Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries,
Chocolate Chips, Pecans, Whipped Cream, Powdered Sugar, Syrup & of course
Bacon!
Live
Nativity
There are quite a few churches around us that offer
the drive thru live nativity. If you've never been to one, you should go. They
have lots of live animals, volunteers and it’s just a beautiful reenactment and
reminder of the real reason for the season.
·
I will be keeping
tonight very simple so we can really focus on the message of the nativity. The
only thing I have to add to the evening is reading Luke 2 when we get home.
Giving
Back
Do something to give back this Christmas; there are
tons of great places to give of your time and resources.
·
Angel Tree,
Salvation Army, Elf Louise, Blue Santa, Local Food Kitchen, etc. Whatever you
choose, take the time to give back this holiday season.
Scavenger
Hunt through the house
For
this date I will be creating 12 clues for my Hubby to follow inside & outside
the house. The clues will follow the 12 days of Christmas theme. At the final
location he will receive a 12 pack of specialty beers coordination with the
numbers 1-12.
Romantic
Christmas Night Indoors
I won’t go into too much detail for this one, but I
plan on creating a romantic date night for the two of us centered on the 5
senses with a Christmas twist.
Go
Christmas Shopping
I know this doesn’t sound like the best date night,
but it can still be fun. Since you have to shop anyway, you might as well do it
together?
·
The best way to
make this as quick and painless as possible is to have your list of what you’re
getting and for who ready prior to leaving. This is twofold, it will keep you
from wandering aimlessly (unless you like that sort of thing) and it will also
keep you from making impulse purchases.
·
One way to make
it fun is to treat yourselves at the end of your shopping madness with a sweet
treat or drink from the food court that you normally wouldn’t get. It’ll give
you something to look forward to & a moment to chat after the craziness of
the mall. If nothing else, it’s always great people watching!
Wrap
Presents
Some people love wrapping presents, other people…not
so much. My Hubby falls in the “not so much” category. Here’s how to make the night fun…
·
Put on some music
or a movie & get to wrapping.
·
You can have
contests to see whose package is wrapped the best. Judge on the neatest
corners, no tape showing, perfectly centered bow, etc. For each round he/she
wins, he/she receives something from the looser.
·
Take this normal
activity and spice it up…. let your hubby know for every item he helps you
wrap, he gets to unwrap an article of your clothing ;)
Go cut
down a Real Tree
I have an artificial tree at my house since that’s
what I grew up with, and I continued that tradition once we were married. My Hubby grew up with real trees so this year
we will go cut down a small real tree to incorporate both traditions.
·
This date doesn’t
need much; it’s a fun time all on its own. You can’t beat the scenery,
atmosphere and smell. Don’t forget to snap some pictures while you’re out there!
Take
Christmas pictures
Even if you don’t send out a Christmas card, you can
have a photo-shoot at your house. You can make it silly, fun or serious. If you've already planned to have a professional photographer take your pictures,
remember to enjoy the moment!
·
Here’s a link to
tons of cheap and easy to make backdrops via BuzzFeed http://www.buzzfeed.com/candacelowry/unbelievably-cheap-and-beautiful-diy-photo-backdrops
·
Set up your
backdrop, put on your best (or worst) Christmas clothes/sweater and get to
snapping!
·
Even if no one
but the two of you use the pictures it’s all about having fun and enjoying time
with your spouse. If a few great pictures turn out great, by all means, send out that
Christmas card!
“Elf” a
couple
Drop of a basket of goodies for your neighbors or
friends on their front porch. Ring the doorbell and run! This is just a fun way
to share the holiday spirit with your friends and neighbors.
Christmas
Eve Tradition
We
will be opening a small gift and exchanging letters, just the two of us, on
Christmas Eve morning prior to the family festivities.
Here's the template for our letters.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy Date Night!
Here's the template for our letters.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a Happy Date Night!
