My husband and me have been married for 10 years. We started dating when we were teenagers and recently realized our idea of date night hasn’t changed much in the past decade. When we first met, we were in college, living at home with our parents, and didn’t have a lot of cash on hand for fancy dates. We are able to choose from many different options when it is time to plan a date. However, we found that more often than we think, we prefer to have our dates at home. Maybe it’s because we’re homebodies or maybe it’s a pandemic side effect, but we really do enjoy staying home together. There’s nothing wrong with skipping the pricey restaurants and crowded movie theaters, but even we could tell out at-home dates we’re getting a bit stale (hint: one too many movie nights).
We were able to transform our at-home dates with a little creativity and planning. Here are a few fun ways we’ve been mixing things up:
1. Accept our green thumbs
We felt left out of the fun when all those homeowners began posting pictures of their beautiful gardens in 2020. Not only do we live in an apartment, but we aren’t allowed to plant in the ground around our patio. My husband wanted to start his own garden, so I bought a very convenient kit from The Works Seattle. It included everything we needed to begin a basic vegetable and herb garden. I purchased large planter bags that are lightweight and easy to move around the patio. We started gardening on weekends. We look forward to these days when we get some sunshine and see our efforts pay off.
2. Get out of your comfort zone in the kitchen
Talking of ruts, we were in a major culinary rut up until recently. We had mastered many recipes that became our go-to meals so we stopped trying to learn new ways to cook. This may sound weird, but neither of us loves going out to eat, which means if we want to try something new, the odds are we’re going to make it ourselves.
To avoid the Valentine’s Day crowds in the past, we ordered this Truffle Lovers cooking kit that comes with everything we need for a romantic night at home (including wine). It’s a bit of a splurge, but still costs less than it would cost to get a fancy prix fixe meal at a nice restaurant. We’ve always wanted to make risotto at home, but have been too intimidated to try, so this kit has helped us get out of our comfort zones.
3. Listening to audiobooks
We love to spend time together after a long day at work, but we get tired of looking at screens. Are you so obsessed with Netflix? We go on night walks in the summer to pass the time and catch-up, but that is not the case in winter. Lately, we’ve been listening to audiobooks together at night, and it’s the date that keeps on giving. When we aren’t listening to an audiobook we can discuss the book we just listened to or plan which one we want to download next. Our eyes get a break, and we have new things to talk about.
4. Pre-planning trips
With so many travel restrictions, flight cancellations, and just general uncertainty around traveling right now, we haven’t been able to travel much these past two years aside from the occasional road trip. To help scratch that travel itch, we’ve been having travel-themed date nights at home. We’ll sit down and pre-plan a whole trip for somewhere we want to go when things go somewhat back to normal—itinerary, hotels, restaurants, activities, the works. To spread the joy, we will also choose a documentary or movie about the area to watch. When it’s time to travel again, we’ll be ready, and in the meantime, we have a lot more fun pre-planning than just scrolling through social media or rewatching The Office.
5. Trying each other’s hobbies
While I’m all for couples having their own hobbies and being able to spend time apart, it’s nice to share your passions with your partner. Before the pandemic, my husband used to love climbing indoor rock climbing gyms. It wasn’t my favorite activity from the get-go, but we ended up getting into a habit of going on Friday nights and I really looked forward to that time spent together. It was fun to see my husband so excited for something.
This compromise was a good lesson in embracing each other’s hobbies from time to time. Because we are spending so much time at home, I’ve been hit by the DIY decor bug and we’ll carve out some time on a Saturday afternoon to work on projects together. When we’re looking for a more low-key, at-home date, I’ll play a game or two of chess with my husband. We still enjoy our hobbies separately, but it’s nice to come together to share what we’ve learned or been working on.
6. Going tech-free
Again—we get really sick of the screens by the end of the day, and even more so by the time Friday night hits. Sometimes we organize tech-free nights. We open a bottle or two of wine, read books together, or just sit down and chat on our couch. We’re lucky that after 11 years, we still really just enjoy being in each other’s company and sometimes you need to get away from all the shiny tech distractions to remember that!
Source: The Every Girl
