Bonus points if your date includes overly enthusiastic goats.
I don’t know about you, but date night seemed like one of the hardest things to add into our weekly schedule. It wasn’t that we didn’t have time to spend together but we fell into the rut of “dinner and a movie” which is probably the most boring thing to do week after week. We live on a budget that doesn’t allow for very expensive meals every week and I know I don’t want to constantly sit in public and wait on someone to bring food and then go to a movie to sit and stare at a screen. Plus, that food that costs more than our monthly gym membership isn’t usually better than what we can make at home! We got tired of doing the same thing, let it fall to the side, and eventually date night stopped.
Recently though, Andrew & I have been consciously investing time into working on our marriage (because we’re weird and work is fun in this case!) which lead us to reading two of my new favorite books on marriage and relationships in general: The 5 Love Languages
5. Specialty Cookin’ – You’re going to make dinner anyways, right? So why not go to a specialty market around town and make something new?! We recently checked out a specialty food store, The Butcher’s Market, and decided to make a recipe we’d never made before with some fancy meats (and their delish garlic cheddar rolls!). Cooking together can be SO much fun so why not turn a regular dinner into a special date? Total cost: $27
4. Movies at the Museum – We loooooove museums and movies and our local art museum has the best set-up to combine these two loves. During summer they show movies in their huge art park on the side of one of their buildings. This year we saw Mary Poppins for the 50th Anniversary and last year we saw Ghostbusters! When things get colder they move things to an indoor theatre, which is how I got to see my favorite movie (Roman Holiday) in theatres on ACTUAL film! It was a pretty amazing experience to share with the dude! Total cost: $10 (not including snacks, oops)
3. Picnic in the Park – When we first started dating Andrew would have random days off at times when I was working. So for lunch he would surprise me by picking me up and taking me to a park nearby my old office and present a wonderful picnic! It wasn’t overflowing with food, just enough for us two and it was all pretty standard fare, but it was special just because of the intention behind it. Since he has a more standard schedule now, our picnics are relegated to the weekends but they’re still a surprise! For Labor Day this year he took me to a nearby park and put together the yummiest picnic ever. Best part? There were still leftovers since this was all made at home. Also the very enthusiastic goats you see above. We totally got to pet some (and then wash out hands). Total cost: around $15 (depending on how much you have at home already)
2. World Market Exploration – At some point, we’ll both have seen more continents and countries than we’ve lived in. Until then, we love going to World Market to try out different beers and sodas…and candy. We’ll explore the beer aisle and I’ll pick out beers mostly from other countries which you can make a 6 pack for only $12! Obviously you can’t drink in-store but most of the fun is spent getting to pick out the items that you’ll be drinking over the next few weeks. Plus, you get the fun of trying different things each time you go, like the Halloween wine we purchased for a roast I made last time! Total cost: $20 or less (which could be WAY less but they have too many yummy and cute things)
1. Dine & Drive – This is Andrew’s favorite (and probably mine as well). All you do is go to your favorite low-cost eatery, eat, get in the car, and drive. You don’t need a specific destination and we certainly never have one. You can drive for as long or as short a time as you would like but the point is that you’re together with no distractions. We find that some of our best talking gets done in a car and it is the cheapest date that isn’t free we ever do. The world is a little less annoying when you’re in a car with no traffic and your honey. Total cost: $20 (not including gas)
In the course of writing this I had to ask Andrew what his favorite dates are which he actually said is our errand days! To him, they feel like one long date that is not only productive but a little spontaneous too! We incorporate fun stops in between the boring ones, like going to Al Baraka for lentils and mango juice instead of Walmart. It just goes to show that you can turn anything into a date by making the intention (and interactions) clear. Tell me, what are your favorite fun and cheap dates?
Wishing you yummy picnics and world traveling beers,
Shantelle
PS – please excuse my use of the word honey to describe your significant other.
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