When you’re a parent, getting time for yourself can be very difficult. Life can become a blur of school runs, swimming lessons, homework, and bedtimes, and before you know it before you and your partner had time to do anything without the kids in tow. Even as busy parents, it’s important to find time to spend as a couple, to keep your relationship healthy and you functioning like a well-oiled parenting team. Here are easy date night ideas for busy parents.
1. Schedule a parallel movie night. If your children are old enough to sit in the cinema unattended, why not book two different movies? You can head to the movies altogether, buy your snacks and drink, then you can send the kids off into one screen to watch the latest kids' blockbuster, while you and your spouse can go into a different screen and watch something you actually want to see. You can all meet up again in the lobby again afterward and perhaps go for dinner as a family to tell each other about the different films you say.
2. Have a fabulous dinner, at home. Pack the kids off to Grandma’s for the night and have a date night at home. You could both get dressed up fancy as you would if you were going out to a restaurant; you could even add some Pheromones to your perfume to make yourself even more alluring to your love. When it comes to the food, choose a recipe you both love and have fun cooking together. Cook a comforting favorite, go fancy or take on a tricky recipe like Maine lobsters, whatever appeals to you. Buy some great wine, set the table like a restaurant and have a date. To really take things up a notch, try this homemade spiced rum recipe for a fun twist to the night.
3. Take advantage of your kids’ schedules. Has your child been invited to a birthday party? Do they have a regular swimming lesson that you don’t need to stay for? While they’re busy, spend some time exploring the neighborhood with your partner. Look in the shops, walk in the park or just go for a quick lunch or coffee date for some kid-free time without needing a babysitter.
4. Have a day date. A babysitter can be hard to find in the evenings, so why not date during the day? Fit it around your schedule with an early breakfast date after dropping the kids at school or meet your partner for lunch during the workday. Book an afternoon off, or the whole day for something special like Valentine’s, for more time together until it’s time for the school run again.
5. Have a late date. Kids in bed? Then meet your spouse in the kitchen with a glass of wine, a cocktail, or a decadent dessert. Watch a movie or finally catch up on that must-watch show you’re behind on. Play a board game. Just do it together and enjoy each other’s company. Choose something you can’t do with the kids, like watching a scary movie, playing a complicated board game, or learning to make a new cocktail.
Date night doesn’t have to be elaborate, as long as you’re spending time together as a couple.
You are so right! Date night or day is so important! Sometimes we just get tangled up in life and our everyday events that we forgot about what attracted us to each other in the first place! We did all sorts of things to grab some time together. The kids would walk right into our bedroom even though our door was shut! One of our kids colored a beautiful castle �� for us. We poked a hole at the top of the picture and reinforced the hole with a paper hole strengthener that we used way back when. Then we took a piece of strong yarn and threaded it through the hole and tied it up. Whenever we wanted to be alone to watch TV together or get intimate, we would hand that picture on our door knob. The kids knew that they were not allowed to come in. The kids started to say don’t bother mom and dad! They are in the LOVE Castle ��! It worked every time. We laugh about it now. People would tell us to lock the door. We got rid of the lock door handles years ago.
ReplyDeleteParallel movie night is a cool idea :). Thanks for sharing.
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