Fun Date Ideas to Amp Up Your Marriage (& Meet #6)

I was thinking the other day…I do that occasionally…that the hubs and I are getting a little lame when it comes to dating.  Now, we still GO on dates pretty regularly, but our creative juices and energy have been sucked out of us.  Sucked bone dry.  Trying to come up with something beyond dinner and a movie makes us tired.  Isn’t that lame??  I’m an old fart.  A 32 (33 tomorrow) year old OLD fart.  Whatever happened to concerts in the park, comedy shows, even bowling, for heaven’s sake?!?  Ugh,  what??  I’m sleepy.

Now, before you totally agree with me and call me mean names, I should probably say something in my defense…here it goes…I’m pregnant.  Yes, pregnant and tired.  Tired.  Overwhelmed.  Happy.  Overwhelmed.  Excited.  Tired.  That’s all.   Can you believe I will have six kids?!?  Because I sure can’t.  In fact, I wasn’t really planning on it yet…as in, I was on the pill.  But, looks like God had other plans for me, and His plans tend to turn out a little better than mine.  So, luckily I love kids, my kids love kids, I love being a mom, and this will be wonderful (note: repeat to self daily.)  Just bear with me through my sleepiness, cravings, emotions, stress, and excitement…as I’m sure it will shine through in my posts.  Speaking of cravings…at the top of my list right now, Orange Creamsicles and gas station nachos.  Who wants to bring me some??

Wanna meet #6?  I literally was thinking I might be…oh, 6, 7 weeks pregnant.  No, hello.  How about 12?!  Do you know how many hours I spent googling ‘chronic sleepiness, low energy’ on the internet?? I was ordering all these vitamins, asking friends, Facebook…and wouldn’t you know it.  It was just #6.  I must admit, for how small the little stinker is right now, just seeing that life growing inside of me made me melt.  I can’t wait for this new little one.

Anyway, back on topic.  The hubs and I need to start being a little more creative when it comes to our dates.  I’m thinking I’ll start planning the fun date one month, and he’ll get the next.  Take turns.  Cause when we plan together, someone always has an issue with something.  We need to have a ‘no-being-a-stubborn-baby’ rule.

In an effort to gather some dating ideas, I called my trusty little sisters, Madi and Mariah, who are both currently not lame/still young.  I asked them to tell me about some of their most fun dates that they’ve been on…check it out!

Fun Date Ideas to Amp Up Your Marriage:

Skittles Bowling – Bring some Skittles (or M&Ms) in a bowl to the bowling alley.  Make a list up of different bowling styles to go with the different colors of Skittles.  Each person takes a turn blindly picking a Skittle and checking the chart to see what their bowling assignment is.  Whomever wins the bowling game gets a prize (to pick where to go for dinner/dessert, to pick the RedBox movie, a King size candy bar, whatever.)  For example…

Pink – Bowl between your legs
Green – Bowl with your eyes closed
Yellow – Bowl left handed (or opposite handed)
Orange –  Spin 10 times before bowling
Red – Date’s Choice!  (have a pretend seizure while bowling, make animals sounds, etc.)

Fugitive – This one would be fun with a big group of couples.  Have everyone start at a specific location and determine another location about a mile away.  One couple becomes the designated ‘cops’, who drive back and forth on that stretch of road, trying to catch the fugitives.  All the other couples have to use all their stealth skills to make it from point A to point B without being seen by the cops (hide behind trash cans, bushes, crawl on the floor, run fast, etc.)  Anyone that is spied by the cops, has to get in the ‘cop car’ and go along for the ride, while they continue to apprehend the other fugitives.  The first couple to the second location is the winner.

Star Gazing with an App – Have you tried those start gazing apps on your tablet or smartphone??  They’re so neat!  You can just hold your device up, so the stars in question are showing on the screen, and the app will tell you all about the stars you’re looking at.  A great app for it is called SkyView.  Mariah’s favorite date  was when she went with her date (now husband, as of last week!), on a chilly night, and drove up to a secluded spot on the mountains where the stars were in clear view.  They brought a thermos of hot chocolate, a blanket, and an iPad to study the stars, while laying on the hood of the car.  Ahhh…I love that.

Dinner Among Spies – This is a good one for several couples.  Make up a card for each person coming to the dinner.  Each card has a list of five tasks they must complete by the end of the night, without anyone calling their bluff.  At the end of the meal, for each task they complete they get 10 points.  If someone calls their bluff, ‘you’re a spy!’, they don’t get the points for that task.  If someone incorrectly accuses someone of being a spy, they lose 5 points.  The person with the most points at the end of dinner gets a prize (free dessert??)  This could also be played as couples.   Some examples of tasks:

Make an awkward face and get someone to laugh
Gross someone out
Reach clear across the table, without saying ‘excuse me’
Get someone to say ‘Thank You’
Get someone to ask if you’re cold
Snort when you laugh
Look really bored for at least 2 minutes
Get someone to ask when your birthday is
Do the biggest smile you can for 10 seconds

Upside-Down Ninja – I think I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but this is awesome if you’re ever on a date at a friend’s house.  Awesome for you, not for them.  Have a contest with your spouse to see who can secretly turn upside-down as many objects in the house as possible.  Whoever can successfully turn over the most by the end of the night, without getting caught, wins something wonderful…to be determined.

Do you have any fun date ideas that you’ve done with your spouse??  Help me out!

Need more date ideas??  Check out these past posts:

Creative Date Ideas for Marrieds and Singles
15 Conversation Starters for Your Next Date Night