It’s important to keep “dating“ each other even after you’ve been together for a while. Dating helps to keep things fun and exciting. Fun and excitement help to keep the fire in your relationship alive.
Doing something new together increases adrenaline and dopamine. Your brain will associate that amazing feeling with your S.O (significant other), helping you to fall even deeper in love with each other.
Who says dating has to be expensive? Who says you have to go to a five-star hotel or restaurant for date night? And just because it’s inexpensive, doesn’t mean it has to be “cheap” either – meaning there’s no effort or thought put into it.
It’s all about being creative and thinking outside the box. You’d be surprised how the little things can be turned into a date. From cooking together to taking a walk, here are five (5) inexpensive date ideas you can try with your sweetheart this date night:
Cook together at home.
It can probably be argued that it’s not technically a “date” if you don’t ACTUALLY go anywhere. But the aim is to spend quality time together. It’s not so much about WHERE you are or WHAT you do.
It’s about the quality of the time that you spend together. It’s about the precious memories you form and the bond that you build with each other.
Instead of going out to a fancy restaurant every weekend, try something new. Try mixing it up a bit. Head on down to the supermarket and pick up a few grocery items – or if you’re anything like babe and I – just use whatever you can find in the kitchen and whip something up.
We have had some of the most fun times with each other just being in the kitchen and experimenting together. I won’t lie. We’ve had some failures, but we’ve had some laughs that make it all worthwhile and it’s one of our favorite things to do together.
Picnic in the park.
Even better if you have a big backyard. A nice quiet picnic with just the two of you can be very romantic and spark passion in your relationship. The closeness and undisturbed moments together is the embodiment of quality time.
We love going to the park, but when we lived in the country, we didn’t have a park nearby. Luckily enough, we were blessed with an AMAZING front and backyard. There were lots of trees, beautiful flowers, birds chirping and a perfectly manicured lawn (our landlord was very big on landscaping).
This was – and still is – one of our favorite things to do together. We’d get the picnic blanket (any blanket can be used. You don’t have to buy a specific blanket for this) and we’d lay it out on the grass underneath the big mango tree in our yard. We’d bring out snacks and drinks from the kitchen (and occasionally a few beers) and we’d just sit or lay there, eat, chat and have a good laugh while our puppies try to invade the intimacy.
Go to the beach.
In Jamaica, there are a ton of beaches – many of them are free – and fortunately for us, we live relatively close to the beach. It’s another one of our favorite pastimes (yes I am giving date ideas that we ACTUALLY enjoy) to just drive to the beach and chill.
It’s amazing to just enjoy the sand, sea breeze and play around in the water (I can’t swim so I never let the water go past my waist. ? Don’t judge me ?).
Going to the beach is great on the pocket because it can be either very inexpensive or even free! And who doesn’t love free? ?♀️ It can be a very intimate setting; and super romantic too – especially if you go and watch the sun rise or set on the horizon. Night beach, when the moon is high in the sky, is my absolute favorite.
Personal experience: Babe and I reconnected with each other and fell madly in love all over again one night at the beach. The moon was high in the sky, the stars were out, the water was warm and Celine Dion’s “Power of Love” was playing in the background [cue romance movie moment].
We had been separated for nine months, and on that night the romance blossomed, and we knew we were meant for each other and would spend the rest of our lives together. ❤️ I definitely recommend this one.
Watch a movie together at home.
Break out the popcorn and can I hear you say “Netflix and chill”?! Don’t worry if you don’t have a Netflix subscription. There are plenty of websites that allow you to watch movies (hurray for the Internet Age! ?)
Just remember to watch something you’ll both enjoy. Don’t fall into that “if he really loved me he’d try to like the things I like” trap. It’s perfectly fine for you to have differing interests. It’s okay for you to love chick flicks while he prefers sci-fi movies. Try to find a middle ground.
Babe and I will watch action movies – or comedies – together instead. Every once in a while he’ll try to suffer through my chick flicks and I’ll do the same for his sci-fi shows. LOL!.
Ps. If you are anything like we are, then you’ll spend the time not only watching the movie but also critiquing the writing, acting, CGI, etc. I find this to be a great way to bond while you learn and understand more about how your partner thinks.
Go for a walk together.
If you can steal ten minutes away from the kids, (please DO NOT leave your kids home alone. Make sure you have someone responsible watching them), a nice slow stroll is a great way to spend some quality time together.
This is great even if you don’t have kids. You don’t even have to be talking about anything specific. Random conversations about whatever randomness you see happening in your environment will do just fine.
Going for a walk is a form of low cardio exercise which means it gets your heart rate up. So you’re basically killing two birds with one stone.
A walk is also a great way to clear your mind while you chat with each other. And all the “feel-good hormones” that are released in your brain will be associated with your partner. Yay intimacy and bonding with each other!
Final thoughts…
Rule of thumb: when you’re on your dates, try not to discuss the kids. It’s perfectly fine to joke about your 8-year old complaining about having too many girls wanting to be friends with him – #8-yearoldproblems – but discussions about discipline, baby poop or any of that stuff is off limits!
When you’re in a relationship, you have to constantly keep coming up with creative ways to connect with each other and it’s not always easy coming up with ideas that are easy on the pocket. Share your ideas for an inexpensive date night in the comment section. 🙂
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–Cheers! ✌?
