About 6 weeks ago, Blake and I realized we could not remember the last time we had a date night. The first year of BB’s life, we were actually really good about finding time for each other and doing date nights. But sometime this summer, life got too hectic and date nights fell by the wayside. The past 6 weeks we have really been making an effort to spend more baby-free time together and actually do date nights. Plus, I love any excuse to buy a new pair of date night shoes. THESE are only $59 and such a fun/comfy shoe for date night!
Sometimes, I think the burden of planning and executing date night falls on the guy too much, so Blake and I rotate who plans date night. We try to switch things up and branch out from the typical dinner out. So here some of our favorite date night ideas!
AT HOME
Sometimes, getting a babysitter and actually making it out of the house for a date night is just too tall an order, and that is ok. Date night can be fun at home too. BUT, you have to treat it like any other date night and turn off your phones, ignore the piles of laundry, work, or whatever other distractions come your way. We actually set a time for date nights at home, just like any other date night, so we both know to finish everything else we need to get done so we can be all in for date night :).
pizza picnic (or your food of choice)
Blake and I got engaged while having a pizza picnic and watching Game of Thrones almost 6 years ago. Ever since, it has been our Valentine’s day tradition, and our go to date night at home. We light every candle we own, order in our favorite pizza and have a picnic on our living room floor.
patio night
At the end of this summer we finally got around to making our patio a useable space (6 years later…) We got new furniture and a super warm firepit, so we can actually use it during the fall and winter, too! I don’t know why, and maybe other moms can relate, but sometimes I get REALLY stir crazy in our small apartment. Our patio feels like a mini vacation and I love taking advantage of it. Blake and I have been doing date nights on the patio. We bring out our warmest blankets, enjoy a glass of wine on the stairs (one of my favorite places in our home) and then cuddle up in front of the firepit.
game night
Blake and I both LOVE scrabble. Blake is convinced that he is better than me (and I do not feel the need to burst his bubble because we all know who is ACTUALLY better). We are both a little competitive, can you tell? Game night is a healthy way to exercise our competitive spirits!
create or update your bucket list
One of our favorite gifts when we got engaged was a DIY bucket list board from our BFF and the best DIYer I’ve ever known, love you Steph! Ever since, we have loved updating, adding, and moving accomplished tasks to our bucket! Sometimes this turns into planning our next vacation, picking out names for our future children, or daydreaming of where our vacation home will be someday (which we can never agree on). We also like creating specific bucket lists. For example, we had a “before baby” bucket list and summer 2017 bucket list. One of our next date nights is going to be creating our Holidays 2017 bucket list!
cook dinner and/or dessert together
If you have kids, you understand the rarity of cooking a long and luxurious dinner together and sitting down for a 2 hour meal in the comfort of your own home. There is nothing I love more than setting a beautiful table, opening a bottle of wine and cooking a meal with my hubby, which always involves grilling of some sort because that is the extend of Blake’s cooking abilities. He once asked me how to boil noodles (not kidding) but he can grill a steak like no one else ;).
movie/netflix night
This might seem like an obvious one, but Blake and I almost never sit down together and watch a movie. We don’t turn the TV on when the baby is awake and once she goes to sleep I feel like I need to catch up on the world and/or Blake “needs” to watch sports, so our TV is either off or tuned into MSNBC/NHL network. But go the extra mile and make some popcorn or your favorite movie night snack to really make it feel like a date night.
OUT
When we do get around to planning ahead and scheduling a babysitter, we don’t want to waste our date night on the typical dinner out at your basic restaurant. Plus, BB is a pretty good restaurant kid, so we go out to dinner with her quite a bit. For date night sans bebe, we try to think outside the box.
restaurant crawl
Bar crawls stop being fun when you have to wake up with a child the next morning. But restaurant crawls, yes please. Do you ever feel like there are just so many restaurants and so little time? Enter the restaurant crawl. This date night idea was actually inspired by my mom. We did this one year for her birthday and it was such a hit that Blake and I have been doing it ever since. We usually pick 3 or 4 places in general proximity and stop in for a course at each! We always nix the reservations and just find a seat at the bar. I prefer to sit at the bar anyways, and if you can’t find a spot, you just move onto the next place! A couple weeks ago we did this in the West Loop and here was our path…
Proxi – cocktails and the burrata (OMG, best burrata I have ever had)
BLVD – wine and the pappardelle
Monteverde – too much wine and too much food to list (the general idea is not to order an entire meals worth at one restaurant, but the food at Monteverde is just too good to resist)
Do-Rite Donuts – dessert, obviously
game, ballet, concert or comedy club
Blake loves sports, shocking… so combining date night and a sporting event is always a winner. I love the ballet, so sometimes Blake agrees to see one with me. Go to a concert and pretend you are in high school again. Or get your abs working at your local comedy club.
something active
I am all about efficiency, so combining date night and a workout is always a good idea. Couples yoga, couples tennis, paddle boarding, and ice skating are a few we have done in the past.
arcade night
Channel your inner 10 year old and hit up your local arcade. If you live in Chicago, there are a couple bars with all the old arcade games where you can enjoy your beverage of choice while flashing back to the 90s. Our favorite is Emporium in Wicker Park. I never knew Blake was such a nerd until our first arcade night when he freaked out over the old Astroids game and knew the name of every single game at the bar.
be a tourist
Do you ever want to do that super lame tourist thing in your own city? Well, I do. Sometimes, it is fun to explore your own city. Think of the most cliche tourist adventure in your city and just do it! In Chicago, we love the Architectural Boat Tour, the Bean, The Art Institute, all the museums, enjoying the view + a drink at the Signature Room on the 96th floor of the Hancock Building, or simply just venturing to an area of the city we have never been to. Love where you live!
watch the sunrise
So, this would technically be a date-morning. To be honest, this was something on our baby bucket list that we never got around to. I figured we had to catch ours zzzzs while we still could. BUT, for all you new parents with babies that do not understand the concept of sleeping in, this is your time. Instead of crying over your lost sleep, pack up your tiny one and watch the sunrise with your coffee and a bagel. When BB was still waking up at the crack of dawn, we did this kind of unintentionally but it turned out to be such a peaceful and special morning.
staycation
This is on the more extravagant end of the date spectrum, but worth mentioning nonetheless. Every holiday season, Blake and I love getting a room at one of the fancy hotels on Michigan Ave (even though we live just a couple blocks away) and taking in all the holiday lights and decor. There is just something about plush hotel robes and room service that take date night to the next level.
What are some of your favorite date nights?!
