With St. Valentine’s Day fast approaching, couples start scrambling to make plans for a romantic evening with their significant other.  For those who are overwhelmed by the idea of braving crowded restaurants and straining to hear their own thoughts, let alone the conversation, or who have limited funds/ babysitting, one of these five ideas might be just what the love doctor ordered.

1.  Re-create Your First Date (Or Something Like It)

You don’t have to be a stickler for the details (unless you want to), just re-create the general mood.  You could go to the same places, or try to capture aspects of the experience at home by serving the same foods, wearing similar clothes, etc.

For my husband and I, our first date was eating pizza at a little cafe in the piazza outside of Santa Ciara in Assisi.  There may have been some rather eccentric individuals roaming the streets.  Namely, Jesus, and a bushy haired flutist we dubbed “il maestro.”  In case you are wondering, “Jesus” likes to eat pepperoni pizza.  I swear I am not making this up.

 

2.  Baby Why Don’t We Just Dance?

You could go out to a more formal venue, or you could have a dancing date night at home, Josh Turner style:

You can pull out your nicest dancing attire, make a playlist of all of “your” songs, and dance the night away.  Promise me that you will include a tango on your list.  Just trust me on this one.

 

3.  Take a Photographic Stroll Down Memory Lane

Take the opportunity to pull out pictures from the early days of your relationship, wedding pictures, slideshows, or video.  Look at them together

In my husband and my case, we fell in love during a study abroad in Europe, so there is ample photographic documentation of that time.

4.  Game Night

If you are feeling social you could have friends over for a game night.  If you aren’t feeling particularly romantic, you could all engage in a cut throat game of Settlers of Catan.  On the other hand, if you are wanting to do something more sentimental (and not haggle over the price of sheep all night) you could play the Dating Divas discrete, Not So Newlywed Game .

If memory serves my husband kicked my butt at that one last time.

If you want to have some game night fun, with just your spouse, there are some *ahem* variations on poker, or chess that could be fun. 😉

5. Night at the Park

For those willing to brave the cold, or who are fortunate to live in a more temperate climate, head to the park with some blankets and hot cocoa to do some stargazing.  While you are there you can take turns asking these questions which are supposed to help accelerate feelings of intimacy and connection through vulnerability.

If you can’t arrange for babysitting, but really want to get out of the house, grab your baby monitor and a glass of wine and head to your driveway to sit in the car.  My husband picked up this tip from our neighbors who have been married almost thirty years.  It gives you a slightly different, and perhaps less stressful, place to sit, talk, and decompress with each other.

That’s all I got!  What are your plans for St. Valentine’s Day?  Any fun date night ideas that you care to share?  Tell me about them in the comments!

I am linking up with Jenna at Callherhappy.com for five favorites!