OK, I promise I will not regularly turn this blog into a forum for gathering information for work purposes; however, on occasion it seems like the perfect way to tap into a wide array of people’s brains which is exactly what I need to do today.
For the upcoming Valentine’s season I’m putting together a story for The Spectrum newspaper’s entertainment guide on inexpensive date ideas for people of all ages and all relationship stages.
Kind of “recession-proof dating,” or something along those lines.
If it’s been a while since you've had to be cheap/creative in your dating, think back to the younger days and those ideas would be welcome. Or, if you’ve been clever recently, way to go! I want to hear from you too!
I won’t be using your name or anything in my story, so don’t worry about that. I’m just generating a list of ideas from which my colleagues and I will compile the list and then we’ll actually be trying out some of the dates and writing about them. The ideas can be general (as in your geographical location does not matter) or if you know of things specific to Southern Utah, that’s great too.
Can’t wait to hear from you. In a way, you’ll be helping plan a fun date for Derek and I so send me something good :)
8 comments:
I have something I put together a year or so for a friend who just got married. It was a "Can of Dates" I email it to you. There are LOTS of cute and fun and REALLY cheap dates. I kinda twist them around for family home evening now.
Man! I wish it had "been awhile" since I've had cheap/creative dating! Hello! Still students...it's awesome. Anyway, for V-day Lex and I have realized it's not only expensive to celebrate out but very tricky to get a sitter. Sometimes we'll put the kids to bed at 8 and do a candlelight fancy dessert (you know me and my fancy cooking...it's usually something like jello cheesecake). It's not amazing, but we try to glam it up a little so it feels special ie; goblets, place mats, flowers, dim lighting, music etc. And for non-V-day cheap dates, we love taking our baseball mitts to the park and throwing around or shooting hoops. We have a portable DVD player that we've taken up into the mountains and laid all our seats down in our SUV and had tons of blankets, opened the sunroof and watched a Red Box. Sadly, Lex and I can't get high school activities out of our bones because both our fathers work so closely to them so sometimes we catch a local high school sporting event or musical play. We've been known to take a deck of playing cards to the park and have some mean games of Speed on a blanket under a tree. (yah, the park comes up a lot in our dating plans)! What else? Well, we have many dates at the hospital when Lex can squeeze in a dinner/icecream cone at the cafeteria...I know, blowing you away romantic right? ;) Or I'll bring Yahtzee into the break room if he has 30 minutes to kill. I'm going to keep thinking on this. We've become very resourceful over 10 years of marriage as students! I'm excited to hear other ideas...I'm always up for new ones! love yer guts
Jes
I think the best date I ever had was a dinner in my husband's backyard (then bf)he set up candles in a circle around the table. Put flowers on the table. He put all my favorite things on the table- my fav flowers, fav food, fav colored napkins, table cloth etc and then afterward we ate our fav dessert. Then after he turned on some music and we danced right there in the backyard all by our lonesome. It was so sweet and not expensive at all but def meant the most to me.
I think cooking dinner together is fun. Also dinner on a dime- like you each have a budget like $5 or something and you have to come up with a dish. You can do it with couples or each of the people on the date have to come up with something.
Heart attacking is fun- instead of toilet papering someone you make a whole bunch of paper hearts with messages on them and put them all over someone's door or car or office or whatever.
Kinda going back to hs days but picture scavenger huts or service scavenger hunts are fun.
We just went out target shooting for FHE last night. Other than bullets that is relatively inexpensive.
Hiking
Biking, running together, any sports. Picnic in the park, picnic on the red hill.
Go to DI and try on hideous outfits and take pics or you each have a few dollars and get to buy an outfit the other person has to wear the rest of the night.
People watch and make up stories about the people.
Christmas time- go around and look at Christmas lights with some kind of treat (we used animal crackers but thought M & M's would be fun) and rate the lights. Like one cracker lights, two or three is the best then you eat them. Or M and M's we thought would be fun to rate based on color like amazing houses get blue, then so on lame ones get red. My sis also did that and actually had prizes they went up and gave people who had the best houses.
I want to read your article I need some ideas. Let me know when it's in the paper :) Good luck!
Here are a few ideas from my recent dating:
Go to a book store and find 3-4 books (each) that you really love or that just captured your interest. Read small sections from each book to each other.
Get art supplies and create something together (just did this the other night -- check out my blog for a description / picture (http://meganwandering.blogspot.com/).
Get dialed in to local freebies. In Portland that's really easy -- there is always something going on that is free (art shows, documentaries, etc.).
Walking the bridges is a big thing here. I know that Portland has much better bridge options than Southern Utah, but you can't beat local scenery in your neck of the woods, so just taking a walk and reconnecting with what's around you is a great thing to do.
Good luck on your story! I'll let you know if I think of anything else.
Brett and I used to get $2 each and go to the Dollar Store and buy two presents other that we think the other person would like. It is fun trying to avoid one another in such a small store and also thinking of the gift your spouse might like.
We have also been known to make "tents" out of blankets and furniture in the living room and watch movies and/or sleep under them. Might be a little hard with kids.
How can you say cheap date & not think of White Trash Wednesday my friend? Kevin & I would go to a theatre in SLC & on Wednesdays tickets were .50 cents. We'd hit up the dollar store before hand & get our candy & smuggle it in. Totally legit right? In the end it only cost us $5 for the whole night of fun.
Oh to be young again...
Now we just watch movies at home when the kids go to bed, call it a date? We sound kind of lame, eh?
I have no ideas. :( I really have to twist Frank's arm to take me on a date with just the two of us. But we do have a sitter lined up for V-day, so I liked reading the ideas here and send a link to your story when it's ready so I can get some more ideas! Thanks!
Wow, there are some great ideas on here. Sorry I didn't see this post sooner!
Anyway, Mike and I are very bad in the creative dating department. Our idea of a good time is playing Yahtzee on his iPad these days. ROCK ON! :)
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