Date nights. It’s kinda hard for … well a lot of reasons. Kids keep us busy. Life keeps us busy. The end of the day often means just falling into a chair or falling asleep from exhaustion.

But, ESPECIALLY once children enter the picture, making your marriage and relationship with your spouse a priority is key, not just for your marriage, but for your kids. When they see you taking time to nourish and refresh your relationship with the other parent, your kids will feel more secure in general – knowing that you guys love each other AND them. In fact, sometimes it’s just ok to say to your kids, “Not now honey. Dad and I are having some time together. I love you, but you’ll just have to wait a few minutes.”

When my daughters were starting their new relationships with their soon-to-be husbands, they had some really fun ideas for spending time together outside the normal “out for dinner and a movie” date. One that I got a kick out of was when one daughter and her guy went to the local thrift store and they each separately went around the store picking out odd items for the other one to wear. After checking out, they went to a place where they could give each other the bag of required clothing, change into them, and THEN go out in public wearing the outfits. So much fun.

Above you’ll see my friend, Essy, and her sweet husband chatting about some other great ideas for dates that can be special AND inexpensive – and often done at home without the need for a babysitter.

How about you? Do you have any fun date night ideas?