I am in awe of Laurent Laveder's work.  I find it so inspiring!

Date Box

As an anniversary gift I created a date box.  I simply used an old shoe box and different colored construction paper.  I divided the types of dates into different categories including cheap/free, a bit of money (approx $15-50), day trip away from home, and overnight away from home.  For each type of date I used different colored paper & wrote the dates on strips, folded them up, and put them in a box.  I included a ziplock bag to put used dates in so when we go through them all we can put them back in the box and do them again.  Whenever we want to go on a date we decide what type, shake the box, and draw a strip of that color paper.  The rule is we have to do the date we draw unless something beyond our control prevents us from doing so.  We also usually draw a couple days ahead of time so we can plan and prepare for the date if necessary.  I have also already begun thinking of more date ideas & will give those as gifts to add to the date box for other celebrations like birthday, valentine's day, etc.

Here are the dates:


35 Cheap/Free Dates

• Picnic in the park
• Indoor camping- make a tent from blankets, make foil dinners in the oven, make s'mores over a candle, make trail mix for nighttime snacks, use flashlights, tell scary stories 
• Tie-dye t-shirts
• Cook a new meal together
• Saturday morning date- wear pjs, eat cereal, watch cartoons (many on Netflix instant play so this could be done any day or time)
• "Kids" Date- get kids' meals from a fast food restaurant, color together, play a kid's board game (ie: chutes & ladders, candyland, etc), watch a Disney movie, read a children's book to each other before bed
• Wal-Mart Bingo- create bingo boards and put random things on it you often see at walmart (ie: mullet, screaming child, cleavage, etc.), go to Wal-Mart & see who gets a BINGO first!
• Go stargazing
• Go play at a playground (evening on a weeknight is best time as there aren't usually as many kids)
• Have an Un-Birthday Party- go to Goodwill & buy "unbirthday" gifts for each other, make and decorate a cake or cupcakes, watch the Un-Birthday/tea party scene from Alice in Wonderland
• Have a Wii competition (or any video games)
• Board/card game night
• Choose a TV show on Netflix instant play neither have ever seen before and watch the whole first season, even if it's awful
• Make a mixed CD of some of each's favorite songs & listen to it while doing a 1,000 piece puzzle
• Play basketball at the park
• Go on a walk
• Play tennis
• Go to a city pool- indoor or outdoor
• Find open houses to tour homes for sale
• Test drive cars
• Letter date- randomly choose a letter and everything for that date (clothes, food, activities, movie, etc.) must start with that letter
• Go to Dollar Tree & each (without the other seeing) buy something to do on the date (could be a silly game, a candle for a romantic evening, a box of noodles to make dinner together, anything, get creative!)
• Order Chineese food, look up origami how-to's online and try some out
• Theme Date- pick a theme (Western, Pirate, Mexican, etc.) & make everything for the date (clothes, food, activity, movie, etc.) fit the theme
• Draw with sidewalk chalk & blow bubbles
• Games to make you laugh (and maybe get to know each other better) such as First Word (make a list of words-this can be found on the internet & take turns showing a word to each other and the other person has to say the first thing that comes to mind), Mad Libs (can be found online or can buy some), Would You Rather, etc.
• Pin A Map- buy a map & some push pins, in one color of push pins pin all the places you have been together, in another color pin all the places you'd like to go together (to pin can put on a cork board or cardboard)
• Make a fun photobooth at home & take funny pictures (can use a sheet as backdrop, hang things, find funny props, etc.)
• Our Favorites Date- each pick a favorite food, favorite snack, and a favorite movie
• Spa Night- play relaxing music, take a bubble bath, give each other 10 minute massages with lotion, paint each other's nails
• Take a walk on the river walk
• Take the dog for a walk in the park
• Candlelit dinner at home
• Bake cookies together
• Go dancing

25 Dates That Will Cost Some Money (approx $15-50)

• Mini Date- play mini golf, make mini pizzas for dinner, have mini s'mores (small marshmallows- the ones for hot cocoa, 1 piece of Hershey bar, 1/2 graham cracker broken in two)
• Play laser tag
• Go to the zoo
• Go to an arcade
• Go bowling
• Go to a paint-your-own pottery place, make something for each other
• See what concerts are happening in your city & go to one, even if you've never heard of the singer/band
• Go indoor rock climbing
• Go to a comedy club
• Go to a sporting event (pro, amateur, high school, even a t-ball game)
• Ride the paddle boats on the river
• Progressive Dinner- one restaurant for appetizer, another for soup or salad, another for main dish & another for dessert (a fast-food progressive dinner is a cheaper possibility for this as well)
• Go to a drive-in movie
• Make a scrapbook of "Us"
• Breakfast out and a matinee
• Go to a museum
• Get palms read
• Go to a bookstore, buy a book on a topic both are interested in, go to a coffee shop, drink coffee & look at the book together
• Go to a waterpark (indoor or outdoor)
• Groupon Date- get on Groupon (or Living Social) buy one of the Groupons for a date to do (a restaurant, a massage, an activity, etc.)
• Go to a dinner theater
• Shopping at the mall- can go to just look or to get things you need, but MUST buy one thing for each other
• Dinner (their choice) & a movie (your choice)
• Dinner (your choice) & a movie (their choice)
• Carriage ride around the city

4 Day Away From Home Dates

• Go to a state park
• Go horseback riding
• Take a roadtrip to some random attraction in your state (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/)
• Drive north, east, south, or west, stop after 60 minutes, find a restaurant to eat at there (and maybe an activity too)

3 Overnight Away From Home Dates

• Stay at a Bed & Breakfast
• Stay overnight in a motel or hotel (even if it's just down the street)
• Rent a cabin in the country

These dates can be altered to make them unique for you, some can be paired together, etc.  Please leave comments of how you would alter these dates, what you would combine, ones you've tried, and some of your own ideas!

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog!  Life is crazy and it can be hard, but if we focus on the simple, beautiful (sometimes secretly so) things and relax and enjoy what we can, we can get get through it with a smile.