11.20.2012

Date Jar

Often Scott and I want to get out and do something different, snag a date night (or day) when the opportunity (rarely) presents itself.

Many times we are working with limited time, trying to stay within a budget, only have time to ourselves when the little man is sleeping, or occasionally we can't agree one what we should do (occasionally being the operative word, wink, wink). Finding new and different things to try and do that fall within those premises can sometimes be tricky.

Insert Date Jar, here!
I did a little scouring of the www to see what I could come up with. Who knew there would be literally hundreds of ideas floating around out there? Activities ranged from indoor-at-home, to romantic, to outdoor-sporty. I had a ball reading through all the ideas, and had a tough time picking the 77 ideas I thought we best be suited for Scott and me.

The assembly of this little pre-made date capsule is pretty self-explanatory.
And, seriously, what better way to utilize an adorable Mason jar?! 
A) Write date ideas on Popsicle sticks
B) Place Popsicle sticks in a cute container (like an unused Mason jar)
C) Create a fun little tag
D) Attach tag to container with ribbon
E) Draw dates as often as desired
F) Enjoy random dates :)
Obviously we won't be drawing a stick every week, but we hope to dip into the date jar once a month or so. Other factors to consider with our date ideas: everything is dependent on location and availability of ideas, weather and time of year, child care, and whether or not our budget will allow for some of the dates at any given time. With all that said, this will hopefully bring a little creativity to our outings, and perhaps give you a few ideas as well.


Below is a list of date ideas that I came up with and put in no particular order (there is a good chance I was pulling sticks out of the jar, just to see what it will be like when we start this practice for real - hehe).

1. Para sail 
2. Frisbee golf
3. Visit the Science Center
4. Wii game night
5. Make a time capsule, store it safely, open on 10 year wedding anniversary
6. Go to a professional sporting event 
7. Play a game (or two) of Twister - if it's just you and your partner there is an App, Twister Commander, that calls out the commands
8. In-home movie night (don't forget homemade popcorn)
9. Backyard picnic
10. Go Go-Carting
11. Living room dance party (play your favorite high school/college songs and bust a move together)
12. Paris night - grab a baguette, wine, and cheese and enjoy Paris at home
13. Take SCUBA lessons
14. Star gaze at the observatory 
15. Go on a hot air balloon ride
16. Take in some live Jazz/Blues music
17. Utilize our Entertainment Book, only do things, eat at places that have a coupon in the book (are you like us and sometimes forget you have that book?!)
18. Visit a local Farmer's Market
19. 20 Questions - click here if you want a free download of some good questions to ask each other
20. Restaurant hop - go to one location for drinks, another for appetizers, another for the main course, and don't forget dessert
21. Hit a bucket of balls at a golf range
22. See a play at a local/community theatre 
23. Test drive your favorite vehicles
24. Visit a bakery - pick out a tasty treat for each other
25. $5 Thrift Store (or Dollar Store) date - each has $5 to spend on the other at the store; person with the "best" find wins :)
26. Attend a one-night class a local community college (cooking class!!)
27. Head to a batting cage and get some swings in
28. Visit the zoo
29. Take a factory tour (many factories hand out freebies, yay!)
30. Rent a paddle boat
31. Attend a community festival 
32. Wal Mart BINGO (make up bingo-esqe sheets with things you may find on shoppers; example - mullet, white ribbed tank top, "No Fear" t-shirt) first to get BINGO wins - loser buys winner Hot Pockets for lunch/dinner :)
33. Visit a palm reader (I'm not a believer of this, but it's always fun to hear what is made up- out here there are palm readers all over the place!)
34. Build and fly a model rocket
35. Go camping
36. Go ice skating (indoor or out)
37. Have a bonfire on the beach
38. Stay at a bed and breakfast
39. Create a "beer garden" (go to a store specialzing in adult beverages, each pick out three or four single bottles of specialty beers - have a taste-testing session at home)
40. See the LA Philharmonic
41. Fondue date (either at home or at a fondue restaurant)
42. Go for a tandem bike ride
43. Get a roll of quarters and head to an arcade - with tickets won buy prizes for each other
44. Kiss challenge: 100 kisses in 3 hours
45. Go out to a movie (if there's a drive-in theatre go to that instead!)
46. Food Truck Thursday (in our area on Thursday nights food trucks gather in one location - some of that food is the best!)
47. Head to a dueling piano bar
48. Visit the botanic garden
49. Watch the sunset from the beach (or lake, or top of a hill) - don't forget to pack a bottle of wine, or some champagne
50. Go to one of those paint-your-own-pottery places and paint a piece of pottery for the other
51. Rock climb
52. Go to a comedy club
53. Mini golf
54. Visit a local winery
55. Kayak 
56. Put together a jigsaw puzzle together
57. Head to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch/strawberry patch (whatever is in season)
58. Play tennis
59. Have a water gun fight
60. Coffee date - actually sit down at the coffee shop and enjoy each others company
61. Visit a local brewery
62. Go to a shooting range, see who has the best cluster (there's not a snowball's chance in Hell I could ever win this one)
63. After the sun goes down get a pint of ice cream, light up the fire pit, throw on the Christmas lights that surround the patio, enjoy
64. Recreate very first date
65. Go whale watching
66. Go bowling
67. Head to Catalina Island (if you are landlocked, visit a nearby town that has always intrigued you)
68. Bust out the board games (Sorry, Clue, Guess Who, Monopoly!)
69. Go paint balling
70. Fly kites (the dollar stores are usually good places to find these on the cheap)
71. Geocaching (pronounced geo-cashing, if you've never heard of this it sounds like it could be a TON of fun - click here for more info)
72. Take a trolly or train tour
73. Grab a bag of glow sticks, head to your nearest park (at night, for obvious reasons), and play Hide and Go Seek
74. Head to an amusement park
75. Attend a concert
76. Make s'mores over candle light
77. Go on a horseback ride
Hope you can take some ideas from the list above (or tweak ideas to fit your own likes, geographic location, budget)!

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