Great Date Night Ideas for Parents

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Once you’ve got a house full of tots (or even just one) it can be difficult to find time to spend with your significant other. But you don’t want to let go of the loving relationship that brought your kids into the picture in the first place. And this means you need to devote some time and attention to each other if you want to fan the flame of passion. A great way to do this is with a dedicated dated night. Of course, it’s not going to be as easy as it was before you had children, what with arranging for a babysitter and working on a smaller budget (no doubt about it: kids are expensive). But that doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to keep the romance alive by planning some truly spectacular date nights for you and your honey. Here are a few ideas you might want to try.

Carpet picnic. Sometimes you will find it impossible to get out of the house for a date. Your kids might fall ill or your sitter may be unavailable. You simply might not have the extra cash on hand to pay for dinner, a movie, and childcare. But don’t give up on the prospect of spending a little alone time with the one you love. Just put the kids to bed and have a romantic carpet picnic. Light up the fireplace or get the candles going, arrange some salami, cheese, crackers, and fruit on a plate and pop open a bottle of champagne, then shove aside the coffee table and settle on the carpet for some nosh and a bit of bubbly. You might end up having some of your most memorable dates at home.
Sporting event. If you and your spouse are die-hard devotees of a local sporting franchise, but you’ve had to give up your season seats to pay for diapers and formula, then a good date night might be to treat yourself to tickets every once in a while. You don’t have to give up everything you love when you have kids, and if watching sports is something you both enjoy then you should definitely turn it into a fun date.
Cooking classes. Cooking for the family every night can get to be a chore, even if you enjoy cooking in general. But if you and your spouse want to connect over some food, think about skipping the spaghetti at your local Italian eatery and bonding over the shared experience of learning something new together via a cooking class. You’ll end up with a delicious meal and some kid-free fun for just the two of you.
Visit local attractions. People are often surprised by the number of fun things there are to do in their own hometown. So instead of lamenting the fact that you live in a boring place, look for museums, historical monuments, hotspots, and even nearby roadside attractions that you and your sweetheart can visit. You’re can have some fun in your own backyard without paying an arm and a leg.
Concert. Getting nostalgic and reliving the wild days of your youth before kids entered the picture is just as easy as hitting up your local ticket rep for some hot concert tickets for you and your honey. You might not be heading overseas for your anniversary and buying tickets at ConcertVienna.com (save that for your second honeymoon!) but you can certainly score some tickets for a fun night of music at a local concert venue.