With the world turned upside down from a pandemic, it’s tempting to stay home and wait out the madness. As a parent, the idea of taking your children out bundled in winter clothes and masked up can feel particularly unsettling.
If you, like many parents, are opting to stay home for a bit longer, it’s important that you take the time to keep up on your relationship with your spouse while you hold down the homefront together. One of the best ways to do this is to plan an at-home date night.
The Benefits of Having Consistent At-Home Date Nights
At-home date nights can feel like a lot of work at times. When you’re feeling the itch to just slump onto the couch and spend the evening binging Netflix together, remind yourself that putting in that extra effort to spend quality time together is well worth the price. Scheduling consistent at-home date nights can help you:
- Forge a deeper relationship with your partner.
- Maintain healthy communication.
- Take a moment of your child-focused lives to put your spouse first.
- Have adult time and grown-up conversations.
- Give yourself some time to quietly be in the moment with your fellow parent.
Remember, we’re talking about at-home dates here. While some of these tips apply to out-of-home dates as well, they are particularly important and effective aspects of taking time to schedule dates at home.
How to Have the Perfect Stay-at-Home Date
While the need for an at-home date can be stated fairly easily, actually planning one ? let alone more than one ? can be a bit overwhelming. If you’re feeling the need to plan an at-home date but the task feels too big, here are a few suggestions to help you pull off the best date possible without stressing out.
Work With What You Have
If you’re having a date at home, you have to set your expectations accordingly. Many of the amenities of a traditional date may not be available to you ? and that’s perfectly okay. The important thing is that you look for ways to work with what you can while still making the night special.
Again, this doesn’t have to be complicated. On the contrary, it can be simple things like offering a long back massage to your spouse, syncing up your workouts, or even putting on something other than sweatpants for the first time in months. Small efforts like these can go a long way in showing your significant other that you care about setting apart quality time to spend with them.
Think Outside of the Box
Part of what makes a good at-home date work is the ability to actually shake up your normal routine and do something different together. This is important, as you’re going to be having your date right in the same living space that you’ve likely been inhabiting around the clock since the pandemic started.
With that in mind, look for little ways to spice up the activities of the night. Here are a few suggestions to get your creativity started:
- Go out of your way to cook something special rather than simply ordering delivery again.
- Find a gift that has special meaning ? anything from a unique piece of jewelry to a special snack that they haven’t had in a long time.
- Get a new board game or some other unplugging activity that allows you to engage with one another without electronics involved.
- Engage in a DIY project like crafting or working on an indoor garden.
- Give your spouse a handwritten letter.
Often all that is needed to take an at-home date from sub-par to super special is a simple gift or activity that is out of the ordinary.
Make a Point to Add It to Your Calendar
It’s easy to blur the lines between work, school, and recreation when you’re in quarantine. If you want to have a quality at-home date, it’s important that you take the time to specifically plan it and add it to your calendar.
Try to do this several days in advance of the date itself. This will give you both time to prepare for the event, whether you want to order new clothes or lingerie, a thoughtful gift, massage oil, or anything else.
Don’t Give in to Peer Pressure
Dating is a very personal activity for each couple. It shouldn’t be done in the name of peer pressure or couple competition.
It’s important that you take the time to consider what kind of at-home date genuinely fits in with your parenting style. Don’t just look at what others are doing. Consider what it is that genuinely feeds your personal relationship and then focus on those areas.
Setting up the Best At-Home Date Possible
Setting up a quality at-home date with your partner should never be formulaic. Nor should it be approached with a perfectionist or ?to-do? mentality.
Consider this litmus test. If you feel the need to share about your date on Pinterest or Facebook, there’s a good chance that your priorities are out of order.
Instead, genuinely consider what it is that will minister to your partner the most. Then pick a time, make your plans, and go all-in together on creating the best at-home date you could ever imagine.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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