Tag: marriage

5 Fall Date Ideas

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” 

― Benjamin Franklin

 

I know that it’s the start of summer, the kids have just gotten out of school and the family summer plans are in full effect. It’s a little early to think of this upcoming fall season, but why not have some fun and begin the thought process of having some fun this fall. 

Fall Leaves

Fall is a great season to get close and spend time with your spouse. Everyone has their favorite season. I’m just a fan of any season that will let you get close to your spouse. Guys here are some great date ideas for the fall season. 

 

  1. Go Apple Picking at a local Orchard

 

While this may not be a new idea and you may have done this before, but there is a way to change it up. Try making it an apple-themed day, play the game “Apples to Apples”. You can eat at an Applebee’s and make sure to try a new dessert besides apple pie. Here’s a free recipe. 

 

  1. Having a Coffee Date

 

This is a great time to go to a coffee shop. I’m personally not a fan of pumpkin anything, but chocolate is always good as well anything with chai in the title. There’s nothing better than spending some quiet time together. Add to the coffee date by starting a new book that you read together. 

 

  1. Bake a Pie Together

 

Cooking with your spouse is always fun. It’s an easy way to flirt and you get to eat food together. Fall is a great season to try a classic pie(apple, pumpkin or sweet potato) or if you’re feeling adventurous you and your spouse each pick a new recipe and cook them both. 

 

  1. Cook Dinner for Each Other

 

There are so many great recipes out there with videos, instructions, and tools to help you that cooking a meal for your spouse isn’t as hard as it used to be. So take turns and cook each other a fall themed meal. You could do meals centered around colors (red, orange, yellow) or a meal based on specific foods (cranberries, squash). There are plenty of possibilities. 

 

  1. Make Homemade Caramel Apples

 

I have young children and this one can apply to a romantic evening for two or a family event. This fall we will definitely do this just as a couple and also with my young children. If you’re well versed in the kitchen you can make your own caramel or get some from a local grocery store. Either way, this is a good time by all. Here is a free homemade caramel recipe. 

 

All of these date ideas can be changed and styled after yourself. Like the quote at the start of this article, you want to plan ahead. Planning doesn’t mean you take the fun out of things. It just gives you an idea of what you want to do. 

 

Discussion Question: 

What fall date are you looking forward to doing with your spouse?

 

Anatomy of a Date

There you are sitting across from your spouse in the restaurant that you always go to. Eating the same meal that you always order. Talking about the kids, and work. Then you go sit in a movie that is probably the highlight of the night. This is too often a night out for most couples. Have you wanted to change up the routine, but wasn’t sure what to do, well now we can look at what makes a good date night out.

  1. Location, location, location

 

The location of the date is one of the key aspects of going out with your spouse. Whether it’s a night out with just you and your spouse or a night in the house after the kids go to sleep. Location matters.

 

The location will help with what activities are available.  Instead of the usual restaurant or movie that you would normally go to, try something new. Maybe a food tour or fowling.

 

If you’re going to have a date night at home after the kids have gone to sleep; the same applies. Pick a room in the house that you don’t spend a lot of time in. Or just a room where you can sit and have your date night. Set the scene, light some candles, and leave the TV off for a little bit.

 

  1. Conversation

 

Men, we’re not typically extroverted and apt to talk for hours on end. However, we should be able to talk to our spouse. If you’ve been married for some time it can be hard having something to talk about other than work and family. Not because you don’t want to talk about something else, but so much of our lives revolve around those two aspects.

Don’t worry if you need some topics that will help jump-start the conversation, you can download these conversation starters.

 

  1. Present Yourself

 

If you look good, you feel good. There have been times where you get out of the house and you’re just happy to get out for a minute and get away from everything that is pulling on you. In those cases, you end up going out in whatever you have on at the time.

 

Other times, put some thought into what you want to look like. Treat the date with your spouse like you did when you were actually dating and wanted to impress them. You put your best foot forward and you felt more confident because you wanted the other person to take notice of you. The same should apply in marriage. Put your best foot forward.

 

What truly makes a good night out with your spouse? You do. You’re married, you can be nervous in a good way. Have fun with your dates.

 

Discussion Question:

What do you enjoy most on your date nights?

 

4 Benefits to Dating in Marriage

Dates got you to a place where you wanted to marry each other if you want to stay married then keep dating your spouse – Andy Traub

Do you remember the first date that you and your spouse went on? What about the first time you met? Okay, that might be stretching your memory a little bit. Have you heard the term dating in marriage? Maybe not, but there is a concept here that we need to take more seriously. Our marriages are valuable and we don’t take care of them in the same manner that we take care of other things that we value.

I was recently with a group of other couples, It was our church’s marriage ministry, Rings and Things, and we all went around and tried to answer the questions that were asked at the beginning. One of the questions was where was your first date with your spouse? I did pretty good and was able to recall our first date. Having everyone trying to remember provided good laughs and an enjoyable evening. This question rolled in my mind and had me thinking of why we should continue to date in marriage.

 

Why should you continue to date throughout your marriage? There are many reasons why you should.

 

  1. Communication.                                                                                                                                                         

It should be obvious that communication is the key to marriage. While we know that it’s clear, sometimes we forget or negate it. We all know what bad communication is, and how it makes us feel. What dating does is put you in situations where communication is safe and fun. We need to have more of those opportunities in our marriage.

 

  1. Novelty.                                                                                                                               

Date nights are great for helping us to create new experiences in our relationships. It’s easy to fall into the mundane ruts of life. These experiences help to create fun memories that you will cherish later on.

 

  1. Spark.

The spark and novelty of date nights contribute to the romantic love aspect of relationships and can make you feel like you’ve just started dating each other all over again. Who doesn’t want to feel those butterflies you felt when you first started dating? Planning consistent dates with your husband or wife will help you fall in love with each other all over again week after week.

 

  1. Commitment.                    

By opening up to each other on dates, spouses build strong bonds that solidify their commitment to each other. This is important for the inevitable hard times that hit us all. When either of you are at your low point, will you have each other to pull you back up? How strong is your emotional bond with each other? If it needs some improvement, then odds are you aren’t dating each other enough.

 

Life and the business of life often get in the way of planning intentional dates with your spouse. When this happens dinner and a movie is usually the default date. Not that dinner and a movie is bad but it can get stale if this is the only thing that we do as a couple. Date nights allow us to break up the repetitive structure.

 

Discussion Question:

Why do you enjoy date nights?