Creative Date Ideas for Busy Parents: A Year of Dating Your Spouse

I’ve been dying to share this creative date night idea with you for over a year now. Keep reading to find out how t make your own Year of Dating Your Spouse gift.

This “Year of Dating Your Spouse” idea was started in our marriage a few years ago. It’s one of the two things that helped us thrive in our marriage in the midst of a chaotic, hard and busy season of life.

There were times when the last thing we had the energy to do was plan a date but b/c we had pre-planned these dates we made ourselves do it.

Every. Single. Time. we walked away thankful we made ourselves hit pause and enjoy each others company.

We’d end up laughing, sharing our fears, dreams, just playing and sometimes I have to admit there were tears as we stopped to process the hardships TOGETHER.

Hands Down the Best Gift Ever!

Well the year before our challenging year my husband decided he was going to be more intentional with our dates. We didn’t know it then but it was absolutely what we needed for that year in the midst of stress, busyness and chaos.

It kept us intentional even when we were up to our ears with piles and piles of stuff to sort through.

In the picture below, my husband is reading the card he wrote me to go with that month’s date. It meant so much to me to hear him say those words of affirmation, admiration and love that he had written months ago when he made these 12 months of dates for me.

In the midst of the stressful and busy time we often forgot to say these kinds of things to each other but it’s in this time when we most need to hear it and be reminded that we love, value and see each other.

There really is beauty and strength to be found in the busy and stressful seasons of life you will both come out stronger when you become deliberate and fight for your marriage.

Where are you at?

We can all relate to stress, busyness and chaos in our daily life. With deadlines to meet, laundry to wash, children to love and care for, bills to pay we can forget about the one who used to give us butterflies by just walking into the room.

I confess there have been times I don’t even notice when he walks into the room. Heck sometimes the only time we are in the same room is when we are sleeping.

Between 1-10 (with 1 being low and 10 being high) where are you at in your intentionality with pursuing each other?

Notice I didn’t say how you’re doing in your marriage? Because often we rate ourselves based on whether we are getting along or not but guess what when you’re only crossing paths in the bathroom and not seeing each other sometimes it’s easier to get along.

Let’s get intentional and start pursuing each other today!

How to do it!

Get your calendar out and plan it now! You don’t have to have every detail in place but go ahead and start writing a date for this month and let your creative juices go as you write out your date for the month of March.

If you struggle with coming up with ideas just print off the FREE printable I share with you below with over 35 ideas or purchase my 12 Months of Dates Kit HERE.

I know we all want to keep the spark going in our marriages so let’s start now. Let’s pursue our spouse! Don’t wait for him to do the planning (I know it’s lovely to be wooed but sometimes it just doesn’t happen) so why don’t you get it started and set it up yourself.

Make this “Year of Dating Your Spouse” gift or email it to your husband and ask him to give it to you for Valentine’s Day.

I believe in the power of making intentional time for each so much so that I now ask my husband to give me this in lieu of a gift.

A Year of Dating Your Spouse

supplies:

12 Index cards or blank greeting cards
12 envelopes
Date Ideas printable and visit the 12 other bloggers who share their date ideas links below
Calendar and pen

On an index card write the month at the top for all 12 months.

Then write your date plan. Don’t get caught in the details of it all. For some months you might need to just write TBA. For example, if you know in July there’s a concert but don’t have all the details you can write on the card–Concert in the park -Details TBA or just write Concert in the park.

Then stick it in the envelope and label the envelope with the month.

Notes: If you choose to buy love themed greeting cards make sure to remember to personalize the card by writing a short note and most importantly make sure you sign it. The first time my husband did this he bought 12 love themed greeting cards. This last year, he used index cards and glued them onto paper with designs as shown above. Use ribbon to keep the dates together or place them in a box labeled 12 months of dates.

You’re done! See it was really easy and now you’re set with 12 pre-planned dates.

Date Night Ideas FREE printable

To download your fabulous date night ideas FREE printable below click here: Fun Date Ideas

Let’s remember that our kids are watching the example we set for them of what a healthy marriage should look like. Give them a peek into what it looks like to deliberately make time to play and love each other.

One thing I kept hearing is, “My husband is not creative and this takes too much creativity.” or “I don’t know where to begin.” Well I just made it easier for you.

You can purchase the 12 Months of Dates Kit to give as a gift to your spouse in my shop. It comes with 12 months of labels, 12 date cards, 35+ date ideas, a planning sheet and conversation starters. I’ve thought of all the things we learned while doing this and put it together for you in this kit.

I encourage you to not wait around for your husband to plan all the dates. This year choose to invest in your marriage and give him this 12 Months of dates.

Make this year, the year you woo each other. Can you set aside 12 days out of your 365 days in the year to invest in your marriage?

I have put together a 12 Months of Dates Kit for those of you who love the idea but don’t know where to start. It’s the perfect gift to give to your spouse or to your married kids. You can find the kit in my shop HERE.