I know so many of us are antsy for life to get back to “normal”, whatever that looks like now. We want our kids to be able to go back to school, participate in all of their extra-curricular activities and play with friends. We’d love to be able to plan future events for sure. And I know don’t know about you, but I want to get back to our regular date night routine! We’ve been able to go on a date night out a handful of times over the last few months. And while they haven’t been the same as we’re used to, they’ve been refreshing and much needed. I wanted to share some social distance-friendly date nights that you can enjoy going on, if you get the chance to go out!
For more date night ideas like these ones, check out the book, Prioritizing Date Night in Your Marriage, with 300+ date night ideas.
Related: How to Help Support Your Spouse and Your Marriage in Quarantine
One of the things we can do right now is to continue to support local businesses. Restaurants in particular are struggling. It has been hard to see some of our favorite restaurants shutting their doors permanently, as a result of the struggles that came this year. We do take out each week for our date nights at home. You don’t necessarily have to eat inside a restaurant in order to support local businesses. Grab takeout from one of your favorite places to eat and enjoy it on a blanket or a picnic table at a local park.
We live right next to the mountains. In just a quick drive, we are literally in a canyon. Consequently, there are a lot of great hiking trails and some of those provide a great view of the sun setting in the west at night. Find a great place to watch the sunset near you. Hike or walk there and relax and talk while the sun goes down.
This has been one of my favorite things to see people doing throughout this time of social distancing. I’ve seen couples enjoying dinner in the car, with the windows rolled down, while they binge-watch a show on their phones. There have been posts of people putting a picnic together in the back of their car or in the bed of a truck. And I’ve even seen couples setting up a table with a tablecloth and candles and enjoying their takeout in the parking lot next to their car, or again, in the bed of their truck. This screams creativity and being intentional to me, and it’s not too difficult to implement.
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There are a lot of great walking trails, with gorgeous scenery, hidden in the heart of a lot of nearby cities. Late-night walks have been a part of our relationship from the beginning. And I’ll be totally honest, I’ve considered hiring a babysitter to come over for an hour after the kids are in bed a couple of nights a week, just so we can go for a late-night walk. Search for different walking trails in your area. Then add a long walk and talk onto the end of whatever else you decide to do for date night. It’s a great activity in addition to dinner or dessert when you don’t feel comfortable going to a movie or bowling or something else like that.
We’ve been purchasing a lot of things for backyard fun this year since we aren’t going out as much. The kids have a splash pad and a t-ball set and all sorts of other toys. (Click here to see the fun things we’ve been ordering for them.) But we realized that we should also get some fun things for ourselves. These are things that we can go out and do after the kids are in bed. Badminton set, a croquet set, a fire pit, or even laser tag. (Click here to see the fun things we’ve been purchasing to keep ourselves entertained.)
We’re lucky enough to live near a certified dark sky park. This means that the light pollution is next to none, and you can see the stars uninhibited by any light. Sadly though, we haven’t taken advantage of it and gone stargazing there. If you live near a dark sky park, schedule a date to go camping or just stargazing there. If you don’t live near one, find somewhere you can go, as far away from the city lights as possible, and view the stars. There are fun apps you can download to your phone to help you locate constellations in your area.
A lot of our favorite local activities were canceled this year. Things like free movies or concerts in the park just aren’t happening. Some have been able to start up again toward the end of the summer, but most are still a no go for the year. We’ve been lucky that some other great social distancing-friendly options have been put together. One of our favorites has been a concert in the parking lot series by the community theatre. Or a drive-in movie in the large parking lot at the recreation center. If you can find a fun event near you, go!
If you have the opportunity to get out for date night right now, or sometime soon, do it! Date night is important and it’s great when you make time for it at home each week. But there’s something about a time away from home and all of our responsibilities that can’t be beat. I hope that these social distance-friendly date ideas help get you thinking about and looking for unique ideas your area might have for getting out safely right now.
