Our last date night was Daniel's turn to plan. He's great at finding ideas online or polling his creative coworkers. I don't care where the idea comes from, as long as we follow through on it and have fun together doing so. The theme of the night...
Unleash your inner child.
No guilt about junk food, care-free cartoon watching, dreaming of one day eating dessert first. Isn't childhood great? I spent more of my time at the town's pool, riding my bike to no apparent destination and creating adventures in the woods behind my friend's house or at the train trestles (hmmm... maybe we should have rethought that last one), but those things don't exactly fit well into an at-home date night during the winter.
Here's what fit into our "unleash your inner child" at-home date...
Play Place
We do most of our date nights with the kids, and this was no exception. So of course the McDonald's play place made a perfect starting point. A mall play place or Children's museum might be other fun places to start the evening off with some play time. And going "attempting" to go through the maze with the kids is the perfect start to unleashing my inner child.Dessert First
Eating ice cream before (or in place of?) dinner is one of those simple childhood dreams along with "I'll go to bed as late as I want." Along with letting the kids play, we starting the evening with McDonald's ice cream and french fries. It's hard to let my inhibitions go and just enjoy this rare luxury without the guilt.Childhood Favorites for Dinner
So many things we could have chosen, but hot dogs and Capri Sun topped the list. Throw in some Cheetos and Star Wars fruit snacks (Daniel had child-like joy when he realized they were Star Wars :) and you have the school lunch I always envied.Living Room Fort
Forts are not uncommon in the Cress household. But Daniel and I hanging out in one? That doesn't happen everyday. So, we ate our supper in our fort :) Then, of course, moved our party to the sofa for the remainder of the movie. Lots of pillows and blankets and stuffed animals are key to child-like comfort.Family-Friendly Movie
We rented Smurfs from Redbox. There are plenty of options appropriate for kids and equally entertaining for us adults.Childhood Memories
I always forget to add in how each theme effects our conversation. Throughout the evening (before the movie) we talked about things we loved when we were kids.More Ideas for "Unleash Your Inner Child" Fun
Take it Outdoors
Bikes. Poop. (Lol... that was a mis-type but made me laugh, so I had to keep it in :) PooL. Neighborhood playground. Hike through the woods. What are some things you loved doing outdoors as a kid? If it's warm, these would be fun family date night activities.Kid-Friendly Meals
Burgers and fries. Pizza. Mac and cheese. Corndogs. If you're looking for healthy options, then go the burgers and fries route and make them homemade, and blend up a sweet smoothie! Also pita pizzas are a fun but healthy option.Board and Card Games
Life, Clue, Monopoly, Uno. Or think even younger with Chutes and Ladders, Candyland, or Hungry Hungry Hippos. These might even provide fun theme ideas for future date nights :)Video Games
I think a whole date night could be planned around a Mario Bros. theme. Of course adding a little playing works well with this theme too. Mix it up with a little friendly team competition with the family, or if the kids are in bed then strip Mario Kart?Take something you loved as a kid and make it a fun date night theme or activity!
what next?
new? start here...
date night basics
dose of simple
