If you have been married for a few years, chances are you are in need of some date night ideas for parents. Date nights are all about enjoying each other’s company. In the beginning, couples are often so excited to do things together that date is just a formal excuse to see each other. After marriage and kids, date night takes on a new meaning. Date nights become a chance to reconnect with just the two of you as a couple and do fun things together. They are no longer about getting to know each other as much as they are about getting to have fun together. As parents, it is important to set aside date nights in order to make sure you don’t lose the magic that started everything in the first place. I hope you enjoy these fun date night ideas for married couples.
Everything You Need To Know For A Successful Parents Date Night
Kids change your marriage, that’s a fact. Most married folks know and embrace this, seeing the introduction of new life into the world as a more than valid reason to cut back on things like nights out drinking, frivolous purchases, sleeping past seven in the morning… and date night.
You’re a parent. You love your kids. And you love your spouse.
But don’t you miss your date nights?
Don’t feel bad about screaming, “Yes!” right now, whether it’s inside your head or out loud in the driveway, with the windows of the minivan rolled up.
You’re an adult. You need a little romance, some kickback time, and the company of other adults. Not only are you allowed; you’re required. Date nights are actually super important to keeping a happy marriage. A romantic evening helps recharge your batteries and fill your love tank. Spending quality time with your partner should be a priority.
The Importance Of Date Night For Parents
Whether you have an eighteen-month-old or an eighteen-year-old, there’s always an excuse to not take a night off and spend time with your spouse. The baby has been fussy all week; I couldn’t inflict him on a babysitter. The teenager’s been acting out all week; I couldn’t possibly trust her alone in the house for a night. But let’s face it. You should prioritize yourself and your marriage. You need a healthy adult relationship, and that means protecting the sanctity of date night.
As busy parents, it is too easy to grow apart. You know what they say about an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. So, go ahead, have fun on a date night with your partner and don’t feel guilty about. Feel good about it!
When To Schedule A Parent Date Night
Believe it or not, the time when date night feels the least possible is the best time to make it happen. If the kids are sick, work is busy, your kitchen remodel isn’t going as planned, or any other of life’s countless, unexpected bumps in the road has you thinking, “I can’t possibly afford a night off,” remember you can.
More importantly, you need to.
When life gets stressful, we tend to convince ourselves that everything is life-and-death, forcing our attention and energy to be consumed by even the tiniest issues in front of us. So, if you’re feeling like life’s too crazy for a break, you’re probably just too stressed out to realize that life is just being life, and a break is exactly what you need.
Besides that sage advice, set a regular date night too. At least once a month, everyone can and should make that happen- even married couples. If you tend to struggle with date ideas, here are some fun date night ideas for parents who want to enjoy a romantic date night out as well as relaxing ideas for those that don’t want to the leave the house.
Parent Date Night Ideas
After being married for years, it is easy to get in a rut. Date ideas for parents can get stale if you don’t put in effort. Take turns planning out date nights and surprise each other sometimes. Having a regular date night helps ensure that it actually happens and that you don’t let other things get in the way. Always turn off your app notifications on your cell phones for date night and ignore anything that isn’t the babysitter.
Try Doing New Things
Try doing new things for your date night that you have either never done before or not in years. Only you can keep things from getting stale! Step out of your lazy, comfort zone and try something new and exciting. Make new memories and enjoy a change of scenery.
20 Fun Date Night Ideas For Parents
Try going to a golfing range together. Maybe one of you can lean in and teach the other a few good moves… I mean swings.
Try visiting some tourist attraction in the area that you have never been to since you aren’t a tourist!
Enjoy a romantic dinner at a new restaurant or try exotic cuisine.
Get out in nature together. Go for a hike or an canoeing trip.
Arrange to go horseback riding.
Take a dance lesson together.
Do a movie night at the big screen in an actual movie theater.
Enjoy an evening stargazing.
Try a spa day and get a couples massage.
Picnic in the park. Enjoy an afternoon or evening lounging on the grass at your local park and tantalizing your tastebuds.
Go on some day trips- go hiking, take a leisurely bike ride, see a waterfall, go see some live music, find a stand up comedy show.
Go on a double date. When was the last time you did that? It could be a lot of fun if it has been a long time since you have done it. You could even use a little creativity and pick a funky venue and go roller skating or bowling!
At Home Date Night Ideas For Parents
Don’t take this easy out too often, but date night at home may be a fun way to ease into date night ideas for married couples. Sometimes a dinner reservation might be hard get (especially during a pandemic) so there’s no rule against hiring a babysitter or using a baby monitor and staying in. Home date night ideas are a great way to enjoy some quality time to connect when you can’t get out. The important thing is make sure you two still get some alone time.
A candlelit dinner with a glass of French red wine while the kids are asleep, playing with the babysitter, or watching TV upstairs can be just as romantic as an expensive Italian restaurant—not to mention cheaper, and healthier. The meal can be homemade or takeout as you both prefer and I know I prefer.
You may also like to enjoy some friendly competition and have a game night in your own living room. Play board games together (like Monopoly or Trival Pursuit) and make up a few of your own rules about what happens when you land on certain squares!
Recreate your favorite coffee or ice cream shop at home. Make a huge ice cream sundae with all the toppings together and eat it together too. Don’t forget to feed each the first and last bites! Have fun trying to recreate some fancy coffee drinks or your favorite beverage if that is more your thing than sweets. The idea is to have fun making something you both enjoy and then have fun enjoying it together.
Grab a bottle of wine and swap stories on your living room floor. Remember when you first met? Tell each other the details you remember about the other person. Remember when you first kissed? Share how you felt. Share some of your favorite memories of trips you took together or things you did together. Dream about fun things to do together in the future.
Stay home and play cards together (strip poker could spice things up after a few friendly rounds of cards).
Make a scavenger hunt for your partner. Give them a clue that helps them find another clue that helps them find another until finally, they get a reward for all their hard effort!
Cook together. Slow down, relax, and enjoy cooking, working together, and tasting what each is making. You might even pick a cuisine or a specific country, and create a themed evening around it.
Garden together. Planting flowers together can be a lot of fun. Later, you can think of the fun you had with your honey every time you look at your nicely landscaped beds. Plus, you may need to go clean up together after working in the dirt!
Go on a virtual date. There are lots of museums with virtual tours so this is the perfect time for you and your sweetie to see those works of art together or discuss history and science.
Set up a cozy outdoor theater in your backyard with a projector and blankets. Watch a favorite movie under the stars, complete with popcorn and your favorite drinks. It’s a fun twist on the classic movie date.
Get creative together by setting up an art station with canvases, paints, or even pottery. You can follow a tutorial or let your imagination run wild. At the end of the night, you’ll have a piece of art to remember the experience by.
Try a Date Night Box subscription. There are some companies like, Crated With Love, that take all the work out preparing for date night. They deliver curated fun. It’s an easy way to have fun after a long day.
Date Ideas For Parents Can Help Keep The Spark Alive
Take a look at your spouse; you’re still just as wild about each other as you were when you got married, right? You still make each other laugh, and you still support each other through stressful times. You still want to be the first person each other sees in the morning and the last they see at night. However, I am willing to bet that you are not putting the same effort into your marriage now that you are parents, as you did when you were newlyweds. We start to take each other for granted and that is always a mistake.
It’s a scary thought, but if you don’t keep investing effort, someone else may. It may seem shocking but many couples end up drifting apart once their kids are grown and out of the house. Some realize that years of what they thought was a happy, healthy marriage, was just collaborative child-rearing. Getting too comfortable might not be a good thing if you stop putting forth the effort to make your spouse feel special and loved.
You need to ensure that you’re both parents and romantic partners. Kids will sometimes be “in the way”. However, don’t use them as a mental block to stop yourself from indulging in some well-deserved adult time. That is why regular date nights are so helpful to putting the emphasis back on the two of you.
Make a point to take a half hour before bedtime to spend time with your spouse. Sip a glass of wine on the back porch together as the sun goes down. Or talk in bed before turning the lights off. Communication is essential to staying connected to your spouse and each feeling seen and heard.
Conclusion
Add a little moment of romance to your daily routine throughout the week. It will mean carving a few hours for date night to go see a movie or cook a romantic meal together feel more natural. Effort is essential to your relationship. Think about it. If you were to put yourself back on the market today, that would take a lot of effort. A lot of preening, a lot of paying attention to someone else. Go ahead and do that for your each other, now. It may have been a long time since you have had that much fun.
Date night ideas for parents is all about staying connected and not taking each other for granted. Your partner is special and they need to know you still feel that way. Take the time to show each other through regular date nights for married couples.
If you are already overdue for a date night, consider taking a day trip together. Or make it an overnight trip so you can catch up on some romantic couple time! Then you may be hungry for more date nights after that.
Related Posts:
Rohan says
Thanks for this excellent date night parents guide. For any relationship to thrive, one has to give it priority and time. I understood after a long time that we as couples need to take out time from our busy schedules and give attention to the relationship. Now, we have a date night fixed on alternate Saturdays every month that is jotted in both of our calendars. Thanks for sharing these date night ideas for married couples.
Shelley says
I agree. Date nights are a great way for couples to maintain a healthy relationship. It is important to make time for each other. It doesn’t need to be extravagant or complicated. Simple works the best. Whether it is going to local restaurants or watching your favorite movie together, intentional time is what counts. Lots of great ideas here. Thanks for sharing.
Cutting Edger says
This guide is exactly what we needed! Balancing parenting and romance is challenging, but these date night ideas make it seem achievable. Looking forward to some quality time together.
uno game says
Great ideas! Thank u, it gave me something to think about. My husband and I like to work on puzzles together. We will work on them after the kids go to bed and it’s some nice alone time to look forward to.