Ok, so I know Valentine's Day was last week, but I'm a little behind in posting. One of the items I made for my hubs this Valentine's Day was a little deck of cards (string bound) with 101 date ideas on it. Our mission is to complete all 101 dates by either next Valentine's Day, or at least 2 Valentine's Days from now (so 2016). haha
I got the idea from a mix of many Pinterest posts (such as this
52 things I love about you) and a
101 Creative Date Ideas from Thinking Closet.
I tweeked some of the date ideas to be a little more catered to my hubs and I, as there was some ideas that we just couldn't foresee us ever doing or affording to do (we're kind of cheap).
So far we've already done one of the items (#19 karaoke duet), and I hope to get those little gold star stickers (the ones you used to get at school for being good) and star up each date we complete.
This was a pretty easy present to make and would be super easy to do for an anniversary as well.
101 Date Ideas Card Deck Book
Supplies:
- 1 deck of cards
- hole punch
- string
- printout of 101 date ideas
- glue/adhesive
All you have to do is punch 2 holes in each card (I used my big chomper punch and did about 6-10 cards at a time). Tie string through each to bind the cards together. Cut out each date idea and adhere to each side of the cards. I left the cover card and the back cover card empty, with a few blank cards at the end if we wanted to add anything or add notes or whatnot.
This project is super easy and cheap to make and now we have a fun little book to go through and pick out a date to complete when we are stumped on what to do over the weekends or on a free evening. ;)
Here are the 101 date ideas I used:
1. Have a trilogy movie marathon.
2. We
draw each other’s portraits… with your non-dominant! Laugh at the
results. Then we can frame ‘em!
3. Sit
down together and write postcards to a few of our favorite people.
4. Go tubing- either in snow or down the
river.
5. Visit
a pet store and play with the puppies and kittens! (Beware, we might
bring one home- or will have to force ourselves to leave without an animal in
hand.)
6. Food
Crawl: enjoy an appetizer at one place, the main course at another, and the
dessert at a third place!
7. Visit
one your favorite childhood places.
8. YouTube
video marathon; we share some of our favorites with
each other.
9. Hit
up the bowling alley…lowest score wins!
10. Create a
marriage bucket list together, and set a date for our first item.
11. DIY Duo: find
a home project we’re BOTH excited to work on. Then, execute!
12. Go to a
local orchard or farm and load up some bushels of fruit to bring home!
13. Visit a local winery or brewery and bring
a bottle of their drink home.
14. Paint
something together- whether it is furniture or an actual painting.
15. Have a wine
and cheese picnic together as we watch the sunset.
16. Get up
early to watch the sunrise; then, make a hot breakfast together and eat it in
bed.
17. Go to a
book signing and meet an author. (Check what our local Barnes & Noble has to
offer.)
18. Take a trip
to the park, walk and enjoy the outdoors.
19. Go to a
Karaoke bar, be brave and sing a duet TOGETHER.
20. Make
homemade pizzas with wild toppings.
21. Build a
fire in the firepit and roast s’mores.
22. Re-write
the first chapter to a favorite book- starring your significant other.
23. Take a free
factory tour.
24. Put on your
bathing suits and have a water balloon fight. Why not?
25. Prepare and
enjoy a special fondue dinner together…followed by fondue dessert!
26. Game Night!
Enjoy a tourney with some of your favorite board games.
27. Create an
audio recording podcast. Do episode 1.
28. Do a
fitness class or exercise together.
29. Bust out a
deck of cards and play a game! Poker, Go Fish…you get the picture.
30. Go
Geo-Caching!
31. Go for a bike ride.
32. Fill out those long silly questionnaire
quizzes that you might of filled out as a teen- see what each others answers
are.
33. On a rainy
day, go outside and play in the rain/mud- best not to do this during the winter
though.
34. In the
autumn, carve pumpkins together.
35. Journey
through a corn-maze together.
37. Fresh
snowfall? Go sledding; then, sip hot cocoa together by the fire.
38. Build a
snowman and snow-woman, followed by snow-ice cream
39. Decorate a live tree- if we don’t want one
inside, decorate one of the live trees outside with lights and bird-friendly
ornaments.
40. Around the
holidays, drive around and look at lights while playing Christmas music in the
car.
41. Visit the
dollar store together, and put together a shoebox full of goodies for each other.
42. Make brunch, followed by playing a video
game together.
43. Play the
Game “Two Truths and a Lie!” to get to know each other better…no matter how long
we’ve been together.
44. Go camping!
Roast hot dogs over a fire for dinner, and completely unplug from technology.
Even if it just for a night. Even if in our own backyard!
45. Hop in the
car together and hit the open road for a memorable day trip.
46. Visit your
local frozen yogurt spot, and go topping crazy.
47. Childhood
movie night! Watch each of your favorite childhood movies while snacking
on popcorn.
48. Mini-golf
never gets old. Especially Glow-Golf.
49. Recreate a
memorable meal together from a special event or past anniversary.
50. Go to a
thrift store together, set a budget, and choose outfits for each other!
51. Get up
early on a Saturday and hit the garage sales together early for some new
finds!
52. Go to a
park and throw a ball around.
53. Take an
evening stroll together around your neighborhood.
54. Choose a
new TV series to dive into together! Watch way more episodes in a row
than you probably should.
55. Create a
scavenger hunt for yourselves.
56. Create an
ice cream sundae bar at home for kicks.
57. Go to the
nearest jungle-gym and swing on the swings like you did in days of old.
It’ll keep you young.
58. Spa Night!
Give each other massages and exfoliate with face masques.
59. Research
and then visit some of your town’s historic sites!
60. Play
“Remember when…” as you recollect some of your favorite memories together.
Jot them down, so you remember them for always.
61. Write a wish
list of all the places you still want to visit.
62. Pack dinner
and enjoy an outdoor movie…even if it’s on a laptop in your backyard! But
a drive in movie is ideal.
63. Make a time
capsule, and bury it with plans to dig it up in 10 years.
64. Watch the
first movie you saw together for nostalgia’s sake.
65. Choose a
meal you’ve never made before, go on a grocery run, and then cook dinner
together back at home.
66. Ask a
friend to do a special photo shoot of the two of you! Capture a moment in
time.
67. Make a dish that is traditionally from
your heritage. Have a full meal of eclectic food.
68. Visit your
local library or bookstore together, find some good books, and then cozy up in
a corner reading side by side.
69. Have a
cookie bake-off!
70. Dye eggs
together.
71. Go
paddle-boating.
72. Go for an
evening swim at a local pool or own pool. If you can, bring glow sticks!
73. Browse
Craigslist together for some amazing local deals.
74. Pick up
some water-guns at your local toy store, and have a water-gun fight! You
can even invite neighborhood friends in on the date.
75. Toss around
a frisbee in the backyard.
76. Take the
train to Philly and go somewhere!
77. Go to the
Aquarium.
78. Support the
arts! Go to an art museum or art gallery.
79. 10 Things I
Love About You: set a timer for 10 minutes and each write a list of 10 things
you love about the other person…then read them to each other. Prepare for
plenty of “Awwww” moments.
80. Attend a
local sports game.
81. Explore a
state park by car, by foot, or by canoe. Take photos of the landscape.
82. Stroll
through a farmer’s market together. Buy fresh ingredients for your next
few meals.
83. Visit the
zoo or a petting farm
on discount / free days!
84. Fun in the
sun: hang out at the beach for the day.
85. Create a
“specialty drink” that represents each of you. And enjoy the night sipping your
special drinks.
86. Watch old videos you have taken in the past,
and then video something new!
87. Find statues in your area and take funny
photos with them.
88. Build a
fort out of blankets in the living room, and cuddle up to watch a movie together.
89. Learn a new
sport together! Croquet, badminton, tennis…heck, you can even invent a
sport together.
90. Take a
class together: dancing, painting, cooking….
91. Go to an
arcade!
92. Get a Groupon
for a special night out on the town together. You can usually nab some
pretty sweet deals!
93. Visit your
local science center, planetarium, conservatory, or botanical gardens.
94. On a windy
day, fly a kite together at the park.
95. Get in the
car and just drive to get lost. It’ll be an adventure! (Just make
sure you have plenty of gas, so it doesn’t turn into a misadventure.)
96. Pick out
one outfit from your spouse’s closet- then they have to wear that outfit
sometime in the week.
97. Visit a
local festival together. Many of them are free! Just check out your
town’s website for their calendar of events.
98. Bring your
own lawn chairs for an evening of outdoor theatre or music.
99. Spend a
night looking through old memorabilia: love letters, photographs….
100.
Make homemade pasta together and enjoy.
101.
Write letters to each other that you’ll open 20 years
from now.
Hubs and I had a lovely day out for Valentine's Day (we both had off) at the Cheesecake Factory and then an evening at home.
So have a great day everyone and happy belated Valentine's Day! Why not celebrate love everyday, not just on Feb. 14th!
-M
