Home Front »

By: Heather Tabers

Finding time to spend alone with your husband can be a challenge. Finding room in the budget to actually go out on a date can be even more of a challenge. Here are five date night ideas under $10 for some romantic fun with your husband this summer.

1. Drive-In Movie – Rent a $1 movie, pop a bag of popcorn, grab some sodas from the fridge, and head out to the driveway. If you have a vehicle with a built-in DVD player, crawl in the back seat and make it a drive-in movie date! DVD players will run a car battery down quickly, so be sure to leave the engine running. (If your vehicle doesn’t have a build-in DVD player, bring a portable one, or a laptop.) For extra ambiance, open the windows and the sunroof. Depending on the age and maturity of your kids you may not even need a babysitter for this date!

2. Picnic – Pick up some sandwiches from your local sub shop or make your own. Grab some chips, drinks and a large blanket and visit your favorite park, field, or even your own back yard. Kick off your shoes, watch the clouds and just enjoy being outside together. You can make this date romantic by feeding each other grapes and strawberries…or completely silly by starting a tickle fight or rolling down a hill together. Bring some music, board games, or an outdoor game (badminton, cornhole, etc.) and spend some time in the sun!

3. Take a Hike – …or at least a walk around your neighborhood. Women open up more when they’re face to face, but men open up more when they are shoulder to shoulder. So go for a hike,  a walk, or a climb and enjoy some good conversation with your man.

4. Ice Cream – One of my favorite date nights is a quick trip to the ice cream shop. It’s inexpensive, doesn’t take as long as going out for dinner, and if the weather is right, eating your ice cream while sitting outside and talking can be very relaxing.

5. Hit The Pool – Taking my five kids to the pool is an all out event. Finding enough goggles and towels and sunscreen and cover-ups and flip-flops and…well, you get the idea. It can stress out even the most organized moms. Add to that the constant scanning of the pools, the diving boards and the super slides for my big kids while toting around my 3 year old – well, it’s not very relaxing at all. So leave the kids with a sitter and hit the pool alone with your honey! Start a water gun fight. Let your inner kids out and have fun!