4 tips to make date night happen.

Striped ruffle shirt. Loft Culottes. (similar here and here.) Similar Clutch.  Necklace. Similar Shoes. Pink Lipstick. (color: snob.)

This summer, my husband and I are celebrating our 14th anniversary.  That makes me feel really proud, because we still love each other, and we also like each other too.  When we were newlyweds, I couldn’t fathom how anyone ever got divorced, but now I see that no matter how much you love each other, life is hard.  And the hard has a way of eating away at a marriage, using up your reserves.  I’ve always wanted a strong happy marriage and keeping ours healthy became even more important to me after my parents divorced a few years ago.  One of the ways we’ve done that is by going on dates.

  I’m a homebody, but I also love going out.  Especially when it’s on a date with my husband.  We both know that continuing to date each other is super important for our relationship, but let’s be real, it doesn’t always happen.  Life is busy, especially once you have kids, and it’s easy to let that slip.

I know, because we’ve definitely gone through slumps.  Periods were we don’t make it happen.  And I can always feel it eating away at our reserves when we don’t keep dating each other.

So I thought I’d share a few of my tips so you can make it happen and keep dating your man.

1.Pick a night.  Put it on the calendar, make it a tradition.  Something you don’t skip.  If weekends are busy, get crazy and go out every Thursday night.  If you schedule your dates and make them a priority; something that you do every week, it’s easier to actually go out.

2.Get a reliable babysitter.  This is much easier for us now that our oldest is babysitting age, but we spent plenty of years hiring babysitters for dates, and I get it.  It’s so expensive, but it’s also a really good thing to do.  Even if you live close to family, find a good reliable sitter that you can use so you make sure you’re able to go out often.  When my kids were younger, I always had 2-3 great teenage girls from our church that I would call to babysit and it was so nice to get away for a couple hours together.  Like a mini-vacation from parenthood.

3. Don’t over-complicate it.  I know that pinterest has told you that every date should be magic and all kinds of creative, but just a simple dinner out together can be so fun.  Eating and talking, it’s all we need to reconnect.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the big deal dates.  Last year Craig took me sailing, and we’ve seen plays and gone rock climbing, gone skiing, stayed in charming B&B’s, and done all kinds of fun things that are all amazing.  But if keeping it simple makes it happen, then make it happen.

4.Get dolled up.  You used to dress up for your dates when you were dating, so why should that stop when you’re married?  Put a little lipstick on for your man, maybe he’ll kiss it off like he used too… ;-)  But seriously, one of the things I’ve tried hardest to do is not let myself go after getting married.  I want my husband to know that I love him enough to care for myself.  I’m not saying every day has to be a beauty pageant, but you were trying before you got married, keep trying after.  He will notice, he will try too.  Love is a circular business.  The more you give, the more you get, the more you want to give.  And just like the actual dates, don’t overcomplicate getting dressed up.  A simple outfit gets glammed up easily simply by throwing on a pair of heels, a little lipstick and a clutch.

So there you have it. My 4 tips to make date night happen.  How do you do it?