As a stay-at-home mom, I’m used to staying at home – I’m not used to my husband being home too! We are very lucky that he can work from home, but I have to admit that it throws off my normal routine a bit. Do any other wives feel the same?

Instead of having the daily excitement of waiting for Nate to come home after a long day at work, I now see him throughout each day. I don’t know about you, but I believe a little distance makes the heart grow fonder so it is very different to be with him all the time now.

I love seeing him all the time, but it can get a tad stale. You know what I mean?

In order to keep the magic alive in our marriage, we have date nights. Yes, even if we can’t leave the house, we still have date nights with each other! And we will never stop having date nights!

The best part about these at-home date night ideas is that you can do them at a hotel while you’re traveling too!

Vacationing isn’t always as relaxing as we think it will be because we pack it full of excursions, maybe seeing family, and caring for Parker all day. By the time we make it back to our hotel room at night, Nate and I are tired. Fortunately, we know that when we purposely make time for each other (even on vacation), we feel much more prepared to conquer the next day together.

As Laura M. Brotherson, a certified sex, marriage, and family therapist says, “Date night lets you be ‘boyfriend & girlfriend’ again!!”

Here are 9 date nights that Nate and I have tried and love.

1. Paint Night

Even if you don’t consider yourself to be an artist, painting can be a great way to relieve stress and relax. Nate and I started painting along with Bob Ross on our second anniversary and fell in love with it! We like Ross’ videos because we know our paintings will turn out completely different and we look forward to seeing each other’s end results. Although painting might be a little more difficult to do while traveling, you can easily draw together with the little notepads and pens typically found in every hotel room.

2. Book Club Night

This is another one of our favorites that have slowly turned into an every night event. I was annoyed at how many books we had that we never read so we started reading them together. The books you choose to read together don’t have to be big or have fancy words, all that matters is that you both agree on it. Nate and I have now read all of the I Am Number Four series and are currently working on the Ascendance Trilogy! When we travel, we download the book onto Nate’s tablet so we can keep reading in the car, airplane, or wherever.

3. Game Night

Who doesn’t love a fun game? You may already be thinking of your favorite board game or card game, but don’t forget about video games! Although I tend to prefer card games (Rummy, to be exact), I will play simple video games with Nate such as the Lego ones or Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy. I love me some good competition! And there are many games that are super easy to travel with too. A deck of cards can easily fit into a carry-on bag, and you can play games together on a phone or tablet. Air Hockey is one of my favorites on the tablet.

4. Food Night

Of course I love when Nate cooks a meal for me, but I think it’s more fun when we cook together. As someone who doesn’t like cooking at all, being with Nate eases my self-prescribed kitchen anxiety. It’s even better when we cook or bake a new recipe! Knowing we will mess up is part of the French dining experience 🙂 Depending on your travel accommodations, you can order room service, microwave a little something, or cook if you have a kitchenette.

5. Question Night

My love language is quality time, so I am a sucker for those nights when I know I have Nate’s full attention. We sometimes play 20 Questions or Would You Rather. Even after being married for (only) 3.5 years, there is still a lot we don’t know about each other and I am constantly surprised by a story from Nate’s childhood or even something that happened at his work he forgot to tell me. I’m sure we will never stop learning about each other.

6. Movie Night

This is a classic date night. Nate will pop a bag of popcorn, I will grab the chips and salsa, and we will pick out a movie or television show to watch. I actually keep a list of movies we want to watch on my phone and delete them after we’ve seen it. As for TV shows, you can never go wrong with Psych! Of course, this one is very easy to accomplish on vacation because most hotel rooms have television sets in them. Many hotels even have a collection of DVD’s to borrow.

7. Exercise Night

Working out does not come naturally to me, no matter how much my body tells me I need it. However, if you put on pump up music, I am always ready to go! Nate and I started exercising together for the past year and it has made a world of difference. And that’s coming from someone who could barely do 5 push-ups at first. Start where you are and go from there. This is also super simple to do on vacation since you don’t need anything, but your body to exercise.

8. Dance Night

Most of our dancing lately has been to “Baby Shark,” so it’s a real treat when we don’t have to listen to that again. With dancing, you can change the mood in the room too. If you want it slower, turns the lights off and have lit candles throughout the room. It can be fun to dress up too. If you want it faster, break out that disco ball! I personally love it when Nate puts on our song (“Can’t Keep My Hands to Myself” by Selena Gomez).

9. First Date Night

This date night can bring back all the feels of when you first met. Recreate your very first date with each other! My first date with Nate was breakfast at iHop. Every once in a while, we will purposely cook pancakes, french toast, and other breakfast foods to remember that morning. Even just talking about our first date makes me smile! Find some way to bring back those first sparks you had with each other and do it!

 

What is your favorite date night you have with your spouse? How do you keep the magic alive while you travel? Tell me in the comments below!

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