Cheap Date Ideas for Parents

You spend most of your waking moments (and many of your should-be sleeping ones) nurturing and caring for your kids. In the process of providing for and raising your family, it’s often easy to let your relationship as adults slide.  Whether you are a new parents, a single parent in a relationship, or a seasoned married couple with children, spending quality time alone is vital to your relationship as a couple and as a family unit. And don’t forget about your sanity!

Raising a family often means extra spending cash is scarce or that extra money needs to be spent to meet the needs of your children.  Little or no money often leads to no more date nights. It doesn’t have to. Planning a date doesn’t have to break your budget.

My husband and I discovered a few years ago how little time we were devoting to each other in the midst of raising our girls. We started a practice that has now become a regular occurrence in our home – date night for Mommy and Daddy. Once in a while, my husband splurges to send flowers to me or to buy a special gift for the occasion, just as a special way to say “I was thinking of you today”. Other times, we plan ahead to hire a babysitter and go out on the town for an evening. More often, though, we prepare while the kids are awake, tuck in them into bed, pray they stay in bed, and enjoy the evening together at home. Sometimes it’s as simple as eating dinner together in a candlelit room and relishing the silence. Other time we spend more time planning, come up with a theme night, and dress the part. Date night has become such a tradition in our home, now the kids beg to have date nights too. <—- Also a fun activity, but I’ll save it for another blog post! (Here’s the post on having date night with your kids.)

The main thing is to find ways to enjoy time together and focus on your relationship. Tap into your creativity, add a little preparation, and plan a memorable get-together with your sweetheart. Here are a few creative ideas for cheap, fun date ideas to get you started:

• Cheap Date Ideas for Couples – Thrift Store Fun

Visit the local thrift store. Decide on a budget and split up to shop. Buy something for each other. Take your time and put some thought into the purchase. It can be a sentimental or humorous gift. You might be surprised at the gifts you’ll find in a thrift store!

• Cheap Date Ideas for Couples- Play Dress Up

A fun twist on the thrift store idea is to use the money to buy an outfit for your date. Take the items home and wash them ahead of time. Plan an inexpensive outing or a date at home on which you both must come wearing the chosen outfits. Be sure to bring your sense of humor with you on the date.

• Cheap Date Ideas for Couples- Go Picking

Spend a sunny day with your date at a local berry patch, fruit stand, or open-air market. Pick a few baskets and take them back home to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Relaxing with a cup of coffee and a fresh-fruit desert is a nice, inexpensive way to spend special time together.

• Cheap Date Ideas for Couples -  Flip a Coin

Begin this spontaneous date where there are plenty of historical sites or other places to see. Start walking and flip a coin to see where it leads you at each intersection. Designate directions for both sides of the coin, such as ‘heads’ means left and ‘tails’ means right.

Limited finances don’t mean less romantic dates. In fact, cheap date ideas such as these require more creativity. Imagination leads to great fun and romance.