Cheap Marriage Dates

Date nights can get expensive. A dinner for two at a nice restaurant will set you back at LEAST $10.

EACH!

OK, so it's maybe been awhile since we've been out.

With so many demands on time and pocketbook, it's hard to schedule - and to justify - date nights. There are so many things clamoring for attention that we tend to put married fun to the back of the to-do list.

And the bad part of that is that lack of fun can eventually cause lack of interest in fun.

Fun helps us reconnect with who we were when we wanted to be attractive, and when we wanted to win the heart of the person who we eventually married.

Winning hearts doesn't end when the ring goes on the finger. It's a lifetime privilege.

So, some suggestions...

• Play miniature golf - something about the pace of this pleasant game just engenders conversation, and smiles...it's hard to sink into worries about your stock portfolio when you're trying to tap a luminous pink ball between the dancing feet of a dinosaur.
• Visit local museums and historical societies - you'll find an uncrowded place, staffed by folks who are simply delighted that you took the time to stop by. My town is home to the Harvey House museum - Harvey Houses were the hotel/restaurants along the Santa Fe railway routes in the west - and two hours spent there gave us a huge amount of interesting knowledge, and introduced us to some fascinating local volunteers who really cared about history.
• Go on a local history walking tour - Your town probably has some 'hidden history', visible if you know where to look. Make use of it - one of you can act as the tour guide, and do the research to make it an experience in which you'll learn about the place you live - and perhaps learn something about one another, as well.
• Go to an open-mike poetry reading - Don't just 'go'; each of you write a poem, and participate. Scared that you'll be humiliated? Don't be. Most 'poets' can't write poetry either. You can "dare together", and in the poems you write (don't share them beforehand!) perhaps, again, learn something about one another.
• Climb a tree with a picnic lunch - Make sure it doesn't have a beehive...but have lunch in a good climbing tree. It's a different perspective.
• Play a board game - Get a good, old fashioned board game, and make it an event, with refreshments and comfortable seating.
• Make a graffiti wall - Pick a wall in your house (inside or out) - or build a special wall - and tag it together, or take turns. One of you starts...and your partner takes up where you left off, in creating a piece of collaborative artwork. You can seen an example of this in the video of Daniel Powter's lovely song, "Bad Day". It's about 2:23 into the video.

LOike life, marriage is what you make it, and if you throw in some creativity and imagination, you can keep yours evergreen...

...without going into the red.

What are your favorite cheap dates?

(if you have the chance,please drop by my other blog, www.dailygracequote.wordpress.com, for a brief quotation-and-commentary on grace in marriage.)

I am honored to be linking to  "Yes, They Are All Ours" through Marriage Monday. Elizabeth does a great job writing about marriage and faith and family and God; please click on the image below to drop by, and to visit other linked blogs.