Date Night at Home

Date nights can be a challenge when you don't have a sitter nearby.  My honey and I enjoy our date nights and look forward to 2 a month, but our regular sitters (my parents) have been unable to watch our 4 kiddos since April 22nd.  The other week it became obvious that with the stress of all that has been going on in our lives in the past 2+ months, we needed to make a way to have a "date night."  My honey and I were snapping at each other and stressing and just not really enjoying each other's presence too much.  I needed to go out for some reason, so I sent my honey a text asking him if he was available for a date at 9:00pm that night (after the kids were safely tucked in bed).

I bought cheese, crackers, meat, juice, dessert for 2 and headed home to do some last minute prep work.  I got the basic idea from the Dating Divas website for our activity and then made it my own.  I found a blank bingo board template and printed it out and then added spaces with pen to make it 6 squares x 6 squares.  I labeled the left side from J-1 down to J-6 and labeled the top from T-1 to T-6.  Next, I wrote different activities in each of the 36 squares.  Each of us got a die to roll.  When it was my turn, I would roll (a 2 for example) and find the correct row.  Then Tony would roll (a 4 for example) and we'd find the intersecting column and do the listed activity.  Then you reverse who rolls first so that you do column first and then find the intersecting row.  We ended up having a really good evening together, and I truly feel that the activities we ended up doing that evening were just what we needed at the time.

It was a simple thing: cover our dining table in a nice table cloth, put out the snacks and fancy glasses for the juice, light a candle, gather the "bingo" board and dice, and sit down with my honey.  We spent a delightful 2+ hours praying, talking, hugging, playing 2 games, etc.  Truly, we needed this time to refresh, reflect, rest, reconnect, and enjoy.  God met us there and blessed our time together until the next opportunity to have a date night comes around.  God is so good!  He gives us even the seemingly "simple" things that we need.  Such a blessing!

Some ideas for your squares might be:

• steal a kiss
• pray over each of your children
• play a game of your choice
• slow dance to your favorite song
• read a chapter of a book together
• talk about your dreams for the future
• give your honey a big hug
• share a favorite memory from your wedding
• share a favorite memory from when you were dating
• tell your spouse what you really appreciate about them
• pray for each of your parents
• pray for your neighbors
• play a game you haven't played in a long time

The possibilities are endless and the fun is that you can make it your own!  Put in things that speak to you as a couple, your way of doing things, etc.  And next time let your spouse fill in the squares instead of you and the evening (or afternoon or morning) will look completely different and will (I imagine) be equally enjoyable.

What kinds of things would you put in your squares?  Please share below.

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Here is a fun site you could use to make your "bingo" board and change up the "rules" a bit:

• https://myfreebingocards.com/bingo-card-generator

*Note: Be sure to click the link in the text after you've designed your "bingo" card so you don't have to pay.  Also, I would suggest only printing one or two of the generated pages of bingo cards or you'll have way too many.

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Also, if you have a hard time finding things to talk about with your honey, whether on a date or at home...check out this book...

If you're local, it is available for checkout from Shannon Tobias Library.