Quarantine Date Nights

Am I the only one that finds it tricky to differentiate between the days during all this? Our state has been in shelter-in-place order for a few weeks, and we were self-isolating (besides going to get groceries) for a few weeks before that. Getting to spend so much time with my husband is great, but it's hard to have a "date-night" when you are together 24/7 without the ability to go places. Throughout this time we have tried several at-home date night ideas, which have all been so fun and a bright spot in all this crazy. I thought I'd go ahead and share a few things we've done to break up the mundane.

1. Bob Ross Paint Night

This is something we've done before. It was actually what we did on our first (dating) anniversary. I am a crafter so I always have supplies on hand. If you aren't, you don't need much: 2 canvas, various paint colors, paintbrushes, Netflix or youtube. Set up your supplies, find your favorite Bob Ross video/scene to paint, and just have fun. Don't put pressure on yourself to make it perfect, "everyone's world is different". Also, if painting is something you find you love, switch it up and do it for different seasons (pumpkins for the fall, ornaments for Christmas, etc.)

2. Blanket Fort

Embrace your inner child, use all the furniture in your house, every blanket you own and create a fort just big enough for the two of you (if you have kiddos, make it a little bigger and have a family movie night). Pop popcorn, grab your favorite candy and watch your favorite movie. In honor of embracing our inner child, we watched Monster's University.

3. At Home Haircut

Now I must admit, if it wasn't for the quarantine happening right now, I would not (and for many months refused to do when he asked) cut my husband's hair. Desperate times called for desperate measures. We ordered clippers from Walmart, watched videos on youtube, and went for it. Honestly, I was impressed with myself and will probably do it more often to save a little bit of money.

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4. Take a Hike

Get outside. Walk around your neighborhood, find a nearby trail, travel to a state park, and just walk. This has become a daily thing for us. Usually around our college campus or the surrounding neighborhoods, but sometimes, when we want a (literal) change in scenery we will drive a little way to a different trail or park to explore. Sometimes we choose to just walk downtown too, it doesn't have to be a trail, just get up and move and talk to each other.

5. Do a Project Together

I know so many people are doing home improvement projects during this time, but since we live in on-campus housing we can't do much. My husband is a great woodworker (I tell him "I want a flower box" and then boom, he's made me a flower box). It was a lot of fun to watch him create this and then we took turns painting (we only have one paintbrush). I have a few more ideas up my sleeve, so we will see how long he wants to keep up with my ideas!

6. Try New Recipes

We love food. Probably more than a normal couple should. Even though I am super picky, we have been trying new recipes pretty often since we got married & my husband is learning how to use our charcoal grill. One of our favorite quarantine recipe finds was grilled pizza. Definitely going to be making that all the time.

7. Go for a Drive

When the weather doesn't cooperate or it's too late in the day for a walk, we love going for drives. We actually spent the majority of our time together just driving when we first started dating, so it kind of has a sentimental feeling to us. We have gotten to see so much of our town and neighboring areas over the past few years because of this. With gas prices being so low, its a cheap date too!

Obviously this is not a complete list of date ideas, but a pretty good start! We are always up for new ideas and would love to hear your favorite date ideas. I think next week we may try a progressive dinner or rate fast-food chicken nuggets. Follow my Instagram @the_rich_wife for our daily life, impromptu date ideas, and other random things I find interesting.