Frugal Friday: Cheap Date Night

                             Date night out when we had a free babysitter... and yes, we were both wearing kilts.

Date night in our house is almost a foreign word, almost. With three small kids who are unable to watch themselves and babysitter fees on the rise (what happened to getting paid $5 an hour for some extra cash?), going out is nearly a luxury now. We have been blessed with some friends along the way who will watch our kids for free, which has been a marriage saver!   But when times are tough we have instituted the Date Night at Home!

 How to Have a Successful Night In:

Step 1: Skip the nap for the older kids so you can put them to bed early.

Step 2: Try to have the house as clean as possible so you can relax and that "one more thing" doesn't steal your time together.

Step 3: Get those kiddos to bed! Since ours are still young we can get them to bed at 7:30, but I know that may not be possible for everyone so if you know you are going to have to stay up past your normal bedtime consider getting some rest or drink some caffeine. You want to make sure you are awake and able to enjoy your time together, there is nothing worse than having your date fall asleep on you!

Step 4: Order take-away! So many sit down restaurants have a to go menu now which is great for a night in! Our favorite take away is Indian or Chinese. You could cook the dinner but this is your night off to, so save the romantic home made steak dinner for another night.

Step 5: Pick a place to eat the food! This may seem silly but now is your chance to eat dinner in a new place! Their are no kids you are teaching to eat at the table so be creative! Some ideas are: In bed ( Oh, how I miss the days of eating in bed), on your back porch, or in your bathtub (?). Okay, I was just kidding about the last one but my point is, try being adventurous!

Step 6: Eat! And of course talk and look deeply into each others eyes and whisper sweet nothings.... You get the idea.

We usually watch a movie but you can do whatever you want, it is your special time together. You can also enjoy the fact that you didn't pay for a babysitter and you probably saved some dollars and calories because you didn't have the option to order more.

Build your relationship on a firm foundation so that it can weather life's storms, spending quality and quantity time together will help build a lasting home!