Christmas is such a busy time of year for everyone.  As loving couples we need to take time for each other especially now.  Some friends of ours have done this the past couple of years and we tried it this year.  It was great!  Here is what you do.  Book a room at a nearby hotel for a Friday evening.  Arrange care for the children from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon.  You and your spouse plan to spend Friday afternoon and Saturday mid morning and afternoon Christmas shopping at a leisurely pace.  Friday night, enjoy a nice dinner, hot tub, swim, etc. and a quiet night's sleep.  Wake up refreshed to room service breakfast.  Enjoy your spouse, laugh, eat chocolate strawberries.  Honor God by honoring each other.  We may do this again before Christmas next year.  Shopping is not the focus!   

We have had a candle-lit dinner at midnight or a little earlier to celebrate Valentine's Day or birthday or anniversary.  We tuck all the kids in and we pull out the china and crystal and have a dinner for two.  It's nice to connect with each other.  We also make sure to get out of the house together for at least an hour once a week.  During that time we may take a walk or go for a cup of coffee and just talk to each other.

Trade time with a close friend for child watching to allow both families to have a free night.

We sometimes are able to dine later in the evening after the children are in bed.

One year for my husband's birthday, I arranged for us to go to a Bed & Breakfast for a night.  I first called his boss and arranged for him to have a Friday off of work but didn't reveal any of the plans to my husband.  When the big day arrived, I picked my husband up at work at the end of his day and began to drive to the B & B.  He began to ask all sorts of questions and the best part was having a chance to totally surprise him with an evening out and no work to report to on the next day!  All the planning was worth the romance of his unexpected pleasure!

Feed the kids and send them to bed early.  You, as wife, fix a nice meal with a beautifully set table.  (I use my wedding china and crystal.)  Then have a quiet meal together.

Go for a walk alone together.

"Dinner at Home" - Serve the kids a simple dinner.  (Cereal is a favorite with our kids.)  Have a snack with your spouse.  Get the kids to bed early.  Then, open a bottle of wine and make a nice dinner.  (Such as a couple of steaks, sautéed mushrooms, salad, bread, more wine)

Take a long lunch hour and sneak home to be with your spouse.  "Work from home" some days.  

-Love notes under the pillow.
-A surprise flower (or three) on the nightstand for your honey.
-Breakfast in bed (on the weekend) for your spouse.  This includes peace & quiet from the kids, the morning paper and a very special breakfast.  It can be very special, just extra pretty.  Perhaps a sprig of a flower, your best china coffee cups, maybe a linen napkin.  Even if it's just toast and yogurt, put it on beautiful dishes. 

Go canoeing.  It gives you a chance to really talk to each other, plus you're exercising your bodies.

Each of you writes down six ideas for a date and then once a month pull one out of a hat and do it.  (Examples:  dinner, bowling, take a walk, movie, roller-skating)

A Romantic Dinner At Home:
-after the kids are in bed (they have cereal for dinner and they love it!).
-prelude to dinner includes shower, shave & a special outfit to wear
-music, lots of lit candles, pretty place settings
-dinner should be special but simple and quick like sautéed shrimp, salad and bread.
-a bottle of wine or champagne
-Enjoy!
NOTE:  Do this often enough that the kids start to recognize that during this time they need to stay in bed NO MATTER WHAT!!!   

Go to a bookstore; grab a coffee or soda.  Sit on a couch together.  Read together and enjoy each other.

Feed children early and tuck them in bed early then eat a quiet dinner together and watch a rented movie.

Share childcare with friends or neighbors - for a day or evening.

Husbands, ask your teens to set up a "date at home".  Have them make an invitation, a nice meal, candles, etc. then have the children go into another room and wait 'till the bell rings, then they can come and serve you!  This is a good one for after the little ones have gone to bed and the older ones can set it up.

Call 1-3 other sets of parents.  Each takes a date to have a sleep-over for your children.  Stick to it.  Then do something very special for the children as well as plan what you will do when it's your children's turn to be away.  Just a night without TV and with candlelight only, preceded by a walk outside, even a short walk in the rain.  Get wet--its FUN.  (Snowflakes are great too.)  Call on a neighborhood family or get to know the children's Family Formation classes.

Body massages (after kids are in bed) - lay a soft blanket on floor, soft music, lots of candles.  Then slowly and thoroughly enjoy the time and each other as you massage away all of life's kinks and knots.  This is a glorious piece of intimacy to share.



Go for a car ride without the kids.  Drive around some lake or in the country looking at scenery.  Bring some music. 

We will sometimes go to the store, buy fresh salmon, and prepare a separate dinner from the kids'.  We feed them first, and after they are in bed, we grill the salmon, eat it with seasoned crackers, and spend a leisurely time talking to each other. 

"Romantic Weekends" - Find another family with kids who is willing to take turns watching each other's kids.  Your kids will be sent to this other house for the weekend.  You and your spouse will have the weekend alone.  Just stay at your house to keep costs down and plan activities in town.  Of course, you will need to watch your friend's kids the next time.

Make a grid of five squares down and five across.  Write in each grid space a restaurant idea or place to go.  (TGIFridays, Applebees, movie, etc.)  Shake a dice 2 times.  The first shake will be for the across and the second will be down. Whatever place it says, that's where you go for a date.  This is good if you can't decide where to go or if you are in a rut.  

Have dinner with your spouse after the kids have gone to bed.  Have a snack with your kids then eat with your spouse later as casual or romantic as you want.

A special dinner after the kids are in bed.

We try to date on new moon suppers by going out to eat on every new moon, like in the Bible.
P.S. The 13th Moon Restaurant in downtown Robbinsdale changes its menu every new moon.

Have lunch or dinner in Stillwater and take a walk by the river.  Spend a night at a Bed & Breakfast in Stillwater or other similar location.  Go to Barnes & Noble to have coffee and read.

Get a baby-sitter and go do dinner someplace other than McDonald's.  

Have a quiet dinner at home, after the kids go to bed.  Or better yet, have the kids go to someone else's home for the evening.

It's been a tradition for us to go to the Prime Rib Loft at Tequilaberry's on our wedding anniversary.

Exchange kids with another couple so you can alternate date nights each month without baby-sitting expenses.

Surprise your wife by arranging a baby-sitter and planning a night out.  The husband can come home with the baby-sitter and sweep her away from the chaos of the house.  (This one was written in crayon!) 

Going without our children to a coffee shop - drinking coffee and eating bagels - just having time to talk to each other. 

This is a really good dating idea but will take planning.  Do an overnight kid exchange.  One family watches all the kids and the mom and dad to home or wherever and have a great time.  (The kids will think it's for them!)  Then another weekend the other couple takes a turn. 

This is a practical idea, but takes 13 years.
1. Have a baby.
2. Wait 13 years for this child to grow old enough to watch the other children, while Mom and Dad go out and run errands, etc.
THIS IS BIG FUN!!  (Don't worry, this will happen eventually.)