We rarely go on dates that require leaving the house and getting a babysitter so we have to improvise a bit and get creative when we want to spend time together (watching The Office on Netflix). Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing an actual movie in a theater or going to a nice restaurant but we also like spending time with our daughter and I’m sure my mom could use a baby-sitting break because she has 8 grand-kids and 2 great-grandchildren.  

Look at those cuties. So young. So energetic. No bags under their eyes. Haha.

I thought I’d share with you my 5 favorite date-at-home ideas for when you can’t find a baby sitter but you desperately need some time with your hubby. Our toddler goes to bed pretty early at 6:30pm. No we aren’t mean, she literally can’t keep her eyes open past 6:30 and if we try to keep her up past then, she turns into a fire breathing dragon and we must face her wrath. This leaves our evenings freed up which is wonderful for date nights at home.  

• Indulge in a sweet treat together over your missed shows 

  • If one of us is getting the little one ready for bed and doing the bath time routine, the other one of us will head out to Trader Joe’s or Andy’s frozen custard and get a sweet surprise. Then we will get in our comfy clothes (fuzzy socks are a must) and catch up on our shows – or just watch The Office. Who are we kidding? Because let’s face it, it’s on a constant loop at our house. Haha. We really like the chocolate and vanilla macaroons from Trader Joe’s. So good. 

• Have a back-rub night

  • Get your mind out of the gutter, people. These ideas are rated PG. We will take turns massaging shoulders, necks, scalps (my favorite because this pony tail is heavy) or feet. We set a timer so it’s fair because I’ve learned that I have no concept of time and Evan usually gets a 30 second shoulder rub or back scratch before I fall asleep. We usually will find a movie on Netflix that we both have wanted to see and watch it. Lately, I’ve really busy editing photos and blog posts so a shoulder rub is welcome since I’m permanently bent over my lap top. 

• Work on a project together

  •  This last week I had Ev help me put up our Christmas tree. We had to spend forever fluffing out the branches. He put on some Christmas music and we had such a good time talking about our past Christmases while we decorated. I love looking at all of our old ornaments and talking about where we got them.  We talked about Christmases when we were growing up and I actually heard some stories from Evan that I hadn’t heard before. We also discussed ways to make Christmas special for Isla and family traditions we’d like to start. If we hadn’t had the tree to decorate, we would have done another project together, whether it’s work on my blog (he does a lot of the behind the scenes stuff and is my IT guy), or we might even build something, we are wood-workers after all.  

• Have a YouTube night

  • During the week we see a ton of funny videos and then we will share them with each other, because who doesn’t like seeing their best friend snort-laugh? Evan has the most hilarious laugh when something is really funny. He sounds like the chef from the little mermaid. HAHAHA. We also like to watch videos to learn something new. It might be about blogging, or parenting techniques, drone flying, or photography tutorials. It’s always fun to learn something new as a couple. 

• Plan something together

  • Whether it’s picking a new restaurant to try and making dinner reservations for your next night out, planning a trip or even goal setting. Just planning future events is so much fun. We like to talk about where we see ourselves in 5 years. Future homes we might live in. Trips we’d like to take. What we’d like to do when we retire. If we plan a trip, we like to watch YouTube for ideas.  

Bonus date night tip:  Have Post-mates deliver dinner and dessert so neither of you have to cook or clean up.  

Let me know if you use any of these tips! Or leave your own indoor date night idea down below! I’d love to hear from you.