Top 5 Unexpected Date Night Ideas

Well Valentine's Day is just around the corner, and with it comes an idea of sweet romance, and everlasting love. I remember when my hubby and I were first together, everything we did was exciting! We planned all of our dates, we went all over Lethbridge and Southern Alberta really, experiencing life together. It was exhilarating!

Now, after 4 years together, we don't plan as many dates out (mostly because we plan so many dates in, working on our house together which is our shared passion). Sometimes when we're wanting to rekindle a little romance though, we will plan a fun date, or reminisce about great dates we've gone on (and there have been so many!). So today I thought I'd share a list with you of my Top 5 Unexpected Date Night Ideas to try. Feel free to add in your own date night ideas in the comments, I love to get new ideas of fun things we can do together (especially before the baby comes!).

1. Go to an Unexpected Movie

They say variety is the spice of life, so what does seeing a movie have to do with variety? Well what if you didn't watch a preview for the movie, and maybe had never even heard of it? What if you had no idea what to expect at all?

One of the best dates my husband and I went on was totally impromptu, we just felt as though we had to get out of the house and go do something, anything. So we hopped into the vehicle, and started driving. It was a Tuesday (cheap movie night) and we ended up at the Movie Mill, at around 7pm when all the movies seem to start, and just asked the person working the cash which movie we should watch. She recommended a movie, and that's what we bought tickets for. We had never heard of it, never seen a preview for it, and had no idea what it was even about. It turned out to be a lovely romantic movie that we both really enjoyed!

Would we have ever considered seeing that movie had we watched a preview, honestly probably not. I personally am not a fan of romance movies (they always make me cry, and I hate crying in public lol), and my husband doesn't really care for them either, but it was an excellent movie, and a really fun way to get out and have no idea what to expect. I imagine even if the movie had been terrible, it still would have been alright because we would have experienced it together (and had no expectations)!

2. Run/Walk a 5K Together

My hubby has agreed to do a lot of things that I want to do, that I don't think he would otherwise do if he were single, and one of those things has been running/walking 5k's with me. Surprisingly this has actually been a really fun date we've had because we get to dress up for the theme of the 5k! So far we've done the Color Run at the University of Lethbridge, the 5k Foam Fest in Red Deer, and the Clause Cause at Helen Schular Nature Centre, all excellent themes to dress up to! We get to go shopping for fun things to wear before hand, and then we get to actually do the 5k, so really this is like 2 dates in one. See our fun costumes below, our team was called Hugh Jass Construction, so we dressed up as construction workers!

P.S. Don't wear your hair down at a Color Run... this is a very bad idea lol!

During each of these 5k's, they have all presented different challenges and we've had to work through them together. The Foam Fest was particularly fun because they had obstacles that we got to do, and my hubby is so much more courageous than I am, so he was encouraging me the whole way through to do each of them! At our last 5k, the Clause Cause, we both attempted to run the entire thing, my hubby succeeded, I made it to about 4k and then got horrific cramps and had to start walking, but when I crossed the finish line he was there waiting for me and cheering me on! Doing these together has been an opportunity for us to cheer each other on and support one another in a fun way, and for a worthy cause!

3. Have a Phone Free Night

You may not realize it, but all the time you are spending on your phone is actually taking you away from the people in front of you, and robbing you of really amazing moments you could be having. A lot of times we long for connection, whether we're single or in a relationship, and our phone can be the barrier to that connection we crave. Try this: go out for a date literally anywhere, and leave your phone in the vehicle. Don't even bring it in with you to the restaurant. But what if I have kids, you might say. Well, parents were going on dates long before cell phones were around, so give your baby sitter the number of the restaurant you're going to and tell them what time you'll be there so they can get ahold of you if the need arises. Then, enjoy the bliss.

When you don't have a phone between you, you have to focus on each other. When you ask about the other person's day, they don't have the option of saying a one or two word answer, and then putting their noses back in their phones, they have to make conversation with you. It's truly an enlightening experience, and it will make you realize all the moments you are missing from being non-present with your phone by your side.

This is personally something I have been working on, as I find myself on my phone a lot with work, and just with life in general. I have noticed a significant improvement in my relationship with my hubby when I don't bring my phone places, and vice versa, and both of us have benefited from it. So try it out, you might just be surprised what you discover!

4. Get Out of Dodge

When Kelli and I were first dating I asked him to take me to the states as I'd never been to Montana (I'd only lived here for a few years when I met him), and he said sure. He said it so casually that I didn't really think it was going to happen, but then that weekend he cancelled his plans and we went on an overnight trip to Whitefish. We didn't have anything planned when we got there, and in fact I didn't even realize we were staying overnight so I didn't bring an overnight bag with me and we had to go to Walmart to get a tooth brush and such when we got there.

A fun road trip we took... I can't even remember where we went on this adventure... Waterton maybe?

We drove around, drove through the country side, I think we even stopped at a garage sale, and we just hung out. We watched a movie in the hotel that night, and drove back home the next day. It was lovely. It was so much fun to just get out of town together, and since then we've gone on many overnight or weekend trips to places within a few hours of here. We get to have interesting conversations on our drive there, and listen to our favourite bands together as well. We can plan fun things to do when we get to our destination, or plan nothing at all. Whatever we feel like, there are no rules, sometimes it's just fun to get out of town.

5. Take on a Project Together

One of our favourite things to do together is work on projects. We will work on our house, work on our yard, work on fixing something, or find something new to make. Kell is a very hands-on kind of guy, and he likes to fix things, and I enjoy learning from his wide array of skills. Sometimes we will turn the tables and do something I am more skilled in, and we get the opportunity to teach other. Find something that interests both of you, and work on it together.

This could be making a new furniture piece for your house, this could be re-organizing your basement, this could be planning out all the cool things you'll do to your yard, or it could be making some art for your walls. Whatever it is, find something to work on together. Planning things out together, going to get the tools and supplies needed to complete the project, and then working on it together helps build skills needed to build your relationship, and work on problems together, and not only that, it's fun!

This past weekend we took on the project of painting our house together. It was a lot of work, but while we worked we got to chat about a variety of different topics, and when it was all done, we got to admire our hard work and enjoy the fruits of our labour. Kelli actually has an excellent eye for colors and decor (more so than I do!) and without doing these projects together, that might be a side of him I wouldn't otherwise get to see. So take on a project, and see what you can learn about and from each other!

I hope you've enjoyed my Top 5 Unexpected Date Night Ideas, taken from my own personal library of dates Kelli and I have been on that we've enjoyed. Please let me know if you try any of them out, or have done any of these, and what the outcome has been! If you've got an Unexpected Date Night to add to the list, leave it below in the comments! I always love reading new and fun ideas, and trying them out!

Cheers & Happy Valentine's Day!
- Katie