Mini Date Night–Spouse Scattergories

“Date-Night” doesn’t always have to mean getting dressed up and going out. Don’t get me wrong, I truly love trying out to a new restaurant or taking in a performance at the theater with my husband. But sometimes, it’s nice to stay in, too. It was a miserably cold and snowy winter in these parts this year, and there were plenty of nights when we preferred to just get cozy and stay home. Sure, a night of TV binge watching while snuggled up on the couch is a good way to spend a wintery evening, but it’s fun to shake things up a bit too.

Sometimes, my husband has to work a weekend shift at the hospital. Since I work Monday-Friday, that doesn’t give us a lot of time to spend together on those weeks. When this happens, we try to make Saturday night a “date-night”. It can’t be a late-night though, because he has to be back at work at 7am on Sunday. Recently, I decided to surprise him with a “mini date-night” all set up when he arrived home.

Spouse Scattergories

The Dating Divas is a really fun website I’ve used to come up with some creative stay-home date night ideas. The Spouse Scattergories game I used for this date night is a free printable on their site. I simply downloaded the game cards and instructions, printed them out, and then set up the kitchen island with a charcuterie tray, a bottle of wine, and a candle.

Part of what makes this kind of date night special, is going to a little bit of extra effort to make it out of the ordinary. Sure, there are plenty of nights when my hubby and I just crack open a bottle of wine, eat popcorn for dinner, and watch our favorite Netflix show (Shameless, anyone?), but going to a little extra effort to set this up just adds a special element and changes the dynamic a bit. And really, it wasn’t a lot of trouble at all. I rounded up things from home that I already had. The chalk board is left over from a graduation party several years ago, and keeps making a comeback for different purposes. I’ve gotten a lot of mileage out of that thing! The little easels that hold up the game cards are from the Target Dollar Spot, and are meant to be place card holders for a table setting. To add some visual interest, I used placemats with some texture and pattern, and paper plates with a green border as makeshift mini chargers for a pop of color under the plates.

We had fun playing the game while we sipped our wine and nibbled. It was a perfect way to spend an hour or so, laughing at our responses and even learning a thing or two about each other! As a bonus, it was much easier to clean up than a full dinner mess would have been, which was ideal since my husband had to work early the next morning.

Date night doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s really all about spending time together and connecting. I’d love to hear some of your date night ideas, too. Drop me a comment if you’re willing to share!