What do you think of Date Night?

Honestly, the label irritates me a little. Do you need to label going out with your spouse? I thought once we said “I do” we said goodbye to dating. It annoys me the same way playdate annoys me. Why is it a playdate? Why does playing with your friends need to be labeled. I know it is a completely acceptable word these days, it just gets under my skin. When I was a child we didn’t have playdates and I have never warmed up to the word, which I believe shows both my age and my stubbornness. However, I have fallen in line with the rest of the mommys and my daughters have playdates along with every other kid on the planet.

But I digress, it is Saturday night, and for some people that means  Date Night. Even though I am not in love with the term I do firmly believe that Date Night plays an important role in every marriage. It amazes me how my husband and I can spend a whole week without really speaking to each other. Of course we talk to each other, “What time is soccer practice?” “When should I pick the kids up?”  “When are you coming home?” “What is for dinner?” “What?  PTA again tonight?”  Actually now that I lay it out it seems to me that our conversations are more like interrogations.

Due to this lack of real conversation I believe it is important to take time out to reconnect with my husband. When you are married it is easy to let the children and life carry you along without spending quality time with each other. This is a big mistake and can lead to spouses drifting apart. Date Night is a time for spouses to reconnect and catch up with each other. A time to have conversations that aren’t driven by the demands of children or busy schedules. Date Night is important to my husband and I, and we look forward to these time together.

However, like anything else, there are some obstacles to overcome before Date Night can become a reality. First, we need a sitter. Luckily, I am literally surrounded by family, and have many sitters available. Yet there are those occasions, when no one is available to watch the kids. Fortunately,  I have a wonderful sitter who my girls adore. The sitter is a win/win for my husband and I, not so much a win/win for her parents, good friends of ours who often are forced to cancel their date night plans because we have stolen away their sitter.

Next obstacle, where do we go? Dinner and a movie are my  favorite choices for Date Night.

Where to go for dinner?

If your prefer casual and inexpensive Chili’s is my personal favorite. They have call ahead seating so your wait time is reduced an awesome feature. I also love the food there. The nachos appetizer are the best nachos I have ever had. In addition they have fantastic drink specials and excellent signature drinks on their menu. But the very best part is you can eat at Chili’s for under $50, especially if you take advantage of the 2 for $20 deal. They usually run this special which consists of one appetizer and two entrees for $20. A great deal! Check out Chili’s menu on their website, http://www.chilis.com/EN/Pages/home.aspx

Money can be major obstacle for Date Night. Especially if you are shelling out $12 an hour or more for a sitter you don’t want to break the bank at dinner. Restaurant.com is a great site to check out to help ease the cost of Date Night. If you are not already a member you should join immediately. It is free to join and completely worth it. On Restaurant.com you can purchase $10, $25, or $50 gift certificates for a fraction of the price. Normally the cost is half the value of the gift certificate. However, I have never paid that much for any of the gift certificates I have purchased because restaurant.com is constantly sending out coupon codes to their members. They always seem to be running an 80% sale which is a fantastic bargain. Of course there are some restrictions on the gift certificates, for example you need to spend at least $50 not including alcohol at most of the participating restaurants.  The restrictions are set by each individual restaurant and vary. They are listed under the restaurant’s name so you view the restrictions before you purchase.

I have had great success with Restaurant.com and check the site every time we go out to eat. I always check to see if where we are eating is a participating restaurant. Check out their site and become a member it is absolutely worth it! http://www.restaurant.com/index_om-test2.asp?pgn=home

Well I guess there is no Date Night for me tonight since I am busy writing this blog post while watching Disney channel with the kids. There is always next Saturday!