I loved a post Debt Free by Thirty had this week about the best things in life being free, and thought it was a great subject for a post.
We have two young kids in our house, and a night out is typically pretty expensive. A babysitter plus dinner usually runs us $100, so we try to limit date night to once/month (honestly, it's usually less) & meet for lunch for a cheaper option every other week. We try & make nights at home frugal & special when we're with the kids on Saturday evenings. We kick start the night with "Happy Hour", and M & I have: margaritas (summer), cosmopolitans (fall/winter), or wine (spring, or anytime I'm looking to have less calories :-)). We make the kids their own special (non-alcoholic :-) drink, and I also make an appetizer tray. It's typically something inexpensive & healthy, like vegetables with hummus or tzatziki dip (Costco sells a yummy one). If I have more time, and ingredients on hand, I'll make this amazing goat cheese crostini recipe. We generally don't drink during the week and our kids don't get juice regularly, or have appetizers before a meal, so this is a nice treat for everyone.
We enjoy our happy hour, play Uno or games with the kids. . . sometimes we let them watch a special movie and M &I prepare dinner together. Dinner is usually more of a harried affair, so getting an opportunity to enjoy a drink together & have a more relaxed time making a meal is great.
After the kids our in bed, we typically watch a movie. It's a fabulous & easy (not to mention - frugal!) date night. Do you have any frugal date night suggestions?
This is a great post. Me and the BF have frugal date nights. We'll use coupons for the movies (because who wants to pay $11 a person for movie?), we'll try and use Restaurant.com gift certificates, or we'll just stay home and make a feast for ourselves. We always have fun.
ReplyDeleteI love those nights when my husband is home early enough to help make dinner. It's usually accompanied with loud music and bad dancing.
ReplyDeleteYour night sounds wonderful.