Hit me with your fun 'date' ideas for long-term partner, please?

[pullmealittlecloser]

It's our 10th wedding anniversary this week - money is tight as we are mid house-move and I'm ready to pop with another baby. I want to give DH a year of 12 fun 'date nights' (I feel like I've seen that term maligned on MN but it's the best I can think of to describe what I mean). I think I'll probably make a little book of vouchers or a bag with little symbolic gifts and labels attached to explain each of the 'dates' or something like that.

So far, I've got:

• cooking a three course meal together at home, fancy table and wine, then renting a play / opera / ballet to watch on Netflix or similar.

• going to an unusual dance / exercise class together (we did Zumba together once on a whim; it was so much fun and we still talk and laugh about it.)

• DIY home spa (I'm qualified to do massage and I'll buy some face masks or get him to paint my toes or something).

Any other ideas? If it helps, I'm 31 and he's 34; we have a 4yo and baby on the way, and I'm hoping to have a mix of stuff at home and stuff we'll need to get a babysitter for. We're moving to London so I'm guessing plenty going on nearby...?

We had run results with a book of vouchers I picked up in a bookshop once....

We only ever got round to using one, for 'sexual fantasy of your choice '. Somehow it kept being passed backwards between us.

What about a stay the night in a museum thing- think the natural history do something like this?

How about stargazing? Me and my DH like to go out to the garden on a clear night to look at the stars. We always end up having great chats in the dark. Throw in some hot chocolate and marshmallows and a few snuggly blankets and it's a date.

Escape room

Escape room. Great fun and there are plenty you can do as a couple rather than in a larger group. Generally not too pricey and only an hour so you won't need too long for babysitters!

A go ape type place? We really enjoyed doing Go Ape together recently

If you are not planning on breast feeding or can express how about a cocktail making experience either one you can book at a bar or one at home buying in stuff get a baby sitter if you really want to indulge.
Develop the home spa idea, take it in turns month about to pamper each other, run a scented bath, fresh bed linen, chocolates on the pillows fresh flowers, buy in special bubbly treats you wouldn’t normally buy and you could get the hotel experience at home! ( maybe wait a while after the birth).

We play board games a lot, you could have a games night.

Cinema

Escape room

Comedy night tickets

Night away in a hotel

Board games night - including adult board games if you like

Concert / festival tickets

"Camping" at home - no lights downstairs, make a bed on the floor out of pillows and blankets and make a picnic and drink wine

Treasure trail! Google it - you can buy a £6.99 pdf of a trail where you solve clues based on things you find on the way (like names on buildings etc) and there are lots of choices in London where you walk around a maybe new area for about 2 hours, so it's a nice way to discover somewhere you don't know well. The brick lane one is fun

Also maybe a booking for wherever you went on your first date!

It seems a bit contrived to me. My partner and I just usually end up thinking 'Oh that's a good restaurant.' 'That's an interesting film' Or if it's night in thing - then it's about having friends round, or cooking something luxurious. Why not wait and see when the baby arrives. But set a pot of money aside that's about treats for the two of you - not stuff for the children.

These are fab ideas, thank you all so much. I love pretty much all of them. I will be breastfeeding but I don't think that rules out cocktails - hooray!

I do get the idea that it could feel contrived but that's sortof where we're 'at'. I think we've just found over the years that our scheduled 'date' nights come along and because we're so busy we haven't put much thought into them and we've ended up in a bit of a pattern of restaurant / cinema etc. I like the idea of trying to plan things that wouldn't occur to us; keep it fresh after a decade 😂.

Thanks so much, all.