Heather C Heather C is a married, mom of three: big sis Lily and identical twins Natalie and Sophia. She has been guest blogging for Mumbling Mommy since February of 2012 and began working as a Social Media Editor in 2014. After nearly a decade in banking, she now works part time at a doctor's office specializing in breastfeeding medicine and spends the rest of her days in her Midwest home as zookeeper/stay-at-home-mom. Heather C is also a runner, hiker, yogi, bike rider and more. She reads when she finds more than a few minutes to herself and she hosts a lot of pajama dance parties in her kitchen. In her spare time, she's the co-leader for her daughter's Girl Scout troop and an active member of the school's Parent-Teacher Committee as well as a certified postpartum doula.

If there is one thing I’ve learned in almost ten years of marriage, it’s that love may come naturally, but being married doesn’t. This isn’t to say that marriage is hard, but it certainly isn’t easy either. And then there’s marriage post kids. Parents must find the time to take care of themselves both individually and as a couple. Dating your spouse isn’t very new anymore, but many couples still need to find a way to incorporate it. I absolutely love the idea. Dates with my husband are cherished. We even have a separate checking account specifically devoted to saving up extra money here and there (seriously, $5 or $10 a paycheck if that is all we can afford) for dates so we have one less thing to stress about when we go out for a fancy dinner. We look for lots of free date night ideas as well, to keep things inexpensive.

But when it really comes down to business, our dates are only every couple of months and half the time we can’t agree on what to do or where to go, so we are scrambling and end up in the same old place.

Free Date Night Ideas

Here’s a fun concept, though. Try dating your spouse for FREE (or very little money) and start looking for free date night ideas. Don’t worry about a babysitter. Don’t worry about planning. Set aside one night a week to have a movie date at home. Put the kids to bed, spritz the cologne and perfume. Put on something sexy (And comfortable. Yes, they can go together!) Cuddle up on the couch and unplug. Don’t forget some homemade popcorn if that’s your thing, or share a bottle of wine even.

Having trouble picking a movie? Try using a list from the American Film Institute or a classic Oscar-winning Best Picture from the past. There are literally hundreds of top movies on these lists. If you don’t think you’ll be able to agree, go in order from oldest to newest or from 100 to 1. Use a hat or random generator to pick a number that assigns the movie for you. If the movie is boring? Well, be into EACH OTHER instead. If the movie is great, pause it and have an intellectual conversation with the one you love. And if you fall asleep? At least you are romantically in each others’ arms. (Because yes, this has happened to us before, too.)

If you are not sure where to get the movies from, try your local library or RedBox. If you have a Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime subscription or if you already pay for cable movie channels, this is a great time to put your money to good use.

Not only will you get the chance to rekindle your love with your spouse, but you’ll get the chance to really embrace some cultural icons, too.

The inspiration for this blog post was “Wings,” a silent film from 1927 and Oscar winner from its day. It was a great experience, a very cool movie, and still a memorable date night almost two years later. 

Editor’s Note: A version of this post was originally featured on Our Magical Chaos. I no longer actively maintain the site but wanted to share some of my best posts with my readers here. 

Do you date your spouse? What are some fun free date night ideas you use to keep your love alive post kids?
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Category: Spouses

Tags: Heather C.