FOCUS ON THE
FAMILY
Date Night Ideas Cont.
Gift Cards & Coupons
My husband and I combine the gift cards
and various coupons in our wallets to
create our own frugal date night. Using
what we’ve accumulated, we map out
all the places we can go to spend our gift
cards and coupons. Between stops, we
enjoy lots of conversation. This is a great
way to have a fun date and clean out
our wallets — while keeping the cash!
—Dionne Marriot,
Romance on a Rooftop
One of my favorite dates is when my
husband and I climb up onto our roof with
some blankets, a radio and a sweet snack.
There, under the stars and moonlight, we
can talk, snuggle and listen to the radio. It
is romantic, free and something we can
do anytime, weather permitting.
—April Walker
Driveway Theatre
My husband and I share a love for movies.
So I came up with an idea that would
allow us to go “out” to the movies for
almost no money at all. After we’ve put
the kids to bed, we grab the baby monitor
and go to the “Driveway Theatre.” With
a warm blanket, a couple of sodas from
the fridge and a big bowl of popcorn, we
watch a movie on our laptop computer
while sitting in our car. We take turns
picking the feature presentation from
a DVD, Netflix or Hulu (since we’re still in
range of our Internet connection). In our
own driveway, we get to experience
everything a real date at the theatre has
to offer—with less cost and more privacy.
Plus, I get to wear my pyjamas!
—Nikki Stansel,
Exchanging Vows — Hallmark Style
You would think that, after 10 years of
marriage and three children, my husband
and I would have said it all. Not true. For
date night, we have chosen to spend
some time in the card aisle at our local
grocery store.
We look the cards over and find one
for each other — sometimes humorous,
sometimes sweet but never dull. We do
not show each other the card we’ve
selected...yet. First, we go to a fast-food
place and order sodas. Then we fill out
the cards and exchange our most current
“vows.”
—Sarah Webb,
Dollar Date
With seven kids between us, date nights
for my husband and me are rare treasures
that require creativity and planning.
Money is always tight in our large
household, so recently I came up with the
“Dollar Date.”
To begin our evening, I suggested a
“dollar menu” dinner. We only ordered
things that were $1, and our total dinner
was six bucks! We then went to the local
dollar store and each purchased two
treats to share. After that treasure hunt,
we headed to the dollar theatre and saw
a great movie.
We laughed and enjoyed our evening,
knowing that we had stayed well within
our limited budget. And we h