*Today’s post is sponsored by Unbox Love and Crated With Love. As always, thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you ever faced challenges when trying to schedule a date night? Since we became parents, we’ve definitely struggled sometimes to get out for date night. Because of that, I decided to write this post with 4 at-home date night ideas I hope you’ll love!

1)  Unbox Love 

Inside our box: Chocolate dipped pretzels, two different kinds of hot cocoa mix (keep in mind, we got this box when it was still winter!), joke cards, quick and easy dinner recipes, cards to write notes to each other with (they had writing prompts like: I love that you . . . or I smile when you . . .), puzzles to solve, and a game.

We enjoyed writing a couple sweet notes to each other to get the date night and the good vibes started. We kept the rest of the cards to use in the days/weeks to come. One day I found a card on my nightstand, a reminder of something my husband loves about me. And it was just what I needed to put a smile on my face.

We told each other the jokes from our joke cards, which we thought were stupid but gave us a laugh anyway. Then we made our hot chocolate, and Max had the pretzels while we got started on working the puzzles.

The puzzles: the little puzzles that came with our date night box were actually pretty darn hard! Sometimes they felt challenging in a fun way, and other times, we both got frustrated and had to remember it was just for fun. 😉

Overall, we enjoyed the Unbox Love date night and thought it was a unique way to bond! We still haven’t gotten a chance to play the game, but love that we now have a game to play for another date night in.

2) Living Room Picnic & a Movie

This one’s pretty self-explanatory. Lay out a comfy blanket on your living room floor, prep some delicious snacks together (back when we were first married we’d do this, and we’d get different cheeses, crackers, and meats), then sit together on the floor and enjoy a movie and in our case, a bottle of Martinelli’s apple cider. We love it!

It’s a fun way to get back to the basics, and a different take on the classic movie night.

3) Video Game Tournament

Video games can be an exciting break from a regular date night, and they provide some friendly competition if done correctly!

How to do a video game tournament (the right way)

First, choose a game that you both:

• LIKE ✓
• Enjoy Playing ✓ (even if you haven’t played it in years), and . . .
• Are at Least Near the Same Skill Level ✓, (it can be a drag if the same person wins every time . . . just ask my husband. Kidding 😉 Our game of choice is one we’re both pretty good at.

And finally, you both have to choose to be good sports about it. Keep it friendly by requiring both the “winner” and the “loser” to do something kind for the other person (for example: the “winner” gets their favorite dessert and “loser” gets a massage) that’s what I call a win-win.

And no unkind or bitter words spoken . . . period. Leave that weak stuff at the playground. Just saying 🙂

4) Crated With Love

Inside our box: cards, envelopes, straws, twine, 2 rolls of washer tape, a golden egg with magnets inside, and directions for making a treat.

The theme of our box was foundations, as in the foundation of a relationship. Each activity within the box built off of that theme. The first activity was to write a relationship pyramid by answering questions that would help us to recognize things we loved about each other, and what qualities define and strengthen our relationship.

Another activity required each of us to separately build some kind of structure using the straws, washer tape, and/or twine that would protect the golden egg. We each built our structure, and took turns putting the plastic egg inside and letting it drop. The egg didn’t fall out of either of our structures, or drop its contents, and we call that a win. The idea behind this being that each of us is like the straws, and washer tape in our relationship. We both bring strengths to the relationship to create a solid structure. At least, I’m pretty sure that’s what the message was. 🙂

Another activity involved creating SMART goals together. If you’re not familiar with SMART goals, here’s the quick rundown: they are goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time bound. We were supposed to create one goal for each month in three different categories: mind, body, and foundational. For example: going on a date night once a month, although I personally think this should be weekly, if possible.

We could then use the magnetic strips from inside the egg to put our goal cards up on the refrigerator. Well, hypothetically, because we have a stainless steel refrigerator that magnets don’t stick to. 🙂

Sweet letters:

There were two cards in the box labeled 6 months, and two cards labeled 1 year with blank envelopes. The last part of the activity was to write six month letters, encouraging each other to reach our goals, and then one year letters congratulating each other on reaching our goals.

Overall, our opinion of the Crated With Love box is it was fun, brought us closer as a couple, and encouraged us to think of the ways we strengthen each other.

Have you tried any of these date nights or have different ideas for at-home date nights? Let me know in the comments!

Xx, Emily