When life gets busy, it’s easy for parents to let date night slip off the priority list in favor of work commitments and taking care of their child, but date nights are an important part of keeping your family strong! Date nights can help you model prioritizing your spouse, help keep your marriage strong, and even help you parent from a united front. While you may not have the time you used to before kids, there are still plenty of opportunities to squeeze in a date, even when both parents work. Here are a few date ideas for working parents you and your spouse can try this week!
Get together over lunch
It may not be the traditional “dinner and a movie” kind of date, but sharing your lunch break with your spouse can go a long way! If your workplaces are near each other, you can physically get together, but even if the drive time doesn’t fit into your busy day you can have a quick virtual date before diving back into the workday. From talking about your day so far to using conversation prompts to learn more about each other, the goal of these lunch dates should be to make time to reconnect with your partner separately from your day-to-day tasks at home.
Have a weekly date night at home
You don’t have to find a babysitter to have a great date night! Send your child to bed a little early or pick up an extra coffee if you must, and try to have one night a week where you consistently have an at-home date with your spouse. Try mixing it up with different ideas like eating takeout by candlelight or trying a new phone game, or keep it simple with things like fondue that are frugal, fun, and won’t wake your child up. There’s a reason this is one of the most popular date ideas for working parents: it works! Even though you aren’t leaving the house, put a little extra effort into getting ready for your spouse! Taking a few extra moments to wash your face, restyle your hair, or put together an outfit can go a long way toward making your spouse feel loved and valued.
Try alternating date nights with another couple
While many parents may have some local family that is happy to babysit on a regular basis, everyone isn’t so lucky. Whether or not you have family in the area, consider seeing if any of your couple friends would be interested in tag-teaming date nights! This means that one couple takes all the kids while the other couple gets to go out on a date one week, then switches out the next week, alternating as long as the arrangement works for both of you! Your child will have a fun playdate with the other couple’s children each week, and you’ll get free childcare to go out with your spouse every-other week. It’s a win for both couples involved!
Now, pick at least one of these tips to try out next week, and enjoy getting back some time with your spouse!
