16 Five Dollar Dates

I am so blessed because any time i spend with my hubby feels like a date. We don't have to go out to a fancy schmancy restaurant and spend all sorts of money to really enjoy each other's company. And although we do occasionally indulge in those fancy dates, most of the time we find other ways to spend time together. Here are a few we've tried. Why don't you try one of them out tonight?

1. Play a board game together after the kids go to bed. Watch for good two-player games at yard sales and thrift stores.

2. Make a board game together. Get a large piece of paper or bristol board and design your own game. Use dice and pieces from games you already own.

3. Have a bubble bath together.

4. Play hide and seek. Seriously!

5. Dress up in your fancy clothes and go out for coffee. Sometimes it's nice to have an excuse to wear a pretty dress.

6. Borrow some home decorating and design magazines from your local library. Cuddle up close and plan a dream home. Go ahead and be extravagant, dreams are free. Our dream home has multi faced fireplaces, a huge kitchen, a courtyard, a christmas tree farm.... you name it.

7.Pick up an ethnic cook book at the library and cook dinner together. We've tried Mexican and Chinese. How about Indian, Etheopian or Thai?
Note: It may seem that this date costs more than 5 dollars... but don't forget that you would've had to make something for dinner anyways: take the amount you normally spend on cooking dinner and add five bucks, that should be about right.

8. Have a chocolate fondue. In a saucepan, melt 1 cup of chocolate chips with 1/2 cup of evaporated milk and a few marshmellows. When everything is melted, transfer to a small fondue pot and use cookies, cakes, pineapple, grapes and strawberries as dippers...or anything you'd like to try dipped in chocolate!
(Again, if this seems to cost more than 5 dollars, see note on suggestion #5.)

9. Find a small, locally owned movie rental store. These places almost always rent their older movies at a bargain. You can probably get two or three of them with your 5 dollar budget. Have a movie night with a theme... maybe the scariest movies from your childhoods?

10. Is your favourite television show having a marathon day? Has your favourite movie finally made it to television? Why not drag your mattress into the living room and camp out there for the day? or evening? Wear your pajamas and eat junk food. Luke and I once spent an entire weekend camped out on the living room floor watching Battlestar Galactica!

11. Remember when a mixed tape was the ultimate sign of affection? Make a mixed tape of songs that were popular when you first started dating. Go for a drive and enjoy the memories. (If your car still has a tape deck!)

12. Go to an amateur theatre production. Churches and high schools often put on productions that are nearly free and often pretty good.

13. Go to an 'open mic' night. My old high school still hosts "coffee house nights" that are open to the public. For only two dollars you get admission and a cup of coffee. If you have a talent to share you may even get in for free.

14. Volunteer together. Often couples have their own interests and volunteer at separate venues, but seeing each other in action at the local soup kitchen or after school program could really bring you closer together. Helping out at car washes and community BBQ's can be a lot of fun too!

15. Go for a hike. When hubby and i were first married, we lived near the base of a large hill that had a lookout on top from which you could see the whole city. It was one of our very first dates.

16.Go for a swim at a local river or lake. When we were first dating, hubby took me to a spot in the river where a swing had been hung from a tree...we had a lot of fun together. Since this date is free so far, you could stop for some ice cream on the way home.

Please leave a comment and let me know what other frugal dates you and your spouse enjoy!

This post is part of Frugal Friday over at Biblical Womanhood. Head on over there and find more great ways to save money!