These are different times with how we are social distancing and not being able to enjoy the normal things we do for date nights, like going out to dinner and having alone time with our partner. We’ve been practicing social distancing since early March and with a month under our belt, I feel like we’ve started to get the hang of all this.
Of course I hope this will come to an end sooner than later, but we will do our part and continue to abide by the rules and make sure we are keeping our family and everyone else around us safe.
This doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun date with your partner. Yes, the kids are still around, but we can still find time for each other. Alone time does happen, although more rare nowadays, and we really need to capitalize on that. Not only to get some non-kid time, but I feel like we need to continue to check in and strengthen our bond with each other.
My husband and I truly enjoy the time we get to try new foods and have a cocktail (or a few) and we definitely are missing that time now with restaurants being closed for dine in. However, as more restaurants are adapting, take out and delivery are becoming the norm. Not only restaurants, but there are still distilleries, wineries and breweries that are open for business and providing kits and beverages to make in the comfort of your home. The list keeps growing, in my opinion, of spots being added to the list around the Twin Cities, and I love supporting local spots and enjoy looking at what’s new on the menu and adding it to my list of spots to try on our date nights.
For some ideas, here are some of the spots I have on my list that we’ve tried or will be trying in the near future:
- Travail Kitchen – weekly menu posted on their website, they offer pre-order options from Wednesday – Saturday for pick up at their sister restaurant, Pig Ate My Pizza (who also has their own takeout menu you can enjoy). Everything is prepped for you with online demos and instructions to warm up each part of the meal so you have the option to pick up earlier and save it for date night on Friday or Saturday if that works better in your schedule.
- Fogo De Chao – if you love their meat, they are offering the opportunity to buy their fresh cuts with sides and other fresh product to make it on your own at home. With items like steaks going quickly at the store, this is a great option to get some nice filets to cook at home as we start to get into grilling season.
- Lawless Distillery – I love trying new cocktails and Lawless is creating cocktails to go. Their website provides their cocktails for pick up and includes all the ingredients and instructions to make it at home. You can pre-order online and they provide a rotating schedule for curbside pickup. These go fast so make sure to check in often!
For other ideas, I’ve been looking on Tock to see what restaurants in my area are offering delivery or pick up options.
Normally, my husband and I like to do an activity along with dinner for our dates nights, like a movie or an escape room or hanging out with friends. I am so happy that these businesses are also offering options you can enjoy at home and it’s a great way to incorporate into your date time with your partner. Here are some fun ideas we’ve been doing lately:
- Digital escape room – We recently did a digital escape room on a Saturday night and it was so much fun! We were able to purchase the game online and was emailed the code and links to download and access the pieces we would need to figure it out. We were able to input our answers online through the game and continue to move to the next clue as we figured the answers out. It felt like we were really inside the room doing the game. Other options allow you to buy a board game or monthly subscription where clues and pieces are mailed directly to you to help solve the puzzles. It was a fun way to enjoy what we normally do on a date night from the comfort of our home.
- Movies that would have been released in theater are now being released digitally and the opportunity to rent them now to stream has been another way for us to get in another date night activity we normally do. We still get the movie snacks in order and get comfortable after the kids go to sleep to enjoy that alone time while watching a new flick.
- Fun projects – Places like Project In Person in Hopkins is putting together Build Boxes and providing all the items you would use while there to pick up and enjoy in your own home as an activity. You can also look at monthly subscriptions that pop up on your Instagram and Facebook feeds for ideas that are similar.
I think the biggest thing about date nights we miss are meeting with other friends and couples while out. We miss getting to take some time away and just have adult time to catch up and enjoy each other’s company. We’ve also been able to incorporate this into our date nights too with video calls. The last date night, we enjoyed it by going downstairs and having our parents (who live with us) watch the little ones upstairs while we had uninterrupted time with friends online. We ended up playing a trivia game (we love games) and it was so much fun! There are also game apps like House Party and Psych that have things like trivia, Pictionary and other fun things to do with others while connecting via video as well to chat while you are playing.
In this past month, we’ve been finding our new normal and along with that, I didn’t want to forget or ignore the time my husband and I normally spend through date nights. Being creative with our time has been a challenge at times, but I’m so happy that as we are all getting used to these limitations, our communities are adapting to try and enjoy some of the things we used to love doing and can still enjoy, but in a new and different way.
