Summertime is here!
It’s one of our favorite times of year. The kids have sticky faces with the remnants of ice cream and popsicles, we’re sleeping in, getting tans and escaping to air conditioning when the heat gets to be too much!
Summer is a prime time to connect with your family and to create some special dates with your spouse. We’ve always been huge advocates for a consistent date night (or date day) because we believe there’s no substitute for uninterrupted time together. We also believe you should always be creating new experience with your spouse. Don’t get stuck in a rut doing the same things over and over.
To help you think some new thoughts and find new adventures together this summer, here are twelve summertime date night ideas. You can modify these dozen suggestions to work within every budget and some of these are completely free. This will give you one weekly adventure to share from now until summer’s end. We hope this is a summer of love and reconnection for you and your spouse!
In no particular order, here are a dozen of our favorite summertime date night (or date day) ideas…
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Go to an outdoor concert or play.
Check your local calendar for outdoor concerts, festivals and plays coming to your area. There’s something romantic and almost magical about singing along under the stars on a clear summer night. If your community has any outdoor theater, give that a try too. You may not think you’d like it, but it might surprise you. A summertime “Shakespeare in the Park” turned out to be one of our favorite dates a few years ago.
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Take a daytrip to a local area you’ve never explored together.
Break out your maps app and look for all the towns and highly-rated destinations within a three-hour driving radius of where you live. Plan a day to start early and get home late and then embark on your epic day-trip. Some of our best memories are from these types of explorations. You’ll find fun spots along the way to eat new food, experience new places and even post some selfies to help you remember the adventure.
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Find a Food Truck.
The Food Truck phenomenon has reached nearly every community in the nation, and it’s a fun way to try some local flavor and experience an outdoor meal together. Grab some lunch or dinner and then find a park to enjoy it.
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Have a picnic.
This one could be a natural continuation from the food truck idea, but a food truck isn’t necessary for it. A picnic might sound “old school,” but it’s still a lot of fun and a wonderful way to share some time together outside. It doesn’t have to be elaborate or require much planning. Just go through a drive through if necessary and find a pretty spot outside to sit under a tree and enjoy the meal. The change of scenery (which is a common theme in most of these ideas) will help you two reconnect in new ways.
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Get some sparklers.
Fireworks aren’t just for kids! For weeks leading up the Fourth of July, there will be plenty of places to buy fireworks and sparklers. Buy a few just for you and your spouse to set off together. Who knows…it might lead to some fireworks of a different kind when you get back home!
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Go on a scavenger hunt.
This one might require a little planning, but design a custom scavenger hunt for you and your spouse. Create a map with some fun, silly or random assignments along the way and you’re bound to have some unexpected fun and new inside jokes as a result.
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Get an outdoor couples’ massage.
We’ve had an outdoor couples’ massage one time in our lives and it was one of the most relaxing things we’ve ever done. For bonus points, find an outdoor couples’ massage with a water or beach view. It’s a little slice of paradise.
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Rent some jet skis.
If you have lakes or an ocean within a reasonable drive of your house, try renting a jet ski for the day. Take turns driving and whoever is not driving will be holding onto the driver. The experience simultaneously creates adrenaline, adventure and some extreme cuddling as you’re holding onto each other trying not to fall off!
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Go to a drive-in movie
These are much harder to find than they used to be, but the classic charm and nostalgic feelings of being at a drive-in movie sitting next to your love is something truly special. Do an internet search for a drive-in movie in your area and then plan your date based on which movie you like. Most drive-ins show two movies on the same night for one price, so you can find one movie for each of you.
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Drive to a scenic spot and park the car.
Find a quiet, safe and scenic spot to go parking. Just sit and look out at the view and share some unrushed conversations with each other. Once you’ve run out of things to talk about, you can use your lips for kissing. You’re never too old to make out in the car with your spouse!
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Go hiking.
Some of our best talks have happened while we were walking or hiking together. It’s a free, fun and healthy way to spend some quality time together while also experiencing the great outdoors. Pack some waters and some snacks and spend a morning or an afternoon in motion together.
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Create your own adventure.
When we were kids, those “Create Your Own Adventure” books were still around. We still believe that the best adventures happen when you’re not rigidly following someone else’s script, but when you create your own journey. We hope these ideas have helped spark some new ideas and adventures to help bring you and your spouse closer together. But don’t be limited by what we’ve listed. Let these ideas be a starting place for you to choose your own adventures!