Generally speaking, I find Valentine's Day to be a less-than-stellar celebration of love. Aisles full of red stuffed animals, mediocre chocolate, and wilting single roses come to mind. I would say it's for the birds, but I like birds, and I think they deserve better. They are half of the whole birds and bees equation, after all. So, for the birds, and everyone else involved (namely my husband and me), I have decided to set the bar half a rung higher than CVS-bought heart-shaped candy, and a whole rung above my usual last-minute card, which I throw away for my husband so he won't have to feel bad about doing it himself. This year, I am giving a clever little gift that I lifted straight from Pinterest boards everywhere (hey, at least I sort of made it): the jar full of dates!
You know the drill-- popsicle sticks with date ideas written on them, stored in a mason jar decorated with cuteness. I saw variations on the theme where different colors translate to different levels of planning and cost associated with each date. Using that as a springboard, I decided to create three categories. Blue sticks have ideas for everyday dates that we could undertake on a moment's notice, green sticks have slightly more elaborate ideas that would entail a bit of planning, a bit of financing, or both. Finally, red sticks have Ooh LaLa date ideas, which are basically excuses to get it on.
Another little element of fun I have planned is to chronicle the dates with images that we can store in a little pre-fab scrapbook, as well as online, so we have something to look back on fondly the next time we want to tear each others' eyes out. Just kidding, that never happens. Someone pointed out to me recently that I have very few images of the husband and me together in the same frame, so it'll be nice to gather some memories.
Without further ado, here are the date ideas I came up with. I am leaving out the Red dates in order to prevent any PTSD symtpoms in case someone I know reads this. Some of these are very location-specific, and probably riddled with typos, but I hope they are moderately inspiring.
Blue dates
1. Visit an art gallery
2. Select two Groupons on the "use it now" page, and use them.
3. Go kart racing
4. Play two player games at an arcade.
5. Randomly pick live entertainment by closing our eyes and pointing at the newspaper.
6.Go to a comedy club
7. Photo shoot around town-- have people take our pics in a bunch of random places selected from the newspaper or similar.
8. Roller skating
9. Fireside lounge at Peppermill
10. Just desserts date
11. Buy a poetry book and go to the Lady Sylvia to read and drink
12 Find a random open mic to attend
13 rock climbing gym
14 5 below bar
15 pick a free event at a library, UNLV, museum, etc. to attend and discuss over dinner nearby
16 visit the gun store and sign up for a class
17 go shopping an pick each other one piece of clothing to buy and wear to dinner
18 pub crawl with a scavenger hunt for items (look up)
19 go dancing at a casino lounge
20 find a place with a free dance class and take it, stay to dance
21 go to a psychic
22
23 do karaoke together somewhere
24 go to a foreign restaurant we wouldn't normally and see a foreign film
25 get a small tattoo together in a hidden place decide at the last minute
(22 is a mystery, it seems).
Green Dates
1 Take a wine class
2 go hiking and have a picnic at the end
3 Pahrump valley winery
4 Spring Mountain Ranch
5 Rhyolite
6 Rent a fancy car and drive someplace within two hours to have lunch/hang out
7 Make a time capsule to bury.
8 Pick a random class to attend together through skill share or other.
9 Rent a kayak at Lake Mead.
10 Visit Clark County Museum.
11 Spend the night at a hotel.
12 Reorganize and redecorate a small space in the house.
13 Pick a plant to plant in the yard.
14 Have a picnic at Mount Charleston.
15 Visit Springs Preserve.
16 Drive to Blue Diamond for lunch.
17 Watch a fight or sporting event.
18 See a random show at the Smith Center.
19 Spend the day at a local pool.
20 Purchase a piece of art or antique downtown.
21 Take a wine and canvas class.
22 Dress up and have a fancy dinner.
23 Have the house cleaned by a service and spend the day in nature.
24 Take a helicopter ride.
25 Build something small together.
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