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A love coupon book for parents is a wonderful way to plan quality couple time and make a commitment to focus on the relationship even in the busiest times. You can download here the date cards and create your own love coupon book!
This year I wanted to prepare a meaningful gift for my husband’s birthday so I created two homemade gifts that I knew will make him happy.
One of the gifts was a love coupon book for him with 36 date ideas for us to enjoy during the whole year. This little “book of dates” is my way to show him that I want to spend more time with him. That I want to make a commitment to invest more time and energy into our relationship. That I want us to build many new happy moments together.
If you like the idea and want to prepare a similar gift for your husband, here are all the details about how I prepared our love coupon book. Also, you’ll find here the complete list of date ideas that I hope to inspire you too! 🙂
I know how busy mom life can be and how difficult it is to find couple time in the middle of all the daily tasks and challenges. But I also know how important a happy relationship is!
I hope that all these dates will be a lovely way to “restart” our marriage and build a stronger and happier relationship! And I wish the same thing for you!
photo credit: 4 PM production/ shutterstock.com
How to create a Love Coupon Book
The coupon book is very easy to make and it will be ready in less than half an hour!
Here is what you will need:
– white cardstock paper (you can use regular paper too but the cards look better if you use cardstock paper)
– a ribbon or 2 binder rings (I have this set of multicolor rings)
– the printable date cards (included in the Happy Dates Kit that you can download at the end of the article)
– a hole punch (that you probably already have at home or at the office; I have this one)
– (optional) If you have a laminator at home, it can be very helpful to laminate the covers to make them more durable.
How to prepare the love coupon book:
1. Print the date cards from the printable file. There are 2 versions to choose from:
– one file includes the date cards (for single-sided printing)
– the other file includes one page of journal templates to print on the reverse side of each date card (where you can write down a nice memory from the date).
If you prefer the double-sided version, you first need to print all the date cards and them place them in the printer and print the journal cards on the reserve side of all of them.
>> Click here to download the Happy Dates Kit
2. (Optional) Laminate the covers to make them more durable.
3. Use the hole punch to make a hole in all the date cards.
4. Put all the cards together using the ribbon or the binder rings.
That’s all! At the end, all you need to do is offer this gift to your husband and enjoy these awesome dates together!
You can find all the ideas included in our love coupon book on the below list.
Our list of date ideas: 37 ideas for a year of happy moments
I created all the date cards keeping into account that we don’t have any help with our son. So they can either be done at home after he falls asleep. Or they can be done by including our son into the date. The only exception is the weekend getaway when I hope that we’ll find a way to make it just for the two of us!
So even if you’re a busy parent (just like me), you’ll still find some good ideas to put into practice!
#1 – Movie Night Date
Go to the cinema or rent a DVD with a great movie. Grab some popcorn and enjoy it together!
#2 – Series Marathon Date
Plan a night of watching series on Netflix or Amazon Movies. Pick a series that you both like and watch as many episodes as you can before falling asleep. 🙂
photo credit: Africa Studio / shutterstock.com
#3 – Chocolate and Wine Date
Buy some chocolate and wine and enjoy a romantic date.
#4 – Photo Memories Date
Go through some old photo albums or browse the old photos on your laptop. Remember the moments in the pictures and pick your top 5 favorite photos from that night.
#5 – Questions Date Night
Pick a list of date night questions (like this one) and have fun answering them!
#6 – Dance Night Date
Just play some music and dance together!
#7 – Time Capsule Date
Create a time capsule for you to open after a specific time.
#8 – Weekend Getaway
Go somewhere nice for the weekend and just focus on each other! (if possible, disconnect from all technology to avoid any distractions)
#9 – Tourist Date
Be a tourist in your own city! Make a list of great places to visit and enjoy a little “vacation” without leaving home.
#10 – Trivia Night Date
Find an online trivia game and compete to see who gets more correct answers! It’s really fun!
#11 – Bike Ride Date
Go on a bike ride together. If you don’t have your own bikes, you can rent them.
#12 – Massage Date
Offer each other some relaxing massages at home. Or go to a spa and enjoy a couple massage.
#13 – Stargazing Date
Go stargazing in the backyard or in a nice place near your house.
#14 – Picnic Date
Go on a picnic in the park. Pack some delicious snacks and some games to play.
#15 – Board Games Date
Plan a game night with fun games to play together!
#16 – Home-Spa Date
Prepare a spa night at home with candles and pampering products.
#17 – Bucket List Date
Write a bucket list for the next year and plan some awesome adventures together.
#18 – Cooking Date
Pick an easy recipe and prepare it together.
photo credit: George Rudy / shutterstock.com
#19 – Bubble Bath Date
#20 – Surprise Date
Each partner prepares a little surprise for the other one. The surprise must be used during the date to make things more fun.
#21 – Scavenger Hunt Date
Make a list of things to search for and go on a scavenger hunt in the house or in the neighborhood.
#22 – Night Walk Date
Go for a walk in the park when it’s dark and enjoy some romantic moments.
#23 – Candlelight Dinner Date
#24 – Wine Tasting Date
#25 – Sporting Event Date
Buy tickets to a great sporting event and go to see it together!
#26 – Mini-Golf Date
#27 – Bowling Date
#28 – Escape Room Date
Go to an escape room near your house and take the challenge together!
#29 – Ice-Cream Date
Go to your favorite ice-cream shop and have a delicious ice-cream.
#30 – Day Trip Date
Go on a day trip to a nice place close to your town.
#31 – Dinner at the Restaurant Date
photo credit: ESB Professional / shutterstock.com
#32 – Picnic at the Beach Date
#33 – Museum Date
Pick a museum that you’ll both like and discover it together.
#34 – Dinner Cruise Date
 #35 – Event Date
Check the events in your area, pick one that you’ll both like, and have fun!
#36 – DIY Date
It’s time to be creative! Pick something interesting to create together: a craft, a handmade gift, a painting.
#37 – Puzzle Game Date
Buy some puzzle games and challenge each other to see who finishes the puzzles quicker. Or buy a very big puzzle and solve it together.
Our plan for a year of happy dates
There are 36 ideas included in our love coupon book so we plan to have 3 dates every month. It’s an ambitious plan considering our busy life but I hope that we’ll make it happen!
I plan to schedule the at-home date during the week, after Bogdan falls asleep. And I plan to schedule the rest of them during the weekend, when we have more time to spend together.
I will write updates on the blog as we try all these date ideas to share with you our experiences. In the meantime, I hope that you’ll try these ideas too! 🙂
How to download the Date Cards
All the 36 date cards are included in the Happy Dates Kit. You can find out more details about the kit and download the date cards using the below link.
>> Want to remember this? Save this idea to your favorite Pinterest board!
photo credit preview photo: Mariart_i / shutterstock.com
[…] If you want to find out exactly how I created the Date Cards Collection, you can find all the details here, including the printable date cards. […]