Date Night at Home!
When I told my friends I was working on a date night segment at home, they replied: ‘You mean more time at home with my husband? Blah!’
They honestly had a point!
How do you transform your everyday space into a fun date environment for you and your significant other? By setting the mood, unwinding from your day, playing fun games and eating to your heart’s content!
So tuck the kids or fur babies to bed inside, and have a creative and easy night outside as I recently did in a segment for the Today show!
SETTING THE LOVER’S LOUNGE
Ambient soft light hung from trees, unadorned walls and dotted about your space goes miles for setting a sultry mood!
Frontgate
Hanging LED Glow Balls, asst. sizes, from $89, Frontgate.com
Outdoor curtain lights, $21.99, amazon.com
Frontgate
Leave the smoldering to your relationship! Flameless candles are great for broad decks to small balconies.
Battery Operated Flameless Outdoor Candles, from $39, Frontgate.com
ROMANTIC RELAXATION
It’s been a long few months and it can be hard to relax at home when your home space might be your work/family/everything space! So take 10 minutes to do some stretches while talking about your day, listening to calming music that you love, giving each other the gift of massage and sipping any number of new canned beverages.
Stretches:
Massage:
Music:
No evening of romance is complete without music to drown out the cheers of the children inside the house, who are wondering why they cannot crash your parent party! Joking, not joking.
Seriously, the ocean and river, nature and chimes sound options are soothing to an overworked parents’ soul.
iHome Zenergy Portable Bluetooth Speaker with Color Changing, $39.99, Kohls.com
Make Your Own Gin:
For a fun activity in advance, this make your own Gin Kit can be a fun couple’s activity 36-hours in advance: the juniper berries need 24 hours to soak, and another 12 for the cardamom, lavender and sandalwood herbs and botanicals to infuse.
Homemade Gin Kit, $50, Uncommongoods.com
Canned Drinks:
FUN & GAMES
My husband loves a fun game (or winning?!), so we couldn’t pass up having a loving challenge!
Melt-My-Heart Marshmallow Toss:
Set out two glass hurricanes or old glass vases of equal size at the same distance. Label one: “he loves me more”, “she loves me more” (same for same sex couples: she/she, he/he). You each get a bowl full of marshmallows and toss for 30 seconds.
So who sunk the most marshmallows? Who really loves the other more???
Hammock for Two!
Finding ways to cuddle is supremely easy with this two-person hammock, from which you can watch a projected movie or do some star gazing.
Freestanding 2-Person Catalina Hammock with Stand, $195, Sunnydazedecor.com
FOOD FOR LOVERS
We’ve worked up an appetite after all of these activities! Unlike socially-distanced parties of late, you can share from one bowl, touch food directly and feed each other! Go crazy love birds!
Make pizzas blindfolded! Self explanatory, WAY TOO MUCH FUN, and there’s a reason why this party for two is outside! To minimize clean-up mess of course!
Spicy Sweet Watermelon Cocktail: just like my marriage! :)
This is a Ciroc Recipe that’s so easy, even my kids wanted to make it -- but just watermelon juice for them!
Rim
2 tablespoons kosher salt 1⁄2 tablespoon chili powder
1 lime, cut in half
Cocktail
2 pounds cubed watermelon
4 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
9 ounces Ciroc Summer Watermelon (1 & 1/2 ounces per drink) Lime wheels, for garnish
Preparation
1. Rim: Stir together kosher salt and chili powder, then pour onto a small plate. Rub the cut side of the lime around the rim of a highball glass. Roll the rim of the glass in the salt-spice mixture until fully coated. Repeat with the other glasses.
2. Cocktail: Place a few handfuls of watermelon cubes into a blender. Blend until liquified. Pour in the rest of the watermelon and blend.
3. Place 2 mesh strainers on top of each other over a pitcher. Pour the watermelon juice through the strainer and use a silicone spatula to push all the juice through. Remove the strainers. Stir lime juice, chili powder, and kosher salt into the watermelon juice.
4. Fill rocks glasses with ice. Pour 1& 1/2 ounces Ciroc Summer Watermelon into each glass. Fill glasses with watermelon juice. Garnish with a lime wheel.
Upgraded S’mores:
These are a sweet hit! White chocolate s'mores with toasted marshmallows and smushed berries: blackberries or raspberries or blueberries -- whatever is peak season.
Aphrodisiac Salad
Fresh greens, walnuts, pistachios, blanched asparagus, figs, avocados in a red wine vinaigrette. Every ingredient outside of the lettuce? An aphrodisiac! Hey, it couldn’t hurt the evening’s theme, am I right?