Did Christmas sneak up on you again this year? Maybe you spent all your time tracking and brainstorming gifts for the kids that you can’t believe you forgot about your significant other. Now Christmas is just a few days away and you don’t know what to get!
Rest assured… I’ve got you covered.
December is always a month of deep reflection or me. Apparently it takes me a full month to create my new years resolutions and decide what I loved and didn’t love about this year. Overall, 2016 has been incredibly amazing for my husband and me. We’ve paid off huge chunks of debt, are in the process of buying our dream home (after it’s renovated) and have spent some invaluable time together with the kids. The thing we haven’t done enough of though…. is date. That’s why this year I’m giving my husband a full year of dates for Christmas.
I think dating after your married is so incredibly important. Between diaper changes, school errands, work, and the daily craziness, it can be hard to squeeze in time alone, but I really think it’s important. This past year has been incredible, but in 2017 I’m determined to date my husband again.
To ensure this, I put together a sneaky little last minute gift this Christmas that I’m sure he’s going to love as much as I will. This Christmas, I’m giving my husband a full year of dates. Prepaid and planned out with babysitters already booked.
In total he has 24 envelopes for Christmas morning. 1 home date and 1 babysitter-required date each month.
To be completely honest, the dates are mostly paid for, organized, and I have babysitters ready for the first 2 months, but not the entire year. To keep it practical with our busy lives, I set 1 date out of the house and 1 date in the house after the kids are asleep each month. If we go on more, great, but this makes sure we never miss a month again. I even made the dates a little bit more interesting and little less expensive by using Groupon for a few. If you do this, just be careful to check the fine print and be sure you can use them over 3 months from now.
Each date is organized on a cute little piece of paper and put in an envelope. If I have a voucher or gift certificate, I include it. If its just an idea, I printed off 3 options and included them in that month’s envelope so he always has something to open and choose from. If I didn’t, we’d end up with sushi and Netflix again. Not that it’s bad, but I’m excited to mix things up a bit.
To make my envelopes look a little nicer, I covered them with this contact paper and cut off the excess. The monthly labels are from Avery and can be bought and printed online here. I swear I use Avery labels for everything. Aren’t they so cute?!
I’m so excited for this next year and for him to open this Christmas morning. We both need the blocked out time to reconnect and have fun without the kids. Don’t get me wrong- the kids are the most perfect little creatures I’ll ever meet, but I’m so crazy excited to spend more non-interrupted time with Jon.
If you’re like me and have NO idea what to get your partner, give this a try. Overall, it’s a pretty simple and straightforward gift that will actually be used since the dates are already paid for. Bring on the New Year and Merry Christmas!!!
