I know I’ve said it a million times, but continuing to date your spouse after you get married and as you live your life together is so important! You have to continue connecting, having fun, learning about each other, and making each other a priority. It’s essential for your marriage to endure! Plus it’s fun, right?

So I want to give you a few pointers to help you plan your perfect date night. Notice I didn’t say THE perfect date night or A perfect date night. Perfect is unattainable and I think people spend too much time trying to attain it these days and put it on social media and get approval from others. But I want you to have a date night that’s perfect for you.

ONE || Be flexible. My husband works irregular hours and often I don’t even know when he’ll be home until he calls me from his car on the way home. So our date night plans have to be flexible. I used to get very disappointed when things didn’t go as planned and when our plans fell through, but I’ve changed my mindset and now I can enjoy date night even at the last minute.

TWO || Keep a bucket list. I made a date night bucket list for the last two years. Last year, we only did 3 out of the 10 on our list. It was a bad year. But this year, we’re doing so much better!

THREE || Plan. Plan. Plan. At the beginning of the year, I take out my planner and write down when movies come out that I know we want to see and when things are going on like concerts and the Ohio State Fair. Then, when we’re trying to decide what to do for date night, I just look at my planner. For me, planning like this makes it easier to be flexible, as weird as that sounds.

FOUR || Try Date Box. We get a box in the mail every month with an entire date inside. That way we’re guaranteed to have one fun and unique date every month. And it takes the planning out of it. We’ve loved every date so far. They’re always so fun!

FIVE || Take turns planning. This takes the stress off of each of you. We don’t exactly take turns every time, but sometimes he plans date night and sometimes I do. It’s never fun when only one person is doing all the work. Besides, this way you know you’re both getting to do things you want to do.

SIX || It’s okay to stay home. I think we often get it in our head that a date night is only successful or only romantic or only counts if we go out to some fancy place and include dinner and entertainment. No. That’s not true. A date night could very well be ordering take out and watching Netflix. Or it could be an ice cream run in the middle of the afternoon.

SEVEN || Try new things. Pearson and I have lived in Columbus for almost 4 years now and we keep finding new things to do. There’s not much better than exploring and experiencing new things with my husband. And this way we don’t get bored with the typical dinner and a movie.

EIGHT || Put effort into your appearance. I’m sure your man doesn’t care all that much about your looks. He loves you just the way you are. But putting a little extra effort in for date night shows him you care enough to look good for him and it will boost your confidence at the same time!

NINE || Wear something comfortable and stylish. I almost always bring a cardigan wherever we go for date night. I’m always cold and it’s important for me to be comfortable when we finally get away for that date. I also try to wear comfortable shoes. Often our dates turn into walking dates even if we weren’t planning on that from the beginning.

TEN || Pack your purse. Load up your bag with these date night essentials. I try to prepare for anything on date night because I want to enjoy my time with my husband without worrying about anything going wrong.

So what do you say? Are you ready to have your perfect date night this weekend? What tips would you add to my list?
Thanks for reading!

This post originally appeared on Love, Pasta and a Tool Belt here.