Investing in Your Marriage: Wacky Dates

Have date nights with your life's love started looking a bit reminiscent of the Steve Carrell/Tina Fey flick? You know, the same old dinner at the same old restaurant with the same old stilted conversation? Let's face it: even though we want them to happen and look forward to them, date nights with our spouses can get a little stale. Here are a couple of ideas to get your creative juices flowing when it comes to spending time with your special other half.

Try a Rotten Tomato

This idea comes courtesy of a gem of a show (in my nerdy opinion) that is now only found in DVD reruns. I'm talking, of course, about Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K). If you're not familiar with the concept, the basic premise is a guy and his two robot pals are forced by an evil, mad scientist to watch the worst movies ever made, and to get through them with their sanity still intact, they make fun of the flicks. While the concept is a bit on the cheesy side (they're in space on a ship called the Satellite of Love), the execution is flat-out, hands-down hilarious. And it certainly lends itself to an idea you can try for your next at home date ('cause while shouting out insults to the screen at the local movie theater might sound fun, your fellow audience members probably won't find it as humorous).

So, instead of renting a flick that's known for its four-star rating, browse your cable stations or your rental place of choice for a movie that's just terrible. You haven't heard of it? Great choice! It's direct to DVD and didn't even show in a theater? Even better! Hint: just about any "original feature" found on the SyFy channel should do nicely.

First off, you and your honey will need to agree beforehand that you'll be talking during the movie, making jokes, etc. That's the point; to make a horrible movie fun with the sense of humor of the one your closest to! Once you have it picked out, head home, put your kiddos to bed, pick your perfect snack and beverage combo and be prepared to laugh at how awful the movie is with your sweetie. An added bonus? It's really a pretty cheap date that you can fit in anytime you two have a couple of hours alone together.

Child's Play

Remember how fun it was to be a kid and how much more exciting it was to go places and clown around with a pal? Bring that same enthusiasm you had when you were a child into a date with your spouse. Besides, who says adults have to act grown up all the time? If your dates are a bit boring, consider taking a cue from your kids and opt for a fun date without them:

• Consider hitting up an amusement park: Ride all the rides you want, play games and pig out on all that amazingly bad-for-you park food. Take the chance to have fun with your other half without having to worry about the kids.
• Head to your local indoor game place: Yep, I mean like a Chuck E Cheese or a Dave and Buster's. Admit it; that skee ball game is just plain addicting! And fun! Who better to share a wacky date of games with than your significant other?
• A few other ideas: Roller skating, ice skating, skiing (better yet – tubing!), sledding, hitting up the beach, and visiting the local zoo, aquarium or science museum. Any place you'd think to take the kids, try it sans children.

Dates with mister don't have to be the same old routine. Why not try to shake things up a bit your next night/day/time out? Who knows: you may just find a fun, new tradition for the two of you.

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