The Date Night Bucket List

By Amy Miller

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On our first date, Trevor and I started talking about some things we like to do, and we found most of them we had in common (of course!) Since he had recently come home from serving an Latter-Day Saint mission, I started suggesting some of the movies he should watch and music to listen to that came out while he was gone. It started as that, and then somehow it turned into things that we were possibly going to do together… :) So being the list people that we are, Trevor pulled out his phone and created a google doc, listing these things to do. We’ve since added more and more items and it has become a source of inspiration for our date nights, but also for our hopes and dreams.

I want to share this idea with you marrieds because it’s been so helpful for keeping fun in our relationship! I know many couples have a list they refer to every now and then for ideas, but I’ll still share ours :)

Here’s a very small scale mock-up of what our list basically looks like:

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What we did:

  • Wrote down the things we wanted to do, eat, or see together, as we thought of them or heard of them. Most of these were thought up while we were dating and engaged, but we’ve added lots more ideas since then.
  • As our list grew, we started organizing it by different categories, as I mentioned. When we got married, we added a section for short-term bucket list items like “save up for a cruise”, as well as long-term bucket list items like “serve a senior mission.”
  • Within each category, there are obviously some items that we would want to do again in the future, like having a Back to the Future Marathon, or going to certain restaurants. So we just highlight that in a color when we’ve done it once but want to do it again.
  • As we got gift cards for the movie theater or restaurants, we would write those down on our bucket list too, in case we needed a free idea.
  • Some things had certain restrictions like seasonal times, or ones that had an expiration date like when we had our Utah Pass of All Passes. Making note of these time frames helped us keep track of what we could or should do, and when.
  • We also added more categories: things that we want to do that require exercise like “hike Timpanogos cave,” things we want to do inside like “cuddle” OF COURSE ;) and we even added a category for people we could ask to go on a double-date with.

The benefits:

  • It’s great for doing surprises, because we know that pretty much everything we have added to the list are things we both would like to do. No risk for disappointment!
  • It has been the ultimate brainstorming list that is easy to refer back to, without having to think of something on the spot. On Sundays when we usually plan out our weekends and want to have a date night, we’ll say, “What’s on our list that we could do this weekend?” and then one of us chooses an activity and asks the other one on that date :)
  • The list serves as our exciting journal in a way. Because we still get to see all the things we’ve crossed off the list, so we get the awesome feeling of looking back at all the fun things we’ve done together :) It would have been even better if we added the dates of when we completed the items.
  • I love how fun it makes us feel, when we think of an idea and add it to our list. I get this warm feeling that we’re less likely to become a boring couple with each new and random idea we add to our list, haha.

Wanting to create or add to your own list? Need some ideas to start with? Well, I’ve got ya covered! I’ve created a master list of date night ideas that consists of so many neat things to do together as a couple! I took ideas from what we’ve done or come up with, as well as from other people and sources. Just subscribe to my newsletter on the top left of the screen, and you will receive it and in a ready-to-print version so you can start crossing those things off the list now! Take a look at this list as inspiration for your next date night! This might be fun to look at together, to circle the things you both are interested in doing.  My last suggestion with this list is to consider trying new things, because it helps you avoid dating ruts!

Don’t forget, there is ALWAYS something awesome to do together!

P.S. One of our fav ways of documenting all these cute bucket list stuff is with my cute Mini 8 Instax Camera!

DATE NIGHT GIVEAWAY: Comment below with the fun date nights you and your spouse have, and you will be entered to win a date night gift card! (Giveaway has ended; Winner awarded)