A Year of Dates
As I stated in the Valentine’s Day Guide Gift post (here), I said I was going to write about the Year of Dates I gave Paul.
Christmas 2013 I gave him his first Year of Dates for one of his gifts. I found out that out of all of the gifts I gave him, my time was the most important and loved gift. So I decided at Chrstimas 2014 I was going to do the same. Of course, I changed it up a bit by changing where we would go or do, etc.
So what is A Year of Dates?
A gift to your significant other at Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or a Birthday. They open an envelope on the first day of each month. There is a date that you get to go on WITHOUT KIDS or ANYONE ELSE. Then you choose sometime during that month to take your date.
I don’t have time to make it or I am not good at DIY
Prepping the gift doesn’t take long to do and neither does deciding what to do on your dates. Rounding up the gift cards if you choose to buy them ahead of time probably was the most time consuming for me. I’ve always chosen to have a few dates that would be free (hiking, riding the motorcycle, etc), a few prepaid lunch or dinner gift cards (about $20 each), and then I have chosen some more expensive dates that may require going out of town, buying a ticket, or making reservations. I also type a letter to him. I have bought all my items at Hobby Lobby, except the gift cards were from Walmart.
When deciding what month to put each date in, I pay attention to which months have warmer days for those outdoor activities. I also keep in mind which months are booked solid or have a lot of spending already that will be going on aka… Christmas.
Ok, on to how to make this happen.
What you will need…
1) A written or typed letter
2) 13 envelopes-1 large one for the letter and 12 smaller ones (I use thank you card envelopes for the small ones)
3) cardstock, colored copy paper, or scrapbook paper (I used different colors or designs for each month)
4) Typed dates for each month that you are not using gift cards (I printed pictures of a golfer, a motorcycle, etc)
5) scissors (regular or with fancy edging)
6) tape or glue
7) a bag or box for the gift
8) a bow if you would like
9) 4-6 gift cards (or as many as you would like)
9) Colored pen (any color)
How to make it…
First, I type the letter and place is in it’s envelope. Next, I type the dates on the computer and print them out (I used white paper). I cut the dates out using fancy edging scissors. When I cut them I don’t always cut square or circle. BE CREATIVE. I paste the dates onto the scrapbook paper. I cut the scrapbook paper using the fancy edging as well to a size that fits into the envelope. Place all of the dates in the envelopes for their months. Next, write the name of each month on the front of the envelope using a colored pen. Place all of them, plus, the big envelope into the bag or box, wrap it up with a bow, and give to your love. Enjoy!
So what did we do on OUR dates?
January-Breakfast in Paducah at Ihop
February-Take the day off of work and spend it with each other
March-Had a couples massage at Egyptian Revival Day Spa (ohhh I miss this place)
April-Subway lunch date
May-Go to the driving range
June-Spend the night in STL
July-Dinner at Walker’s Bluff
August-Ride the motorcycle
September-Go for a hike
October-Lunch at Steak and Shake
November-Pedicures
December-See a play (Went to Dirty Dancing at the Fox Theatre in STL
(This is not the box I used, only for the purpose of the post)
So far this year…
January-Lunch at BWWs
February-Make sushi at home
For some people this idea may already be happening for you. Maybe though, it’s not consistent. Maybe your dates are once in a while. Maybe there isn’t a lot of thought that goes into your dates. For us it was “Where do you want to go”? Then we would spend forever deciding and may have not ended up going because it got late. For us also, we live on the spur of the moment because, like most people, our lives are crazy hectic.
This gift makes it happen and makes both of you accountable. Plus, it is fun to be in suspense every month waiting to see what you get to do together. I hope you get to do this with your loved one and enjoy it!
