A Year of Dates

date night 

I announced a while ago that I was planning a big Christmas present for Conrad: A year of planned dates. I'm so excited about this present, because it's actually been relatively easy to plan them all, and not too expensive, either.

Some of the dates are smaller and some are bigger. Some of them are evening-only, some are Saturday dates, and some are weekend dates. I tried to spread out the bigger ones.

Here's what I've planned for the year:

January
A couple's massage and a trip to Greek Corner Cafe (voucher gotten at Deal Me In Today, and I found a massage place that has really cheap massages for first-timers)

February
Snowboarding at Mt. Baldy and a Starbucks run for Hot Chocolate (I had a Starbucks giftcard from a giveaway I won)

March (Anniversary)
Anniversary weekend in San Francisco

April
Carlsbad flower fields and dinner at Rock and Roll Sushi (voucher gotten at DMIT)

May
Hike and a picnic (FREE!)

June
Skydiving (maybe this?)

July
Kayaking in La Jolla and a day at the beach

August (My birthday)
Weekend trip to Lake Tahoe, borrow Conrad's parents' boat

September
Ranger camping (throw a mattress and some blankets in the back of the truck and spend a night or two under the stars) (FREE except for paying to park the Ranger)

October (Conrad's birthday)
Hot air ballooning and dinner at a local Trattoria (voucher gotten at DMIT)

November
Movie night and frozen yogurt

December
See a musical or a concert and get dinner

Here are some tips for planning your year of dates:
+ Account for birthday months and anniversary months. You'll want to plan your date around special events. You can do a bigger event on those occasions, then you won't feel like your big day is muffled with a small date.
+ Use sites like Deal Me In Today, Groupon, and Restaurant.com to help you plan cheaper dates. You can find awesome deals on restaurants and activities, and you may find something that you've never done before!
+ Plan for holiday months. November and December may be difficult months to get away. I know we're always booked every weekend at the end of the year, so I didn't plan any weekend trips.
+ Weather matters! Don't plan a beach day in February, or a snow day in July. Consider seasons when planning dates.