"Baby it's Cold Outside" DaTe NighT.

So often times I find that mine & Grant's schedules conflict... a.lot. Often times he puts in 12 hour days at the office. I'm thankful that my hubby is a super hard worker buuuut since he usually gets home pretty late it leaves us to only spending time together for maybe an hour before it's time to call it a night.

Either that or we just end up staying up REALLY late and we're complete zombies the next day.

It's hard having almost ZERO time for fun...

Annnnd if you know Grant, he's always looking to have some fun!

Plus I think its super important to have date nights

especially after you're married because you've got to keep

the romance alive and create memories!

Soooo with that being said,

I'm a SUPER HUGE fan of this amazing blog called

 "THE DATING DIVAS"

Check them out- they have a great philosophy & amazzzzing ideas!

They were actually recently nominated to be one of the TOP 10 Marriage Blogs of 2010.

I borrowed this super fun idea for a date night with my hubby.

It's perfect-o for people on a budget/ looking for a cheap date idea

 and with the holidays here...that could be many of us!

PLUS - it just gets you in the mood for the season too

You only need a few things....

Annnd the good news is, you probably already have most of them!

• Your favorite Christmas movie
• Your favorite snacks/goodies
• Snowflakes (6 for $1 at the Dollar Store)
• Fishing line to hang the snowflakes from the ceiling
• A fireplace (if you don't have one, you can totally use a lap top screen saver or be creative and draw one... that would actually add to the fun)
• Christmas lights (to hang around the T.V. for an extra touch)
• Blankets & Pillows (so you can have a mini picnic in your living room floor)

Here's how our little date went down:

I left him this little note with a pair of his gloves by his keys & wallet before he left for work one morning... (on the dating divas blog they actually have a link you can print this off of- makes it SUPER easy!)

I made dinner while Grant was finishing things up at work and then I had all the decorations ready to put up... when he walked in the door he knew something was going on because I left him the note that morning but wasn't quite sure what it was. So I whisked him upstairs while I finished decorating...

Then I hung these snowflakes from the ceiling...

(I got a 12 pack at Hobby Lobby for %50 off & 6 for $1 at the Dollar Store)

Then I pulled out some white christmas lights we had

& strung them around the T.V.

Then I laid out some blankets & pillows in our living room so that we could have a mini picnic. We don't have a fireplace... so I grabbed our lap top, pulled up a picture of a cozy fireplace, and made it cover the entire screen.

Annnnd it just so happens to be that the movie "Elf" is one of Grants all time favorite movies. He can quote just about every line in the movie... so I made sure we watched it.

I made dinner, hot cocoa, & dessert to enjoy while we watched the movie.

These yummy treats were for dessert...

Strawberries & Cream (compliments of Skinny Taste.com: "the how-to")

& Chocolate Covered Cake Balls.

Then the best part of all was when I went to get Grant... I put on a scarf and grabbed one of his beanies. I walked into our computer room and said "You're going to need this!" Then I told him to change into something warm... A few minutes later when I went to go get him, I walked into our room and he was bundled up wearing long johns on under his pants, a big jacket, and his beanie! I just started laughing... he was definitely in for a surprise!

I led him downstairs and had only the lights around the T.V. on and the lap top with the picture of the fireplace. He LOVED it.

He actually told me it was one of his favorite dates we've had.

Super fun & super easy.

Happy Holidays!