Let’s face it. Once the kids are asleep, you and your spouse are most likely collapsing exhausted into bed and spending a few hours on your phones or watching tv. That’s fine! That’s what I did for a really long time too. But one day I was so sick of feeling like I had no time to myself and no time with my spouse. Thats when I realized I honestly DID have time, I just wasted it with screens. My husband and I were clearly drifting apart and had very little in common anymore besides our son. So, I decided to create abunch of activities we could do after sneaking out of the room my son was sleeping in. If you’re looking to reconnect with your spouse, or find a better use for your night time, try these 12 couple activities instead!
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1)Legos
This may not be for everyone but I was a total Lego nerd growing up. Like, I literally worked at Legoland for a few years. Over the years I collected a ton of legos, but most of them sat unbuilt in our garage. One night I went to my husband and said “hey, wanna build some legos with me?” And then we quietly put on some music and chatted, laughed, and built the Shreaking Shack from Harry Potter. This was the beginning of our nighttime fun! It’s so crazy how changing one thing for an hour a night brought us back together so quickly. There’s pretty much legos for every fandom out there so if you want to surprise your spouse, find one of their favorite and buy a set! The first Lego gift I got for my husband was baby groot. Then build them together and use that time to reconnect.
2)Board Games:
This one is a little more complicated because you have to find board games that are good two player games, but also not too loud like Jenga that will wake up your kids. If you’re really stuck in the roommate stage I’d recommend checking out some spicy couples games like Tease or Spicy Truth or Dare. Other ideas you have are to get mystery solving games, traditional board games like Life or Risk, or find some other two player games.
3)Keep up on a show:
I know I said it’s time turn off the screens, but sometimes you really are just too tired! That’s why having one specific show you always watch together is great. It gives you something to connect over while also relaxing! Instead of just mindlessly choosing random shows and movies, or watching shows individually, pick a show you can both get into. We’ve watched Gilmore Girls, Blacklist, Agents of SHIELD, Arrow, Young Sheldon, and so many more shows together over the years and it’s always so nice to connect and bond over something easy like that. It’s also a great time to reconnect physically and cuddle while watching!
4)Couples Yoga:
Now before you say no way to this one let’s talk it over for a second. You don’t have to be a yoga fan for this to be fun! This isn’t even about doing yoga, it’s about being silly with your spouse. Go on Pinterest, look up couples yoga poses, and see how complicated you guys can get! It’s honestly silly and laughter inducing, and it’ll bring you closer than ever.
5)Read:
If you’re ever in the mood to do a calming activity, but still want to ditch the screens, read! You can either lay next to each other and read your own books, or read one together! You have the option of doing it book club style where you read individually and discuss after, or you could take turns reading the book out loud or listening to an audio book. My husband really wanted me to read some of his favorites from his childhood so we would sit and listen to an audio book together and then chat about what I thought afterwards. If you want to share childhood memories like that as well it could give you an amazing activity to build an ever deeper bond with your spouse.
6)Cook or Bake Together:
My husband and I used to cook together, but after having our son it turned into one of us cooking and one of us playing. Every once in awhile though, it’s nice to give my son his one meal and wait till he’s asleep to cook something special for ourselves, together. Turn it into a little dinner and wine night! It’ll feel like a fun baby free date without having to pay for a babysitter!
7)Have a Spa Night:
Okay, how many of us moms are super on top of self care?? Probably not that many. It’s just so hard with little ones running around! So this one is a total win-win. Take a night and just spend it doing abunch of self care tasks. Grab a face mask and put them on while soaking your feet and give each other pedicures. Maybe you put some cucumbers over your eyes and do some meditation or use teeth whitening strips or whatever self care tasks you guys feel are important. Take care of yourself and your relationship!
8)Learn Something Together:
Pick up a new language. Cook a new recipe. Try a new hobby. Play a trivia game and learn new fun facts. Learning is good for you! But it’s even more fun when you do it with the person you love. Turn your night time into a great learning opportunity filled new ideas. The best part is, now you have new knowledge to teach your kids!
9)Set Goals for the Week:
Another great use of your free time at night is to work together to plan the week ahead. Usually there’s a lot of moving parts on families. Take this time to talk about what you need and want from each other in the upcoming week. Setting goals can help you have a better week, and also help you understand more about what your spouse needs. It sets you up for a happier week as a couple as well. It might be helpful to grab a family calendar to keep track of everything too!
10)Give Each Other Massages:
Practice acts of service with this one! Every could use a good massage, and with this activity you can enjoy a massage and also get to do something kind for your spouse. I like to use the lavender lotion from Earth Mama Organics because it’s full of great ingredients, while also smelling great and prepping you for bed. Thats the other benefit of this! It helps you calm down and prepare for a better night of sleep. Another win-win!
11)Plan an Adventure:
Something my husband and I are both very guilty of is being huge dreamers. There are times where we’ll come up to each other and be like “hey, I have a $3,000 Amazon cart of camping gear we’ll never buy that I want to show you because I was thinking of all the cool stuff we could do.” So, why not dream together? Sometimes we like to come up with crazy adventures that would be so fun to do some day; but other times, we’ll actually plan things we can do now! We’ll plan day trips or short weekend get aways and then actually schedule them in for next week or next month. Other plans we make are probably never gonna happen, but hey! It was fun to dream!
12)Have an Art Night
Have you ever seen that trend on tik tok where you start a painting and every five minutes you swap with your partner? Why not give it a try! You don’t have to swap paintings, but doing a task that’s interactive but also unique is a great way to finish your day with your partner. You could swap painting, paint a picture together, or individually paint the same thing! Whatever you choose to do, having an art night is a great way to express yourself and also learn how your partner taps into their creative side. Pour yourself a glass of wine and relax with the person you love and make your last few hours of the day count:)