I know with this new lockdown on our state, that going on dates may start to seem like a thing of the past. However, even with most things shutting down yet again, there are still plenty of inexpensive dates you and your significant other can go on! This past week my boyfriend and I went on three dates and we didn’t spend a single penny. Winter is a great time to get out of this covid funk and spend some time with the person you love most, without breaking the bank.
I know that it might seem simple and cheesy, but the first date of the week brought us back to our childhood, and it didn’t cost us a dime and it was some of the most fun we have had in awhile. We went sledding! Sledding is a timeless activity. We simply got bundled up in our snow gear, ready for the new surprise snow we had. We drove to what we call “the dunes” out in Nine Mile Falls. “The dunes” are just a trail filled eith hills. We parked and hiked that trail out to our favoite hill with the single sled we could find in our garage. We started at one in the afternoon and before we knew it, it was sundown. We made sled jumps, snowmans, and even had a mini snowball fight. I know that it may seem like sledding is such a childish activity and it may not even be considered a date. However, isn’t it nice to feel like a child again and forget about the struggle of the world around you for a few hours, all awhile spending time with your loved one?
Our second date of the week was even more simple and easier than sledding. We started the date off by baking our favoite cookies at home. Then we packed up the cookies, some blankets and downloaded a christmas movie onto a laptop and got in the car. Then we drove to “the lookout”. If you don’t know what “the lookout” is, it is a spot on the South Hill the overlooks all of Spokane. It is located on Cliff Drive, and I highly recommoned going at night, because you will experience the beauty of the lights of all of Spokane Anyway, when we arrived we parked, set up the blankets in the back seat, and pulled out the laptop and cookies and started watching our movie with an amazing view! My laptop has bluetooth so we were able to hook up the sound to the car which made the experience even better! Overall, it was a very romantic and inexpensive date! I would also like to note to bring water, or a drink of some kind. We forgot and quickly regretted it once we started eating the cookies! Also, to get to get “the lookout” just look up directions to Cliff Drive on your phone (not Cliff Park) and drive on that road and you cant miss the pull out spot to park and over look the wonderful city we live in!
Our third and final date of the week, was a date I recommend doing more towards Christmas. We decided for our last date to do something we had actually never done before. We decided to drive around the neighborhood and look at Christmas lights. Surprising, even though it is before Thanksgiving, we saw a handful of houses already set up their Christmas lights! This is more of a quick, and no money needed kind of date. I liked it but, I think when more of the houses have their decorations up we will defiently be doing this date again!
Some other date ideas that we didn’t get to this last week was Christmas drive-in movie at the Hub Sports Center. It is $20 for an entire car, and on December 5th they will be playing the How the Grinch Stole Christmas at 5 pm, and at 8 pm they will also be playing National Lampoon’s Christmas Vancation. We also have skating at the Ice Ribbon on our list, which date of opening is still to be determined but you will have to make reservations prior, and skiing/ snowboarding at Mt. Spokane on the list as well.
Covid has taken away a lot of our social life, and most of the way us humans are used to functioning. However, it does not have to take away our date nights with your parnter/ significant other!