Planning the perfect date night

After being married for more than a few years, it can be tough to rekindle that old flame that used to burn so brightly. So, last week was my turn to plan our next date night. I came up with a new an exciting, yet romantic night, and it was well within our budget; A backyard movie night. Below is a list I compiled of things I used to perfect my backyard oasis.

1. Projector

   I lucked out and found a cheap one at a yard sale last weekend. They also have them pretty cheap on ebay, if you’re looking for a good deal. You can also make your own projector by using an old shoe box, a magnifying glass and your smart phone. Complete tutorial can be found here: http://thecollegejuice.com/2012/07/diy-dorm-smartphone-projector/

2. Screen

   You’ll want to grab a white sheet that can be used for the screen. Pinning it to your house or patio awning works famously. However, I found some leftover PVC pipe in the garage from a previous project and was able to make my very own movie screen.

3. Popcorn

   You cant have a movie without popcorn, so I made his favorite caramel corn and put it in cute popcorn buckets found at my local dollar store.

4. Candy

   We both have a sweet tooth, so I knew a candy concession was an absolute must have. While picking up the popcorn buckets, I found full sized candy bars and personal sized bags of candy. When I got home, I grabbed a couple of old moving boxes and made my very own candy cart, stocked with our favorites

5. Beverages

   This really just depends on the night. Our night had a chilled breeze, it wasn’t unbearably cold nor hot, but the perfect temperature while under a blanket, next to the man I love with a nice cup of hot chocolate.

6. Seating

   Since summer is over, I found a blowup kiddie pool on clearance. I filled It with blankets and pillows, and voila, the best seats in the house. No itchy grass, no bugs crawling on our blankets or in our food and because of the size of the pool (rectangle pool made for children) we got to comfortably cuddle throughout the entire movie.

The night was amazing and did not disappoint; we watched a romantic comedy, cuddled under the stars and best of all, enjoyed all of this from the comfort of our own home. You can set a dress code or stay in your pajamas, choose the food and/or snacks you serve, decide on what movie you wish to watch, when it starts and you can pause it to use the restroom; you get to decide every little detail of this date night.