Any Ideas? - Weedsport,NY

Forget the dinner and movie. Get take out instead and take it to the beach for a picnic. After you eat, go for a long walk together on the beach. Or in a park. Or at the zoo. Or anywhere you can just talk. You don't have to talk about the problems you are having either. Just talk to each other. You can't talk in a movie theater.

And if you still want to see a movie, rent one and go home and watch it together after the kids are all in bed asleep. And don't forget to make pop corn!

Hi K.,
Forget the moies, its too impersonal, especially as you pointed out you haven't gotten along so much. Maybe a picnic in the park, or a day of sightseeing? Anything will work as long as you are together and comunicating.
Good luck!

My husband and I usually go out for Japanese food. Then we go for an evening walk. The restaurant is a rare treat because of the expense, but we sit there for a couple of hours over raw fish and talk about things. It's nice. Just doing something you don't normally get to do is enough to celebrate.

My husband and I enjoy mini-golf, or going to a local amusement park. Fairs, outdoor concerts. Look for something fun and silly to do. There's research that shows that couples that "reinvent" their date night actually have better relationships. It activates some other portion of your brain. And it gives you something light to pay attention to and reconnect over.

My husband and I had our 20th a few months ago. Like you sound, we were not connecting. We work separate shifts so barely see each other. We went to dinner and spent time talking before going to get the kids. If you are havng problems, that is the best thing. Take a nice walk after dinner and talk. You may be surprised to get a quick reconnection.

mini golf or bowling!

How about an evening picnic at the beach.

I agree- skip the movie and spend time talking. We celebrated 10 years last month with dinner and a walk along a river. Nothing fancy, but time well spent together without kids interrupting. Best wishes!

Are there any dinner cruises where you live? That could be a fun and relaxing evening. I hope you enjoy whatever you end up doing.

You definitely should celebrate and you need something fun and interactive that you can enjoy together!! You need to reconnect - kids and life in general sometimes get in the way of remembering why you married and love eachother in the first place.

My suggestion is like a few others - do something goofy! minigolf is a good idea! bowling, a local fair/festival, an amusement park, a long walk at a local park (even better if it ends at an icecream shop!)... we have "hydrobikes" down by the niagara river near us that are fun - just little activities like that, doesn't have to be something big or extravagant. If its possible i love the camping idea (that's what we did for our honeymoon, its so great to just get away from everything together), but sometimes hard to work that out if you have kids in the picture.

If you're at a loss for ideas - pretend you're a tourist and look into whats fun to do in your area or somewhere close enough to drive. Sometimes there are very fun things that the locals overlook!

Dinner is always great idea, its nice to sit down after hanging out and wind down with some good conversation. but if money is tight, pack a picnic (or splurge on some takeout) and bring a blanket to a park if its a nice day!

congrats on your anniversary :)

Hi K.,
So two years ago my husband and I were at the same point, not really getting along, not tons of money to go somewhere and I had just figured out (like 15 minutes before the babysitter came) that I was preggers, so I knew I couldn't drink.

We went out to dinner (where I broke down in tears when he figured out why I wasn't drinking). After that we had a great time going bowling and then went to a Dairy Queen and ate ice-cream in the car while people watching. We didn't really talk about our problems, the kids, work, or anything that would have started a "discussion", we just kept it light. I have to say, it was one of the best anniversaries that we shared in a long time.

Good luck and congrats on your anniversary!
Kristal

Do you have a AH So ? It is chinesse/sushie/jap food ??? Umm......totally fun entertainment. Great for a group, so you sit with others and you may make a friend or people to talk too. They may have a website. They cook in front of you.....like a show, Benny-honas???? Spelling for me is bad !

The Melting Pot ? Another great place to cook and eat. Choc. Fondue.....YUMMY.

Even dinner and a movie is more then your use too......I say go for it !

Summer time usually means fairs. Do you have a local or county fair you guys could hit up? Maybe playing games together or riding the farrahs (SP?) wheel would be fun for you guys.

Or may go do bumper cars? Or, we have a place called Dave and Busters here in Columbus and though they serve alcholol doesn't mean you have to drink. It is just like an adult arcade place. My husband and I have a blast there... haha.. brings out the inner kids in us.

I guess if you guys are having some issues I would try and find something really fun to go do that you guys could laugh with eachother with. If you are a movie you guys are not even able to talk.

Good luck and hop you guys have fun!!

What about packing a picnic and going to a park. You can just hang out, lay on a blanket and chat, read, go for a walk. Just enjoy each other. You can play frisbee, fly a kite, whatever. Getting out in the sunshine is so good for you. It doesn't have to cost you anything to do this, but it can be so beneficial to your relationship. Enjoy each other.

Can you borrow camping equipment and get away from it all?
If you have only a day or evening, how about the local park with a picnic dinner?
Around us there are free shows in the local park on Sunday afternoons; free concerts in the park on Thursday evenings.
Hope it is fun. My husband and I had our tough times after 29 years of marriage, but we still found a way to get away and realized how much fun we have together without the stress of the house and kids. Our friendship is what our relationship was based on, and doing something fun together reminds of that.

Good luck! Have fun!

I highly recommend dinner, but no movie. If you're not getting along sometimes, you need time together. You need to talk. You can do this at dinner, but not a movie. After dinner find a place where you can go for a nice walk, or somewhere romantic where you can just sit and talk.

We usually think of celebrating as an evening thing and with dinner. If money is tight why not lunch (usually a lot cheaper than dinner) or even packing up a picnic.

Happy Aniversery!!

what do you like to do? maybe go to a park and walk around the nature trails for a while or go to a corn maze (i think that there are some open this time of the year). or perhaps just go to the beach together and have some ice cream. Where we live, there are free outdoor concerts and movies in the park- maybe go to one of those and pack a picnic.