A DATE A MONTH

This is the gift that I gave my husband for Christmas this year. I had spent time shopping in different stores and just couldn't find the right present. You know, that one thing that he REALLY wanted. On his list...a ladder (um...how am I going to hide THAT!?), hunting pants (now, THAT's exciting! HA!)...and then it hit me! He's always saying that he enjoys the time we have together...just the two of us. With 3 kids, jobs, a business, and other activities that time is sometimes hard to come by. When we DO have time alone, we often start in on some project that needs to get done because it's "so much easier and faster to get it done when the kids aren't around." Can you relate to that!?

So, I decided to give him "A Date a Month in 2010." I made the book out of chipboard and covered it with scrapbooking paper and stickers. Tied it together with jute. Keep in mind, this is for a man so I didn't need all the bling and fancy stuff. I kept it simple.

I went downtown to some of our favorite spots (the ones we never manage to get to) and a few NEW places that would be fun to try out. I bought gift cards or certificates for each place. 12 places total...one for each month. If they had one, I tried to pick up a business card from the business. It served as the "pocket" to hold the GC (see November's page above). I then attached them to each page, along with a little note.

He liked it! Really, he did! AND we are both looking forward to our "January Date"...breakfast at the the coffee shop!

In case you're interested, I did try to pick a variety of places AND times. Here are a few examples:

January - gift card to The Well. The note said, "Pick a morning. We'll drop the kids off at school and head to The Well for coffee and cinnamon rolls!"

March - 2 movie tickets. "MOVIE NIGHT (Popcorn's on me!)"

April - GC to Main Street Deli. "Block some time on your calendar and join me for lunch!"

May - GC to AutoZone. "Need some company while you're working on your car!? I'd love to join you for a good conversation and maybe to lend an extra hand." Note to readers: My husband has an old car he is working on in the garage. Your "date" doesn't have to be going out to dinner...be creative!

August - Chamber Check (these can be used at businesses that are part of the McPherson Chamber of Commerce). Used scrapbooking paper with a deck of cards as the background. "It's your lucky month. Pick a place and I'll join you...maybe over some BBQ!?