Last week I promised to share what I did for Mike for Christmas, so here it is.

This took all year long for me prepare and will last us all year too. This gift is kind of a selfish gift though because it is for him to use on us.

Each month I bought (or saved the money to buy) one gift card for us to use for a monthly date night dinner out.

I picked some places we already go to on occasion and some I’d like to go to and then even one that I’ve never tried before.

I put in two for Red Lobster where we like to go on double date night with Brian and Lauren. They introduced us the inexpensive way to eat there. (I just spent about 15 minutes or more looking for a post where I shared about this and cannot find it, so I guess I’ll be sharing that sometime this year.)

I also purchased two for Cheddars because that is a favorite restaurant of mine. I really enjoyed the one time we went to Red Robin, so I included it. The Outback has always been a favorite for us, so it was an easy choice. I’ve only eaten at Olive Garden once before and although it wasn’t my favorite, I believe this gift card is also usable at Red Lobster and a couple of other places, so it was also included.

The one new one I included is to Cold Stone ice creamery. We can either just go there for dessert one night or we can go to Subway first and then get the  ice cream after.

I included iHop and Cracker Barrel which both can be used all day, breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I think I prefer lunch/dinner at both places though. I also included money for Golden Corral because I didn’t see a gift certificate out where I buy them. I did look at their website online and found that I could have ordered one and received an extra $5 bonus card but I would have had to pay shipping and I wasn’t into all that. I could have gone by their place and picked one up, I guess, but that section of town is a zoo most of the time. Last year I took Mike there for a date morning breakfast and we enjoyed their breakfast buffet, especially since it was switching over to lunch while we were eating.

The last one was money for Texas Roadhouse, which I have not eaten at in ages. We could also choose to use that one at any other restaurant. My sister and her husband, Tracie and Mike, were just telling us how good Longhorn Steakhouse is now that they have new management, so that is a possibility as well.

Now, you may wonder what Mike thought of this gift. He LOVED it! He was impressed with how much I spend, of my own money (allowance) on this gift. It was a win!

So, now you have a whole year to plan your own date night gift for your hubby for next Christmas. It could be gift cards, like I have here, or some different stay at home date nights, all prepped and ready to go, like those available on The Dating Divas and other sites. You could just surf through their site and select different ‘dates’ you and your hubby would like and print out what you need, place it in binder ready for use. (They also have a set you can purchase I believe.) Here is a link to a post I did last year about where to find some great date night ideas online: Connect With Your Spouse.

Well, I’ve rambled on a bit, so I’ll close for now.

Until next time, God bless,

Michele ºÜº