Mystery Date

Hello everyone! It's getting close to one of my favorite holidays of the year! You guessed it! It's Valentine's Day! Now, I know some of you may be groaning or rolling your eyes, but really, it doesn't have to be all about the mushy-gushy stuff. Instead it can be seen as an opportunity to do something nice for someone special or to a random person!

Anyway, no matter who you're showing your affection to, there are so many fun and creative ways to do it, and today I'm going to share a few of them with you! :)

First of all, if your name happens to be Tyler Bouma, you better stop reading now, because some of these ideas are for you ;) hehe

Anyway, our family recently purchased the 1965 classic edition of 'Mystery Date', and as you can see from the picture, it is a very girly game, which calls for each girl player to get three pieces to from an outfit before she can go on a date.  Then, once she lands on an "Open the door" space, she then spins the knob of the mystery door to see who her true love is.  If it is Dud, then she loses everything and has to start all over on her quest, but if she opens to find her matching man, then she has won the game!  Not only is the game gobs of fun to play (especially with three little sisters), but it totally inspired me to think of some fun and creative dates for anyone!

Before I begin, you must know that I am a person who likes to do small, creative things for the people that I love! I like to make coupons that allow a person to turn them in for a special gift or treat, such as a back massage or for a coffee drink from McDonalds. They are simple and fun to make, and easy to give to just about anyone.  For a friend, you could even make a booklet of inspirational quotes too (which is almost completely free - minus cost of paper and labor).

Another fun and simple idea is to take a standard die from like a board game and roll to see what kind of activity you are going to do.  I am definitely planning on doing this with Tyler!! You just assign a different activity or even a gift item to each number rolled, and then whatever number you get, that's what you do/give!  Not only is this incredibly easy, but it also keeps your date nights from getting too 'predictable'.

Another fun idea is to have a scavenger hunt!  I am actually organizing one for Tyler for our one-year anniversary which is coming up on Saturday!  (Yes, I will post about it!!!)  But anyway, a scavenger hunt is always fun, and can definitely lend itself to either romantic, or friendly intentions! :)

Now, for an idea that I was inspired by via Pinterest!  Yes, I am a pin-addict ;) hahah Anyway, one idea that particularly struck me was to take a simple, weekly pill holder and use it to stick small love notes into each day (or you could put homemade coupons in them too) and then put a small piece of candy into them, such as tic tacs, or m&m's.  I'm actually going to put conversation hearts into the pill case that I'm making for Tyler, since I'll be giving that to him on Valentine's Day!  This is a particularly nice gift for V-Day just because it can remind your special someone that you not only think about them on that day, but every single day!  It's also a nice, random gift to give too!  Such as for a friend or a hubby who's going on a business trip, or just for a small way to say, "I love you", or "I care about you".  :)

From these ideas, I hope that you can see that Valentine's Day does not always have to be a big, elaborate shin-dig, instead, it can be a day where you actually take the time to make something special for the ones you love. Sure, it might be nice to receive a dozen roses, and there's surely nothing wrong with it, but it really is fun to go out of your way to actually 'hand-make' something!  Not only will the person appreciate it more, but I really do think that *you* will get more joy out of giving it too! :)