It's no secret that Devin and I are huge fans of Friday date night. I've shared fall date night ideas, Christmas movie date nights, how we've brought a toddler on our dates, and how to brainstorm date night ideas. Spending a set-aside "date night" is important to us, but really, the point is that we're spending quality, real time together. So, besides getting out of the house for a fun activity on a weekend night, we have also started a weekly tradition that I love!
Movie Monday.
We set aside our phones (why is that so hard?!), we get good movie snacks, we check out a movie from the library or we see what free things we can stream online. The point is that we're making time to be together, to do something fun together.
(In the spirit of being realllly honest, I should include that we don't do this every Monday, because sometimes we have plans or I have worship team practice at church. Movie Monday isn't an obligation; it's a "we're both free so let's make this a thing!" type of deal.)
Why "Movie Monday"?
Besides the goal of spending time together outside of an official date night, there's plenty of reasons to start doing Movie Monday!
It celebrates a random day that otherwise kind of sucks...jumping back into the week can be tough! But we love having that movie night to look forward to once the kids are in bed.
Another huge plus of the lowkey Movie Monday is that it's cheap and doesn't involve much planning. Aaaaand, my favorite thing: it's the perfect setup for inside jokes. Devin and I STILL sing the "let it die" song from The Lorax to each other, and it still makes us laugh.
I used to think that watching TV together was NOT quality time, because you're just sitting in silence! But with Devin's physically exhausting job as a carpenter, it was one of the ways he liked to relax. And I realized (like I mentioned earlier): watching movies together is where lots of our inside jokes come from. Plus, it gives us something new to discuss. Plenty of times, we've had to pause the movie because we're just talking right through it!
Maybe watching a movie isn't the way you & your spouse (or you & your close friends) spend quality time together. Maybe sitting around a table sipping coffee and talking is quality time for you. Maybe folding laundry is a better "team activity" for you. (And if it is, you're my hero and I'm jealous and I'll be dropping off 5 baskets of laundry for you to fold.)
P.S. Here's our favorite ice cream flavor, which is perfect for ANY given night after small people who make big messes go to bed. You can thank me later.
Do you have any weekly traditions? How do you spend quality time with your spouse or friends?
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