A great way to spend time with your kids is to revisit the place where you met your spouse
Revisit the Place Where You Met Your Spouse:
For this date, you’re going to recreate your first date with your child’s other parent. You may or may not still be with that person, but, regardless, this date is where your child’s life began. It’s an important part of your child’s life story. This date allows you to walk through the details of the date, talk about the conversations, and explain the feelings you had for your son or daughter’s parent. The more details you recreate and discuss, the more meaningful this date will be. Do whatever you can to make it as close as possible to the original date. If you want, you can even bring pictures from that date, if available, and recreate them with your child. Here are some basic ideas to help form your plan:
If you still have the same car, be sure to take it! If you don’t, describe the car, possibly showing your child pictures of it.
Similarly, if you still have the clothes you wore on your date, wear them!
Try to talk to anyone along the way who was present that day:
If family members were around when you picked your date up that day, see what they remember.
If there was a restaurant involved, see if anyone works there who was there back then. Talk about what they remember from that time at the restaurant. If possible, order the same thing off the menu.
If you bought or received flowers, consider buying the same flowers for your child.
Create a playlist of songs popular at the time that you might have listened to.
If a movie was involved, watch the same movie as part of your date.
Try to remember the exact route you took, or as close to it as possible. Recreate it, mentioning any landmarks or things you remember about the date.
Maybe you or the child’s other parent has a diary or journal entry from the date. If so, read it before your date, with or without your child. Allow it to help recall your memory of events, details, and conversations.
If you’re still together with the other parent, surprise your child by having him or her meet you at the end of your date. Talk together to your child about that first date and what you both remember.
WMTDS (What Makes This Date Special):
All children will appreciate this date, but this will be an incredible gift to the right child. Depending on your current relationship with the other parent and the age and gender of your child, this may be one of your kids’ favorite dates. Not only will they appreciate and enjoy the details of your date, but also it’ll make them feel important. You’re teaching them where their lives started, and how meaningful it was to the two of you.
Teachable Moments:
The teachable moment for this date is simply the background of your kids’ parents’ life story. Nonetheless, this simple lesson has the possibility of having a great, lasting impact on their lives. So much of this date will depend on your current family dynamics. This can be a great date to teach them about the importance of the relationship, past or present, you had or have with their mom or dad.
Variations:
One simple but just as powerful variation of this date is to recreate the place and time you met your kids’ mom or dad. Take them through that day in your life, including how it started even before you met the other parent. Again, as with the examples above, explain as many details as you can remember from that day. Alternatively, you could choose any important day in your children’s lives and recreate it – for example, the days they were born. Take them physically through what those days were like for you, possibly even including a tour of the hospital where they were born.
Expense:
This date is free unless you add in the activities or meals that were involved that day. I highly recommend doing that as much as your budget will allow. But if you need a free date, this is a great idea for one.
A great way to spend time with your kids is to revisit the place where you met your spouse
Planning:
Planning isn’t required, but the more advanced planning you can do the better your date might be. Think through the day you are going to take them through. Write down all the things you can remember. What are all the details? Who are the people you can involve? Make a list and do as much advanced planning needed to make an incredible date experience.
Reference Websites:
Revisit old happy memories together
Amazon Resources:
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Alternatives:
#5 Take them to your childhood places
#6 Capture your memories on a map
For a list of other ideas on how to spend one-on-one time with your child, see the full list here.
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