There are a lot of benefits to a stay-at-home date, some practical and some sexy.
Every now and then, I look over at the man sleeping in the bed next to me and remember — oh hey, that’s right. I am married to that guy! And he’s not just around to help me chase down the toddler when he insists on stripping naked and running outside. (Why?)
Because I’m romantic like that, I like to remind myself that it’s important to cherish my husband and remember that if I don’t devote time to him regularly, that he might leave me and then I will have no one to cook me delicious dinners.
Kidding. Maybe.
But really, I like to invest in our relationship and at this point in our lives, sometimes, the best date nights happen at home. And I’m totally OK with the benefits of a stay-at-home date night, such as:
1. No babysitter.
Tell me what’s more excruciating than trying to find an available sitter when you most need it? And don’t even get me started on the fact that once you find one, it’s almost guaranteed one or more of your children will get sick on your planned date night and you will have to cancel anyways. It never fails.
2. No paying a babysitter.
Because babysitters are nice and all, but paying them is always a painful experience for me. Out-of-the home date nights for me always feel like I’m literally paying by the minute and who wants that kind of pressure to have a fun, romantic evening?
3. No driving home.
I’m not saying that two glasses of wine after four pregnancies is enough to make me giggly tipsy, but I’m not denying it either.
4. My own couch.
There are times I’m tempted to hit up the movie theater with my husband to catch the latest movie (even though, who knows what’s playing since I live in a baby bubble?), but then I think about how much I don’t want to pay someone else so I can go sit in an uncomfortable theater seat that is full of 10,000 million germs from someone else’s butt when I could be at home on my couch, comfortable as can be.
5. Candlelight.
Need I say more?
6. Pajamas > heels.
I like getting dressed up as much as the next frazzled postpartum mother, but when it comes right down to it, if I can cuddle up to my husband and be comfortable at the same time, life doesn’t really get much better.
7. An early bedtime.
Maybe it’s just us, but whenever we go out, we find ourselves stalling for time. We both really just want to be home, in our beds, but we feel so lame that we force ourselves to be fun and stay out later than either of us wants. But at home? The pressure is off.
8. Dramatically less crowds at home.
Dates at home mean no fighting the crowds or waiting 45 minutes for a table at the restaurant. Who wants to hold the buzzer, anyways?
9. More to love.
Some of my favorite “dates” have been just at home with my husband, sitting on our deck drinking wine or one of my husband’s famous homemade mojitos, watching the sun set and our kids play together. I love seeing the life we have created together and when it comes right down to it, home is where my heart is.
Even on date night.
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Originally appeared on Babble.com