It’s been a busy fall so far in our house. Between work, classes, ministry events, church, and time with other families, my hubby and I don’t always get a lot of time together. That’s why it’s even more important to really connect in the time we do have.
Date nights are vital, and we try to get them whenever we can. Our church has marrieds’ nights out, which are fun, and occasionally we grab a babysitter or go out when our families are in town. (Here are 50 date night ideas, if you’re interested!)
But sometimes you just have to make the most of those short chunks of time that pop up here and there. The key to anything you do together, the thing that will make you feel close, no matter how much time you have? Sneak in love languages wherever you can. No matter what it is you’re doing, if things like words of affirmation and physical touch are elements, you just feel more in tune with each other, and more able to handle the rush of life.
My hubby and I love to make plans for our next vacation or getaway, for example. We enjoy picking out the place, thinking about what kinds of activities we would do there, and when we could go. It’s something we can do together that doesn’t take up a lot of time, but makes us stop and focus on each other.
Here are some ways for you to connect with your spouse, even with limited time. I’ve divide up into different time amounts – apply what works best for you both!
5-10 Minutes:
- Pray together.
- Each of you share one positive thing or victory that happened during the day.
- Have a staring contest or a thumb war.
- Jam out to some music together.
- Split a treat – like a candy bar, piece of pie, or cookie.
- Tell a few things you love about each other.
- Take silly selfies together.
- Talk about your dreams – your goals, or what you dreamt about as you slept last night.
- Sign up or buy tickets for an event, like a festival, walkathon, or concert.
- Share a scripture or quote that has inspired you recently.
10-20 Minutes:
- Snuggle on the couch.
- Sip a beverage together and talk about your day.
- Go over plans for the week (or the rest of the week) together.
- Talk about what you would like to do on your next vacation or getaway.
- Share an article, news story, or post you’ve read recently that you enjoyed, or that made you think.
- Give each other foot or shoulder rubs.
- Play one round of a board game, like Scattergories, Headbands, Balderdash, etc.
- Go to a nearby park and play on the playground, or swing.
- Make lists together of things you like about each other, to be read when encouragement is needed.
- Teach the other spouse a skill that you know, and practice together – i.e. juggling, spinning a basketball on your finger, a tune on the piano, etc.
20-30 Minutes:
- Play a card game.
- Go out for a cup of coffee or tea, even if it’s through the drive-through.
- Drive to an overlook and check out the view.
- Take a walk.
- Talk about holiday gifts you’ll get for family members – or each other!
- Do a quick home improvement project together – put up a shelf, decorate your mantle, hang pictures, etc.
- Walk around a bookstore and find new interests or old favorites.
- Find some typical “first date questions” (like “What would your super power be?” or “If you could have lunch with anyone in history, who would it be?”) and hear each other’s answers.
- Do a short workout together.
- Check out a local farmer’s market.
30-45 Minutes:
- Watch an episode of a show you both enjoy.
- Read a book together.
- Browse a secondhand or antique store and pick out something fun for the other person.
- Take a hike.
- Bake some cookies, a pizza, or something quick and easy.
- Do a household chore you usually do alone, or pick a room to clean together.
- Drive the long way to run an errand or to your next activity, and talk, or listen to music together.
- Play a board game.
- Go for a bike ride.
- Have a quick picnic with appetizer-style foods, like cheese and crackers.
What makes you feel connected with your spouse, no matter how crazy life gets?
I love all tips you gave, especially that you broke it down into time frames. Sometimes it’s hard to get 5 minutes alone with Hubs, while other days we have hours. It’s all about making the most of the time you get to connect.
So true! Whatever time you have, you can connect and get on the same page.
This is SUCH a good post! These ideas are really fantastic, and I especially love how you split them into how long each activity takes. This post really points out that it’s all about the little things. 🙂
Thank you so much! It totally is about the little things. I’ve been trying to utilize those times together instead of what I usually do, which is grab my phone or take a nap or do something for myself (not that alone time isn’t important too!).
Aww these are great ideas
Thank you! 🙂
Cute ideas! Love this. Sometimes reconnecting gets lost in the craziness of day to day life. We always try to sneak out for “date night” on our patio drinking wine when the baby is asleep 🙂
It’s so true. I love the idea of utilizing your patio!! It’s a nice way to get away, without really getting away 🙂
I love these ideas!! We have a nine month old and feel like we spend most of our days revolving around the baby. This was a great reminder that we can do little things together, even if they only take a couple minutes!
I was just there, literally! 🙂 We’re at one year, and it doesn’t leave a lot of wiggle room for time alone. I hope you guys get some great time together – and a babysitter once in a while!
Oh I just love these! I pinned this and printed it so I can try to do something from this list everyday!
I’m so glad! Thank you! 🙂
Love these ideas. After a long day of teaching and getting home to 2 kids and my husband it’s really difficult to find time right away. Our time alone usually starts at 8 🙂 will definitely use some of these!
I believe it! And I don’t last long after 8, ha ha, so shorter moments are best at that point 😉
I really love this post. It’s cute, it’s endearing, & it’s a great way to get inspiration on how to engage with your significant other. Sharing a sweet treat is a personal favorite of mine. :]
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Thank you, Carmen! I love sharing with my hubby – he usually gives me the last bite 🙂
I love this post! What an awesome reminder of how seemingly small things can make such an impact on a relationship. My husband and I are always super busy and it rarely seems like we get “couple” time. Thank you for showing that date nights are not the only time you get to reconnect.
Thank you so much, Ashley! It’s been so real for us lately – date nights all the time would be great, but aren’t always possible.
These tips are great! I love how you highlighted the different time slots and showed that the small things we do with our spouse are just as important at the big things.
Thanks! Small moments build up for sure.
Such greeat ideas .I love how you break it up by the amount of time because sometimes you really only have 5 minutes when you have kids.
Having kids changes everything! This post is definitely real life for me.
As a hopeless romantic, I approve this post! lol
Thank you! Ha ha 🙂
Cute photo 🙂
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Maria V.
Thank you!
These are such cute ideas! My boyfriend and I have our weekly tv shows that we catch up on together. it may sound techy and distracted, but we really bond over it 🙂 we also workout together sometimes and this really brings us closer to push through a hard sweat session together!
I think a consistent TV show together is so fun! And if you have the self-control, you can definitely make it a short-term date time 🙂 It’s better, to me, than zoning out watching TV on your own. We have yet to work out together! The fact that it’s good motivation is a plus!
Glad I found this post!
Me too! Thanks for checking it out and saying hi 🙂