"Goals are dreams with deadlines" -- Diana Scharf

Thursday, April 25, 2013

20-Dollar Dates: Miniature Golf

A few weeks ago, Mr. W. suggested that we start arranging a weekly date night.  Although we're newlyweds, we've been a couple since April of 2005.  That's a long time!  After eight years, we're very comfortable spending time together.  We have many of the same interests and many of the same friends.  But we'd also like to keep our relationship interesting and exciting.  That's where date night comes in.  And really, how could I turn down a date with my husband?

Every week, one of us is responsible for planning a date night activity.  We also decided to set a $20-$25 limit for these dates.  In our household budget, we set aside $150 per month for joint discretionary funds.  In the past, this has typically gone towards dinner(s) at a nice restaurant.  But now, we'll use most of our joint discretionary funds towards our date night activities. 

For my first date, I decided on...mini golf! 

Image credit: Image credit: mg7 / 123RF Stock Photo

I honestly can't recall ever playing miniature golf before.  I must have played at least once, right?  Perhaps at a friend's birthday party or during a Girl Scout outing.  I feel like everyone plays mini golf some time in their childhood.  Well, it turns out that my lack of experience was readily apparent.  I'm pretty awful at it.  And Mr. W is pretty darn good, which was slightly irritating to me (not that I'm competitive, or anything).  But it was fun nonetheless. 



We went mini-golfing on a Saturday afternoon.  So I guess it was more of a "date day" than a "date night."  As we expected, there were lots of children.  But we were also pleasantly surprised to see that there were plenty of other couples without children.  This particular course had a safari theme, complete with a lion, a gorilla, and a hippo.  The theming was a little cheesy, but certainly creative.  It was an 18-hole course, which took us approximately 90-minutes to finish.  We went to a course that is part of a public recreation complex, so the tickets were less expensive than they would have been at a private mini-golf park.  Total cost: $8/each, or $16 total.  Score!

What's miniature golf without a lion?

This was the "desert" section.  Notice the camel and the pyramids. 


As long as Mr. W. and I continue our 20-Dollar Dates, I'm planning to make these posts a regular feature.  I'd love to hear about ways that you and your significant other plan cheap dates together!

4 comments:

  1. This is super cute, I like the idea of keeping your relationship fresh. In the cold months B and I like to go bowling, and it's made feasible with half off deals that we get via the local Groupon site. We also like going to local parks or playing board games. The ol' standby is fixing dinner at home then catch up on movies. We've been making our way through all 23 James Bond films.

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    1. We've been thinking about bowling, too! There's a bowling alley just down the street from our apartment that we've been meaning to try. We just want to make sure we don't accidentally go on league night! And I like the idea of watching a set of movies -- we both love James Bond so that might be a good option for us!

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  2. Looks like fun, and I can't believe you hadn't played mini golf!! I guess for me growing up in New England, everyone goes to Cape Cod for summer vacations and there's a LOT of mini golf time there. Some budget-friendly things we like to do include going out for dessert on weekends after making dinner at home, going out to brunch instead of dinner (I guess we like to spend our money on food!), going to a used bookstore and browsing/buying cheap books then reading them in the courtyard, visiting museums, packing picnics and going to the park...

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    1. Mr. W. couldn't believe I hadn't been mini-golfing, either! He had to give me a few pointers before I started to get the hang of it.

      And we totally like to spend our money on food, as well! There always seem to be so many great restaurants to try.

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