1) Plan your menu. Keep your budget in mind. Need recipes? Google is a great place to start. I’m a fan of allrecipes.com, cooks.com and foodnetwork.com. Get as extravagant as you dare (and your budget will allow). If you plan right, you can make your prep last for two meals or at least get lunch the next day out of it. It’s absolutely alright to make a little extra.
2) Do your grocery shopping. Think frugal, but keep quality in mind as well. I would probably get veggies, fruits (as long as you can find decent quality, sometimes it’s hit and miss), and other baking supplies at Wal-Mart or Super Target, but meat I would get at the grocery store or Costco. Personal preference. Stick to your list though. If you have thoroughly thought out your meal, you won’t need to grab extras. If you get too much, you will 1. blow your budget and 2. have to spend 9 hours prepping for a 2 hour meal. The amount of time you spend in the kitchen doesn’t equal more or less romance. Don’t complicate things.
3) Table decor. Okay, if you’re like me “table decor” means metal silverware, instead of plastic. Alright, I’m not that bad… not usually anyway. But for this dinner, go all out. And I mean all out. Get out the wedding china, the “real” silverware, the stemmed goblets (even if you aren’t an alcohol drinker, you should have a pair of these. If not, consider investing in some. They don’t have to be expensive. Wal-Mart and Target are good places to check. If the budget is really tight, check your Dollar Store. I promise it will be worth the $2. Sparkling Cider in goblets is so much more romantic than in your typical dinner glass). If you have fabric napkins, get them out too. Candles are a must. What is a romantic dinner without candlelight? For less than $5 you can get a pair of candlesticks and tapered candles at the Dollar Store. After you use them, add them to your Romance Kit. A table cloth is also recommended. Any nice restaurant has table cloths. This isn’t required, but will help set the mood. Just be careful and don’t knock the candles over. =] Faux or real rose petals and tealights are also ideas for your table decor.
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4) Decide if your date is going to be focused on dinner (and dancing in the kitchen?) or if you want meal prep to be part of the date. In my house, my hubby enjoys cooking. He enjoys not cooking too. If you decide to prepare the meal all yourself, make up a little time table. That way you can get an idea of what time you need to start all your preparation. How much of a mood killer would it be for you to be rushing around the kitchen, completely stressed out, the kids plopped in front of a movie or reigning mayhem on your house when your sweetheart walks in the door? If you plan it out, it should go more smoothly. Not promises though.
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5) The Kids. If you can, get a sitter for the kids. Preferably one that will watch them at their house. Valentine’s Day can be a rough day to get a sitter though. If you keep the kids home, prep them something easy for dinner (Mac & Cheese?), bath them, and put on a movie while you prepare your dinner. Or ask your sweetie to get the kiddos ready for bed while you fix dinner. Work as a team. The night will go much better if you do.
6) Music. Spend the time to put a playlist together for your evening. It will be special touch that makes the evening perfect. Besides, it’s a lot easier to dance around the kitchen if there is music playing. =]
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7) Leave the dishes til morning. It won’t hurt this once. Continue your evening in the bath tub, shower, or bedroom. Pull out all the stops in there too. You don’t have to go out to have a great date. Some of my favorite dates were at our little house. That is actually one of the things I am the most excited about once we get our own house again, at home dates.
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Happy Romancing!
