Date Night Jar

My fiancé and I are currently saving for our wedding venue. Saving is tough and for us, we cut out entertainment expenses, like our date nights. We used to go to the movies every weekend, but before the show, we would go out eat, buy candy, popcorn and soda, and sometimes a Grande White Chocolate Mocha. Date nights are important for every couple and with our crazy schedules and cutting our date night allowance meant we had to find something else to do. So, I found the date night jar via Pintrest and picked up the supplies while I was shopping at Michael's for the accessories for Let's Make a Deal.

Here is what you need:
Mason Jar (at least a 16 oz. jar)
Popsicle Sticks
3 different paint colors
Ribbon (to match your paint)
Sharpie
Paint Brush
Date Ideas (several for each category)
      1. At Home Dates
      2. Out of the House Dates (Cheap)
      3. Weekend Getaway or Day Trips

The first thing I did was make a list of dates for each of my categories. I typed up my list and , here is what I came up with:



At Home - $

Homemade Pizza and Italian Movie

Nerf Gun War

Play a Board Game

Chick-flick and Popcorn

1,000 piece puzzle

Chopped Challenge

Netflix TV Show Marathon

Out of the House - $$

Comedy Club

Dinner and Games at Dave & Busters

Go Karts at Boomer’s

Pick a Groupon

Bowling

Fishing

Drive-In & Sushi in Riverside

Weekend/Day Trips - $$$

Apple or Berry Picking

San Diego Zoo

Couple’s Massage

The next thing I did was paint my popsicle sticks. I started with one color at a time and I painted one side at a time. While one color dried, I painted the others, and so on. By the time I was done painting with all 3 colors, my first batch had dried. I painted the unfinished side and repeated my steps. When I was done, I let them sit over night.

The next day, I took my painted sticks and wrote each date on the popsicle sticks. (It is really hard to write on those bad boys!) I let those dry for a few minutes and I put them into the mason jar.

Last but not least, I took all 3 colors of ribbon and tied them in a bow around the lip of the jar.

Here is the final product!

Anthony loves the Date Night Jar. Every Monday he picks a date; last Monday we forgot to choose, and he was the one who remembered. He brought over the jar as I was getting ready for work and I just so happened to choose "Chick-flick and Popcorn"... his response - "MAAANNN! I should have picked!"