WHEN A TAKEAWAY CURRY ISN'T ENOUGH : DATE CRATE TO THE RESCUE

*I was gifted the October Date Crate to review, but as always, I write what I think hence all opinions are my own.

I totally shaved my legs, because romance is NOT dead in our home.

Date night lives on, though it may have changed a little.

Those nights of long and lavish restaurant meals with matching wines, a taxi ride home and a sleep in the next morning (did I mention this was pre-kids or is that stating the obvious?), have slowly transformed into a take-away curry, cheap prosecco and pyjamas on the couch.

My intentions are always good.

I have often mentioned the notion of a ‘night out‘ as a parent many times on this blog. Whilst we know it is invaluable to make time for each other without the kids, it is sometimes not that easy. I don’t know what babysitting rates are for everyone, but the reality is, once we pay for a few hours of freedom, we are relegated to sharing a Happy Meal at Maccas. Well…not quite, but it does make these special nights out few and far between. So obviously date night at home, in all its glorious corniness, is the next best option.

We try to lock in a day. I run the kids up hills and down dales in order to tire them out for an early night, and lately ‘date night’ has been defined by me actually waiting for my husband to get home from work so that we can eat dinner together. Often these are the nights that the kids decide that sleep is over-rated and they are now possibly over tired, hot, cold, thirsty, hungry, teddy is lost, teddy is now itchy, the band-aid has come off, they have an urgent question; WHATEVER…you know the drill… By this point, the wine is tasting WAY too good, the ‘special’ dinner now needs re-heating, we are both starving and the kids are winding us up. As a last ditch effort to reclaim the moment, I might light a candle, but the main light is still on anyway, because we are still up and down to the squawkers. The couch is looking mighty fine and of course there is always sport on somewhere in the world. We satisfy ourselves that we are still ‘making the effort’ and we continue down the slippery dip into a pleasant marriage beige.

Well bugger that. This bloke is far too fab to rate as beige.

Recently a family member (*thanks Kate) sent me a link to a pretty quirky looking business called Date Crate, stating in her wisdom that this totally looked like something perfect for Mummy Muckups and her readers. Bang on, baby! I was lucky enough to receive their October box to trial. First off, it has been created by two Melbourne mums; genuinely lovely and ‘real’ people who have lived the ‘struggle’ of the juggle and decided to do something about it. Amen, Sisters! It is a subscription based set-up, though you can hit them for a month to month box. Imagine your ‘date’ being thought about (to absolutely EVERY fine detail), shopped for, organised and posted out to you each month. I loved that it was a surprise for me, too. Normally I am the one planning the little surprises, so I was honestly a bit chuffed that it was a mystery for me, too. It is not your dinner; let’s just make that clear. The takeaway curry may still need to be part of your plan, but it might include some non-perishable goodies. Make sure you have the wine a-chillin’!!!

So WHAT’S IN THE BOX?

OK; I am a teacher. I LUUURRRVV organised, structured activities and I will admit to being a big fan of games; the cheesier the better. I knew I would be sold before I opened the box. The true test, was for the Husband. The ‘bloke’. The ‘blokey’ bloke in fact, who would rather be winding down with sports replays or heading to bed early for his cycle the next day. Might I just start by saying the presentation was sleek and classy. But even better than that, it was simple, old fashioned fun. Our box included a game of Jenga…with a bit of a cheeky adult twist. We were ‘forced’ to sit together and though we have a billion unfinished conversations between us regarding bills, kids and work, we indulged in some easy banter; helped along with some conversation starter cards (loads included and left field stuff that opened all sorts of talk) and a few, ‘unique’ challenges…with one involving lying on the floor…well; the challenge card said we had to do it, so husband obliged. We have been married 8 years and I learnt stuff about my husband that he had never talked about before.

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We even have homework (oh, a teacher’s delight!) and I am looking forward to writing something from the heart for my husband to present to him over the next month; and I am also keen to see what he prepares for me. Sometimes we need to hear a bit of the lovey dovey’ness from each other; this stuff is important and is often the first thing to get pushed aside till ‘later’ in our busy lives. And I must give a GIGANTIC shout out to the Dairylicious Farm for the chocolate fudge from heaven; made in Simpson, Vic; just down the road from where I grew up; God’s country.

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And if you aren’t a already little eager to peek at the links, these generous ladies also share the love back with the community. Each month they select a charity to donate a portion of their earnings to; if you’re quick, you can get in for November (they are taking orders until midnight on October 30 with shipping on the 1st of November). These rock stars are donating 10% from every new subscription on the November crate to the Movember Foundation ; such a worthy cause.

A huge thanks to Renae and Hala for gifting me this box and allowing us to be part of such a fun and genius service. If it’s not for you, what a stand out and unique gift for Christmas or even that wedding you have coming up, hey??!

Anyway guys, the Husband gave it the thumbs up and it was a brilliant night in.

So was it a success?

…a lady doesn’t kiss and tell.

😉