So my 13th anniversary is coming up in less than a month I still don't have a clue what to do. My husband and I aren't your typical couple. We prefer the tried-and-true to the new. Okay, you can just call us boring and that's fine. Not only that, but if we ever do something out of the ordinary, I generally have to plan it. That works for me because I generally don't like big surprises and I really do like working out logistics. It is the "coming up with an idea" part that is challenging for me. So today as I was searching aimlessly on the internet for something that is outside of our routine, but not outside our comfort zone, I came up with a formula for planning this and future special occasions. Perhaps it will help get those creative juices flowing! Formula for planning a great occasion:
1)Delivery. How are you going to tell your sweetheart about the occasion? Some often used methods are: treasure hunts, cards or a meaningful number of multiple cards (like 13 in our case), messengers (a friend or family member perhaps), phone calls, text messages, or emails. Or you could just do what we normally do: "Hey what do you want to do for our anniversary? ...I don't know, what do you want do do?"
Hmmm...maybe not.
2)Time. How long is this event--a few hours, overnight, several days?
3)Venue. Will most of the occasion be at a single location or several? Your home, your bedroom, a hotel, a restaurant, a cave, a garden, a mountain, a fair, a marketplace, any place could be romantic if something about it is a little out of the daily rut right?
4)Transportation. How will you get to your destination? Walking, hiking, rental car, your own vehicle (maybe even dressed up a bit), a limo, an airplane, a sailboat...
5)Mood/Theme. Setting a mood can be as easy as getting the right music. If you want to create an even bigger impression, change the decor to match your desired theme or mood.
6)Budget. How much money do you want to spend, at most? What kinds of things will you be able to do with the amount of money you have planned? Having lots of money available for your occasion is fun, but often not the case. Fortunately, you can still do tons of great things for free. One idea is to plan most of your occasion for as little as possible and then splurge on one important thing.
7)Activities. Think about the things you like to do most with your sweetheart. A few ideas to get you started: shopping at a flea market, going to a festival, riding roller coasters, listening to an audiobook, watching a movie, getting/giving a massage, service for others, playing video games, walking in the moonlight, horseback riding, telling silly stories, playing games, rock climbing.
8)Food. Dining out, driving thru, eating in? Maybe the food isn't a whole meal but just a dessert or a strawberry milkshake. You could even plan your date to include fixing a special menu together.
Don't feel like you have to do these in any particular order; sometimes coming up with just one aspect of your plan will allow the other parts to come together more easily.
All right, I better get planning. I'll let you know how it goes!