A Caribbean Getaway at HOME!
Okay since it is still pretty cold where we live, (Although really nice the past few days) I decided to spice things up a bit and plan a date with a Caribbean Island feel. So I wrote a little poem and decorated the table the night before so my husband would see it before he went to work and have all day to get excited for our date.
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Since I have two babies at home, I just used a bath pirate ship toy and used blue flavored Hawaiian punch to dye the water. I am sure food coloring would work too. Then I used my daughters art kit and some of her stickers to write the note. Easy Peasy, it’s great when you can find things around the house to use.
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So to get ready for the date I cleaned the house, and set up decorations. I got all my decorations from the dollar store. A big Tiki Wall Mural $1. Umbrella’s for drinks $1. Pineapple straws $1. Coconut and Pineapple ( from the grocery store) $3.25. I even bought my baby a dress from the dollar store (Only $ 1 dollar) since she would be home with us. As another fun part of my decorating I wanted to fold towels in cute way like they would on a cruise. So I found this tutorial on how to fold towel swans in a heart shape. You can also do a monkey or dog and add sunglasses, I just liked the swans.
Materials Needed:
- Caribbean Inspired Poster
- Beach Sign Cutouts
- Natural Fishnet Party Decor
- Umbrella’s for drinks
- Pineapple straws
- Coconut and Pineapple ( from the grocery store)
The next step is to get ready yourself. So I put on swim suit (yes it is a must) and swimsuit cover-up just like I would if I were on a cruise. Put my Sunglasses on and a flower in my hair. Part of the fun is dressing the part. Then I laid my hubby’s board shorts out for him. When he got home he was so surprised and excited to see everything all fancied up. So I made him put his shorts on, we put the baby to bed, and started to make dinner. You can have dinner already made if want, we just like to make dinner together (plus my husband is a really good cook). We put on some tunes. I downloaded Kokomo by the Beach Boys, and Escape (The Pina Colada Song) by Rupert Holmes. Anything fun that has a beachy vacation feel would be great. We made Lime Chicken, Steak, Jumbo Shrimp, and Pineapple. I made more of the blue Hawaiian Punch to drink and add some color too. Another fun option for food would be order from Rumbi Island Grill if you don’t feel like cooking ( they have a Caribbean chicken salad).
My Husband clowning around!
Then we played battleship (Staying in line with the boat theme). You can buy the Battleship board game for about $12 at any Wal-mart, Target or Amazon. We decided to download it for our X-box ( it was a little cheaper this way). We seriously had a blast. We played a ton of rounds and I won most of them.
Pina Coladas came next. Put the music back on dance around and have fun with this (like you would at a dance club on a cruise). We made kind of a faux juice bar too. The perfect virgin Pina Colada Recipe is 7 oz pineapple juice, 2 oz coconut cream, and 1 cup crushed ice. Everything blended together. Serves one. Or you can crack a real coconut open and mix the coconut water with sweetened condensed milk to get the same effect as the coconut cream. We seriously had to use a hammer and drill to get the coconut open and you have to make two holes so the water will pour out. It was definitely an experience and it made our night more fun. You can also add strawberries and real pineapple and it tastes great too. Any kind of fun fruity smoothie like drink makes this fun. OOOOH… add frozen yogurt or ice cream too for a more creamy drink.
Finally we watched Pirates of the Caribbean. You kind of have to with this date!
So there it is. My husband and I seriously had a blast this night. Sometimes a little change of scenery is just what you need. You could also do other variations of this date, like getting really dressed up like you do for dinner on a cruise, but still do fun tropical drinks and fun decor. Or you could set up lawn chairs like you are sitting on the deck. Whatever is fun to you.
I also wanted to say thank you to Tara for starting this blog and helping us all step out of the norm and have a lot more fun and revive marriage, and thank you to my sister-in-law Kristen for inviting me to do this blog. It has really been a blast seeing all the great ideas and getting to come up with some of my own. All you Dating Divas are awesome!
For more fun “Beach” themed ideas check out Kari’s Pirates of the Caribbean Date or Paige’s darling Date Your Mate.
We love your comments
My husband and I went on a cruise for our honeymoon…this might be a fun idea. 🙂 I especially love the idea of folding the towels just like they did on the cruise – we loved finding those silly towel animals!!
How do you download a game for X-Box?
Bridget!!! How did I not know about this blog?! How did you not tell me?! Well I am LOVING it. We need to feature you guys sometime over at HowDoesShe. I just emailed someone about it? Anyways,…so fun to see you here cute girl! 🙂
I did this for Asher on one of our early Anniversaries. We were supposed to go to Hawaii for our honeymoon but then his work wouldnt give him the time off. So we never got to go. I decided to bring Hawaii to us. I decorated the house by buying that paper used on bulletin boards and making large palm trees, sun, and clouds and put them up on the walls. I used white christmas tree lights and draped them in the kitchen to give our dinner a resturaunt feel. I wore my bathing suit and a grass skirt with a flower in my hair and had a hawaiian shirt waiting for Asher. I did the Hawaiian music too. I made a nice fish dinner and slushy drinks that included the little umbrellas. We had a large tub in our house and so I made large and small fish out of more colorful paper and put them up all over the bathroom. We spend some time in the bath together like we were in the ocean. It took a lot of preparation but it was definately a wonderful night we wont forget.
cute pics!! loving it!
i LOVE this idea! so cute! i LOVE when you give them a little something before they go to work! i makes such a differance in my hubby's day when i do that!!!
This looks like a great idea. Now the weather is hotting up in England I may have to try it this side of the pond! x
Love this idea!! Rock on, Bridget!
Way super cute! Nice job!
Awwwww….thanks for the "love" Bridget! Thanks for being part of the dating team! 🙂 Super cute date! The towels TOTALLY take me back to our cruise….nice touch! I am with Kristen! I may need to make a stop at the dollar store as well!
Ok your pictures are awesome! This date was put together so well. great planning! This makes me want to go on a cruise! And I love the blue water. I better run to the dollar store quick to stock up before everything is gone!
My husband would love this idea! We were on a cruise almost exactly a year ago, so I should pull this one off soon!