Date Deck® Makes a Great Wedding Gift to Add to Your Registry
It’s almost wedding season. That means giving a gift to the newly married couple. Most likely, they’re registered somewhere. But, what about an extra little something to remember their special day? A great idea for this is our Date Deck® from life Hack Decks™. Date Deck® is an insurance policy to keep the couple's fun alive after they say “I Do.”
Planning a Wedding
There is a lot of hustle and bustle around planning a wedding. I know, we just had one for my daughter and son-in-law, and it was a tremendous amount of energy to get everything just right. From selecting the venue (that’s a story in itself), to finding the right caterer, choosing all the pieces that she wanted on the table, invitations, save the date cards, flowers, a dress, music…the list goes on, it's a lot. It’s a whirlwind of excitement and tons on your to-do list. After the big day, it’s both a relief and a letdown because the planning and excitement are behind you. For us, it lasted eighteen months. I was exhausted at the end of it all.
Not everyone is as finicky as my daughter was when it came to selections. She is a perfectionist. She has been from the first breath she took in this world. She's also an artist and the combination is tough when she can see things in her head before anyone else. It’s also a challenge for others because they don’t know where she's headed half the time. She has the scene and image perfectly laid out in her mind. She just needs to get others to see what she's seeing. And that isn’t always easy. The result, as they say, was worth it. It did, however, take a ton of energy to get everything done just the way she wanted it.
Wedding Gift Selection
So, when my daughter goes about figuring out a wedding gift for a loved one or a friend, she just doesn’t select from the bridal registry. She often scrolls through magazines, looking through the search terms: best engagement gifts for 2023, best bridal shower gifts, most unique gifts for brides and best gifts for her for 2023. Before she goes to sleep at night, she scrolls. Over and over. I know how much effort she put into her wedding, and she wants to give her best friends a perfect gift. It can take her months to figure out what they will enjoy and once she decides, a weight is lifted from her shoulders. In the meantime, she scrolls.
Dates – Lots of Them
The one thing I know about my daughter is that she enjoys being with her husband. They’ve been together for almost fifteen years and in that time, they've gone on a lot of dates. They have also moved twice in that time. Once was during his internship and once after they had a baby. For that reason, they've had to find things to do in a new city and create their own personal "date deck" to find fun in new ways.
From My Daughter's Perspective:
Having fun together is very important to me because I think it’s great for both our mental and physical health. Sometimes we go out and do something physical, like playing miniature golf or games at an arcade. Other times we prefer to go exploring in a new city. Or have a bite at the best new fun restaurant and listen to music. Whatever the situation, I’m the one that plans and I’m the one who ultimately feels the pressure to come up with something fun almost every weekend. I never want our relationship to feel stale. This is one way I keep our relationship fresh and alive.
A Summer in New Jersey
One summer we spent in New Jersey. Before we were married, we spent the summer in New Jersey living in a rented room. My husband was gone all day at his internship. We weren’t married at the time, but planning our wedding. While he was gone all day, I worked from that one bedroom. Space was tight so I always wanted to go out on the weekends to explore our surroundings. Lucky us, we were close to New York City. We spent many of our weekends there. Having lived on the West Coast my entire life, I had never been to the East Coast. I was excited to see the difference. I loved learning about a new culture, making new friends, and taking day trips to see areas of the country I had never seen before. It was a tremendous learning experience.
A Move to Texas
Fast forward, and we have moved again from the West Coast, this time to Texas. After my husband’s internship, we realized it would be fun to move again given the right opportunity for change. Change happened all at once: a new job, baby, and Covid lockdown. I found myself quarantined in my new house with an infant for a year. We couldn’t go out. I was in a new city with very few connections. I was chomping at the bit to find something fun to do on the weekends. Sometimes we would drive to a park in the late afternoon just to get out of the house. Most of the time, though, the three of us were stuck indoors during the week. My husband worked from home and I took care of our newborn. I couldn’t wait to start exploring a new city with my baby son and husband in tow.
What I Have Learned from Getting Out of My Comfort Zone
After Covid restrictions were lifted, I needed to find fun things to do again. I scrolled to see which places were open. And where we could spend time together on the weekend. Since I had learned this skill on the West Coast, driving almost every weekend to LA or San Diego, I learned that exploring a city is fun. Lots and lots of fun. But you need to know where to go. From living outside NYC, I learned how much fun a big bustling city can be. (Not that LA was little!) Now that I’m in Texas, I look for fun, new things to do each weekend. Some take me out of my comfort zone. For me, that’s good.
Life Hack Decks™ – How Date Deck® Came to Be
With this information, and my skill for finding fun and interesting things to do on the weekend, I created Date Deck® for life Hack Decks™. This prompt deck of 52 cards gets you moving, out of the house, and having fun. Date Deck® is filled with great, unique prompts that take the boredom and routine out of weekends. Instead of doing the same old thing, Date Deck® gives you inspiration for finding fun where you live. The deck comes with a range of ideas that get you out of your comfort zone, if only for a few hours each week. This makes the rest of the week so much better and keeps your love and connection alive with your “date.” Even with a little one to bring along, Date Deck® ideas make exploring a new city fun. Date Deck® is also great to get to know your current city in an entirely new way.
Date Decks® Are a Little Something Extra
Give Date Deck® as one of the little something extras to friends who are getting married. Date Deck® will help the new couple stay connected after a beautiful wedding. With prompt deck in hand, it may be one of the best additional wedding gifts you’ve ever given to a newlywed couple.