date nights on the cheap

Hi friends!

Well, it's Christmastime, which means that Jesus gets a birthday and all of us run out of money.

In light of this, I was inspired during a conversation with Kristen from my Community Group to give you all a few suggestions for date nights that could save you some money during this pinched season.

1) Red Hook Brewery in Woodinville. Okay, I hate beer. But my husband loves it. And the Red Hook beer tour is only $1. That means two dollars buys you an hour or so of date night fun, the equivalent of two pints of beer for your husband (if you give your beer to him), and two cute little Red Hook glasses that are good for milk-and-cookie dipping moments. Afterwards you can head down to their restaurant and grab an appetizer (or a full dinner, but that's not very low-budget :)

2) Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. Let me just say that the hot chocolate at Honey Bear Bakery in Third Place Books is really delicious. And you can linger over it in a for-here cup, or get it to go and spend time browsing shelves of new and used books. Their gift store also has some pretty awesome stuff to browse through. If you make it in early enough, the library downstairs might be open, and libraries are always a good place to find random, free DVDs to check out, which would make your cheap date night complete.

3) Subway is having Customer Appreciation Month, which for you and me means $2 6-inch subs (if you get Meatball, Cold Cut, or Veggie). Two dollars! Subway's not the most romantic place to spend date night, but it's a good cheap place to get started!

4) The Crest Movie Theater in Shoreline. This could be a good finish to your Subway date night. The Crest plays older movies and tickets are only $3 each. It's really fun, and a good chance to catch a movie you missed while it was in theaters. Last week Charlie and I saw The Help. Really cool movie.

5) Snowflake Lane in Bellevue. Haven't been yet but hoping to make it this week. Apparently there's a big fiesta on the streets of Bellevue at 7 p.m. that involves fake snow, a drum line, and peppermint-flavored suckers. All for free! Does it get any better? If you feel extra inspired, make the short jaunt up to Kirkland and visit Urban Coffee Lounge. I heard it's the best coffee on the Eastside, they may make you a cute Christmasy drink, and they're open until 9 or 10 p.m. all week (double check their site for exact hours).

That's all I've got off the top of my head. Please feel free to post more ideas in the form of a comment. Merry Christmas-ing!