A Dark Knight Date

Blogs are such fun! I love reading other women's blogs about how they raise their kids, keep their homes and marriages happy and keep their sanity (or maybe not so much). Yesterday I ran across a this website on Pinterest. It's all about how to continue dating your husband after your life gets crazy!

These "dating divas" are really into themed movie nights. I love this idea. It makes a regular old movie date so much more memorable when you put a little thought and effort into it.

So I skimmed through a few of their themes, ruling out movies we don't own, so it wouldn't cost anything.

Finally, I settled on "The Dark Knight."

This post is where I got my inspiration for our special movie experience. As you can see, I made quite a few changes to their plan to fit our personalities, time and budget.

Here's what you would need to replicate what I did:

A Facebook account and your spouse's "friendship"
(e-mail or another social networking site could also work)
black construction paper
Scissors
White paint, marker or crayon
flashlight
tape
inflatable mattress (cushions or lots of blankets and pillows are fine)
blankets and pillows (bonus points if you have black blankets and pillow cases)
Popcorn
Pickles
(or other snacks)
drinks
Something cute to wear-preferably black

First, I made a Facebook event only he and I could see. It told him the time I thought he'd be home (so he could correct me, if I was mistaken). I added a picture of the movie poster from Google and several trailers from Youtube for him to watch. In the event description, I put a quote from the movie--"It's simple we kill the batman!" This way he know some of what to expect, but he's also curious about what I'm planning. Periodically, through his shift I would add vague updates about what I was doing to spark his curiosity. (You made need to adapt this plan for text messages if your husband doesn't have a computer job, or even plan ahead and make him a paper invite to sneak into his lunch.)

Next, I started decorating. I cut out a bat silhouette from construction paper and painted the words "why so serious?" in white. This was for the front door. Then I cut 2 more, taped one to the porch light so it would be reminiscent of the bat signal and one to the microwave so he would see it when I made the popcorn.

I also made a bat signal of my own out of a flashlight.

I used black construction paper, scissors and pieces of the
flashlight.

I used the plastic lens cover as a template for
a circle that would fit in the light. I cut that shape out.

Then I folded the circle in half and cut out
the bat shape. I stacked that on top of the
plastic lens cover.

Then I screwed the case on. 

Perfect!

The bat signal has a special function for this movie date. When you turn it on, your spouse has to rush over and kiss you. It sounds really silly, but if you both get into it, it's great fun.

I taped the negative cutout from the bat signal to the plastic cover of our lamp. The lamp was too bright, but the room was too dark without it. So I took a black pillowcase and shaded it. This created a really cool ambiance. Especially when combined with the "bat signal" shining on the ceiling.

Ignore the "vintage" furniture. ;)

Then I inflated a camping mattress on the floor, covered it in blankets and pillows and set up the DVD.
When I knew J was almost home, I mixed up some chocolate milk (the drink he requested before he left work) and put his slippers by the door. I wanted him to feel like Bruce Wayne coming into his mansion, not a simple feat when you live in a little duplex.

When he told me I was way cuter than Alfred, I knew it was a success. ;)

I'm not endorsing this movie or the sequel. Just fun dates with your spouse. ;)