Spinoff: Cheap things for just me and DH to do?

[Outofmymindyo]

Since I'm still only 21 weeks along with our first, is there anything everybody can recommend that is more adult oriented? I actually would LOVE something along the lines of laser-tag, and seeing as I haven't popped at all yet I think the bit of exercise would still do me good, however there aren't even laser-tag places around here, much less ones that cost less.

We used to play paintball, go horseback riding (it was only $12 for the two of us on base), and the movies.

Obviously I'm no longer going to be paintballing anytime soon, the horseback riding is out, and the movies have gotten to the point where there are CROWDS out in the street at the theaters, and since I have anxiety when dealing with crowds I'd just rather avoid it altogether.

We usually just hit up the book store for some free browsing and reading, but since the main books we're interested in have always been techy type stuff, that's gotten a bit boring since there aren't any new "groundbreaking" new technologies obviously. I've got about as many pregnancy/birth/parenting books as I'm going to spend money for for at least a while. We don't spend money on magazines unless we really think we need a subscription to something, which is always that we don't.

Neither of us really cares to watch any of the crap on TV anymore, and the TV seems to be reserved to when I'm in bed and can't sleep, since I can always feel myself getting dumber by the minute when I watch it.

Anyway, any recommendations would be great.

[Shiloh]

Well you can turn the boring stuff into fun,
1. download a few ethinic or interesting recipies and make it together or mess it up

2. we play cribbage a full game takes a little bit of time and gets the brain not working overtime but a little healthy competition gets the mind off things.

3. comedy, grab a classic funny from atleast 10 years ago

4 I played paintball pregnant obviously no combat rolling!
they make body protection in that shape....my husbands friend is that shape beer mostly...

[rsps]

Are there free concerts/museum days/ etc. in your area? Or coffee houses that have free music (get some herbal tea if you're not doing caffeine)?

We used to go to Coronado (rich fancy neighborhood) and just walk around admiring the houses and gardens.

Go treasure hunting at garage sales/thift stores

a local community paper is usally a great source for listing of free things or coupons for discounts.

[Sali]

When ds is with grandparents and the weather is bearable, we grab a flashlight and a flask of water (wine if not pregnant) and go for a long walk in the dark--some of our best conversations have taken place on these walks, and there's nothing to distract us--we can't even see eachother's faces.

[RiverSky]

Some great ideas have been posted already, what about these:

Go to see a play...some local theaters offer "pay what you can" nights, or have cheap tickets.

-Art & wine festivals usually have free admission.

-Browse a flea market.

-Take your bicycles somewhere neat (park, lake, mountains), pack a picnic and eat it after you go for a long bike ride together.

-Rent or borrow a canoe or kayak (depending on your climate) and enjoy nature.

-Drive in theaters tend to be cheaper, you can bring your own snacks and pretend you are in your own little world in your car.

-Definitely check out the calendar events in your local newspaper and find free, interesting stuff to do.

-Take an inexpensive arts class through your Parks n Rec department together. Like pottery or painting.

-Spend an evening at a billiards hall (if there are non-smoking ones in your area) playing pool, just the two of you.

-We have free drop-in basketball once a week at our local community center...do you have anything similar at yours?

-Borrow videos from your library for a movie night at home. Start off with a candle-lit dinner.

[jentilla]

Well...dh and I like to do a pampering night which is free and SUPER FUN! Gather up the bath stuff around the house and a sweet dessert and hole up in the bathroom for awhile, bath, talk, light candles, soft music. It's fun eat choclate in the bath! Our tub is only big enough for one so we take turns. Obviously all of this fun pampering turns into the BEST FREE activity

Oh, and we don't need a babysitter for this great romantic evening. Fruigality at it's best

[KimberMama]

Things we used to do (and pretty much still do, with the boys):

Go for long walks. A bonus to this is that men are often better at parallel talking (think being in a car) vs. face-to-face. Our long walks brought us so much closer and helped us explore heady philosophical and intellectual topics in-depth. It was on a long walk that we made the decision to conceive our first son. As a bonus we explored most of the neighborhoods in our suburb and knew what street we wanted to live on. When a house came up on that street we snatched it!

Stroll the farmer's market.

Walk on the beach.

Gor for a small hike in the local mountains; nature trails are very easy and you won't have to worry about falling.

Cook together. Before we had children DH was quite the gourmet vegetarian cook.

Find free summer concerts to attend. In my area the city I live in has the best summer series, inlcuding a musical, opera, dance performances, symphony orchestra, folklorico, etc. in an outdoor amphitheatre, but many other nearby cities also offer a summer concert series in the park.

Many cities offer free moives in the park over the summer; they are PG and PG-13 but there may be some you'll like.

Think about what you may not be able to do once the baby arrives. If there is a dollar movie theater you may want to go to the movies while you still can.

If you're broke but want to "go out", eat dinner at home, then go to coffee shop/coffee house and order hot drinks and a dessert to share. It you stick to regular coffee or tea rather than the expensive coffee drinks your tab should be under $10.

Find out if your local symphony orchestra offers cheap tickets right before a show.

We choose a Netflix movie together and snuggle down on the couch once the boys are asleep.

I've also learned to watch a couple of shows with DH each week that I would never choose on my own. I hate TV, but it's going to be on anyway, and if I watch it gives us something else to talk about.

If you have a local university you may be able to see plays/musicals for next to nothing. We did a 4 performance season once and paid $4 per seat for good seats. I think if you did single shows the price was $5.

Our local universities offer free admission to student recitals. These are usually seniors in the music program, and they are quite talented.

Look for outdoor earth fairs and cultural fairs. Most are free. My favorite in the So Cal area is EarthFair held at Balboa Park in San Diego. We went 2 years ago and we heard great music, the boys made paper, we saw a parade, etc. and we bought cheap vegetarian food for lunch!

[~Megan~]

check with the cafes in town for music nights, those are usually free