Frugal Date Idea: Throwback Date Night (For Nerdy Couples)

Anyone else get nostalgic once and again?  A few weeks ago, Handsome (the boyfriend) and myself were talking about the good ol’ days when games were pixelated and controllers had wires when we decided, why not make a date night of getting ahold of some old SNES games and hookin’ up the entertainment system for some good old’ fashioned 16 bit entertainment?

You don’t need a retro video game console from the 90’s to have a throwback date night- but whatever games make you feel nostalgic.  Surround yourself with your favorite games and food from your kid days, throw on an old shirt or some PJ’s and you’ve got a throwback grownup sleepover.  Winning!

Supplies:

-Vintage video games or board games you played as a kid (Hit up a thrift store or borrow if needed)

-Favorite sodas, candy and snacks for both parties involved

-A meal you loved as a kid (Chicken Fingers? Mac N Cheese w/ Hotdogs? PB &J?)

Total Cost:  $12 for food & candy.

Objective:

Chances are, your favorite games of yesteryear won’t be as sparkly-enticing as they were back when you played them, but that’s not the point.  The controllers are clunkier than you remember, your metabolism doesn’t tackle high fructose corn syrup like you remember and you now have day jobs- but the point  is to get to know each other in new ways.

So, honestly, it doesn’t matter what game you play- it just needs to open up the conversation about your favorite childhood memories, your nerdiest moments and have those “OH MY GOD YES!” moments when you talk about shared experiences growing up (like watching Nickleodeon, or when MTV had music and of course, Trapper Keepers.)

Have fun overdosing on sugar and eating Lunchables, but make sure you spend some time connecting about things from the past that will help you get to know each other on a deeper, nerdy, nostalgic level.

 So, How’d It Go For Us?

Taking a trip down memory lane isn’t as fun as it used to be when you have to cook your own food, the house is a mess and mom and dad don’t pay the bills…but it can still be super fun to whip up a quick date night and have a super fun adult hangout but oldschool style!

Since we are adults, we got in the mood for fun by tackling the chores as quickly as possible and divvying up the work. I vaccumed and decluttered and he cooked and put away groceries (gotta have a tidy space and stuff done to decompress and enjoy the evening!)

He made my favorite childhood food- mac n cheese with hotdogs (yup!) and we busted out our favorite childhood candy.  We hooked up the SNES and had at it.

Well, we attempted to play. The pugs smelled the cheese and were like flippin’ vultures.

We were doing well until my controller jammed, each and every time I played.  It really had nothing to do with my lack of hand-eye coordination.  Really.

By the way ladies, you know a guy loves you if he’ll give his Luigi lives to your Mario.  True story.

All in all, we had a great time geeking out to our favorite video games. It cost us like $10 to get all the junk food and we had the SNES system (yep, we’re that brand of nerdy) but you could easily get the video games from a friend or see if your parents had an old system stashed in the attic somewhere- if not, thrift it or check online for cheap.

The best part of the night wasn’t the games though, honestly- now that technology has progressed so much and I’m an adult the games weren’t as totally engrossing as they used to be.  What I love about this date night is the possibility to inspire conversation beyond the typical date stuff.  I can’t recall any dates where we goofed off this much, talked about memories from childhood and debated the merits of our favorite superheroes- while it was fun, it opened up new avenues of conversation.

(Oh yes, and we have nerdy pajamas)

Okay, now you:  favorite childhood food- GO.