Celebrating a wedding Anniversaries once you have kids can be a difficult. You might get a special dinner out or maybe even some extra time to see some music or a show, but it’s not like it used to be. I wanted to come up with something a bit more exciting. A full night to be present together and I thought I would share it with you.
We just celebrated our 8th anniversary, our 3rd since expanding our family outside our me and you circle. Anniversaries 6 and 7 left something to be desired. To celebrate 6 years we took our 2 month old baby out in the cold December to walk around a local city to see their Christmas Display. Year 7 was dinner. While these were both great dates and times I will cherish, I wanted to come up with something a bit more this year. Being a mom of children that have some sort of magnetic pull towards me, I knew this would be difficult, as I also have a similar fondness for them.
Our First anniversary we rented a cabin in the Vermont Mountains that was so secluded we needed a four wheel drive vehicle to make the hairpin turns. I am dreaming about sitting quietly by the fire reading to each other and waking up to the giant glass windows that seperated us from wilderness that was blanketed in snow. Honestly, I forget what that feels like. The moment you have children you forget what it was like to not have someone else’s well being on your mind 24/7. Yes, even when you are sleeping
Year 2 was our trip to New York City. Three days and two nights exploring one of the most iconic cities. A city that is known to be extra beautiful around the holidays. Having an anniversary that is close to Christmas has it’s benefits when it comes to a romantic atmosphere everywhere you look.
I keep a journal and I write every year in it what we do to celebrate. As I write this now, I realize not every year was perfect, even before children. Year 3 we had just purchased our first home and I didn’t think we were doing anything. Dan is a romantic, so he surprised me with tickets to The Christmas Carol at the theatre we took our wedding pictures in. Our friend had scored us one hour in between showings on our wedding day to take pictures. I am so thankful for their generosity because we wouldn’t have had much for pictures seeing there was no natural light on a winters night.
And The cream of the crop. Our most extravagant celebration was two weeks exploring Germany, Austria, and The Czech Republic. With Anniversary celebrations like these, our more current ones can feel more lacking, so I came up with a plan. Something that could fit into our current time and money budget. A little near home getaway that costs less than 200$
I started out by booking a room in a hotel in the city we live. My goal was to find one that had a pool and a hot tub. The original plan was to drop the kids off to be watched by a family member while we did the usual dinner, but to spend time alone at the hotel in the hot tub and pool before we picked them up. My aunt very bravely and graciously offered to take both my kids for the night, even my still breastfeeding every 3 hours 10 month old. All my aunts are brave like that. If you don’t have local family or someone you trust that will keep your kids, go with option one and have some quiet time alone and then family time in the pool.
The hotel cost just around $110. We arrived, unpacked and went down to swim. Dan was still unaware that I had made plans to leave the kids with my aunt. He was very surprised I was willing to do that seeing as I get anxious when I am unsure if they are happy. I am doing my best to make a conscious effort to be present with him. It is difficult as a woman to constantly have the weight of wanting to be 100% present for every member of your family at every moment. Then we are expected to somehow remain sane. Dan was grateful, but also a bit sad because he was looking forward to bringing out 3 year old son swimming.
Sadly the hotel I booked only had a heated pool and no hot tub, so it wasn’t quite what I expected, but still restful. We went on a weeknight, so the place was completely empty.
Being in our city made it easy to pick out a restaurant. We live in central mass in a city that is becoming well known for our variety of food, so we chose one of our favorite restaurants. Pomir Grill, a little afghan place that is owned by a husband and wife. She does the cooking and he does the serving. They are such a sweet couple and their food is so good. Another bonus to their restaurant and quite a few in our city is that it is BYOB. Finding a “bring your own beverage” restaurant will save you a bit of money. We brought a $10 bottle of wine with us to share. That, with our 60$ appetizer and food brought our total spending to $180.
After dinner we ran to a local grocery store and bought a dessert from the bakery section. A box of Coconut Macaroons costs less than $5. Coconut Macaroons are one of my go to treats since I am dairy and gluten free for my daughter Ruby. Dessert and the movie Crazy Rich Asians capped off our night.
My most favorite part of all was sleeping in in the giant fluffy, no baby hotel bed. Of course if you end up having to take your kids this dream will not be your reality, but just being away from home will be fun in itself. Home is cozy and wonderful, but there is something about being away. A feeling that time does not matter that makes it so refreshing.
My last tip is to try to find a hotel that serves breakfast. Ours served a hot continental, but even a pastry or bagel will do.
Happy Anniversary to you and your love. I hope this inspired you to break out of the norm and come up with a fun new way to celebrate.
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