Bella Notte DATE NIGHT IN B O X
Welcome
date
WELCOME NOTE Greetings to you and your significant other. If you are joining us for the first time, WELCOME! If you have been with us for previous dates, WELCOME BACK! It is truly our honor to provide you with a date night to be enjoyed from the comfort of your home and thank you for allowing us to come into your home and make memories. There are very few countries in the world that rival Italy for it’s beauty and romance. Between the delicious food and wine, breathtaking art, beautiful architecture, and slow pace lifestyle, this country is truly the essence of romance. For this date, we wanted to bring Italy to your home to the best of our ability. Exploring a new culture with your loved one is such a magical experience. It is our hope that through the beautiful night we have planned you are able to truly cherish this time together. Through this date we want to encourage you to slow down and live in this moment together. One of the most beautiful things about the Italian lifestyle is the slow pace of life. They do not rush through the day but instead take the time to cherish the moments presented to them. It is our hope that tonight you put everything else on the back burner and completely focus your mind on your partner and the love you have for one another. So sit back, relax and use this date night to embrace the beauty of Italian culture as well as the beauty in each other. If you were given this date as a gift, we would LOVE for you to join us again. We offer a variety of plans to fit your needs and even have Kids Night In Boxes and Sensory Kits! Simply visit www. nightinboxes.com and use code 15OFFNIB for a 15% discount when you join us again.
Ciao for now,
Megan Pruitt,
Founder of Date Night In
to your
night in box DATE ITINERARY
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SET THE MOOD
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ITALIAN NICKNAME GAME
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CUCINARE YOUR PIZZA
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TABLE TALK
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LANGUAGE OF LOVE
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SCOPA!
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CARICATURE DRAWINGS
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BOMBONIERE- ITALIAN WEDDING TRADITION
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REFLECTION
SET THE MOOD Staging your date and setting the mood for your date night is so important! One way ambience is created in Italy is by placing candles in empty wine bottles. To attempt to recreate this feel, place your included candle in an empty wine glass and attach your wine shade around the glass! Place it in a central location for your date. Don’t forget to access your custom Bella Notte playlist at datenightinbox.com/bella to enjoy a romantic culture centered date night soundtrack.
ITALIAN Nickname Game To begin your night, prepare to get into character. You would be hard pressed to find a list of the most romantic languages in the world that doesn’t rank the Italian language among the top three. Grab your included name tags and head over to www.datenightinbox.com/bella and explore the lists of nicknames. Choose one for your partner and write it on the name tag. Place your name tag on your partner and for the remainder of the date you can only refer to your partner by this name and in the very best Italian accent you can conjure up. If one of you slips up, and doesn’t use the nickname, agree on a prize to be completed in honor of the winner. Also, at the end of the night reveal why you chose this nickname for your partner.
CUCINARE YOUR Pizza If you have joined us for past Date Night In Box experiences, then you will notice that this month we are doing things a bit differently. This month, we are providing the optional dinner menu AND including the key ingredients for the entrée! Most people know that Italy is known for their delicious food, specifically their pizza. We only felt right including pizza for you and your amore to cook on this date night. Prepare to enjoy this cooking experience together. Locate your included pizza dough, sauce, and parmesan cheese. Use the directions on the back of your dough to begin cooking and then top your pizza off with the sauce and cheese.
OUR CHALLENGE It might be easy to enter the kitchen and fall into habits or your usual routine. Our hope is for you to break out of your comfort zone during this date. Below is our challenge, if you choose to accept!
SW I TC H R O L E S TON I G H T : T r y s o m e t h i n g d i f f e r e n t ! The person who usually cooks can take a step back and become the second-in-command. Encourage your significant other to prepare the meal while lovingly surrendering the reins.
NO DEVICES: Be in the moment! Put your cell phones on “Do Not Disturb” so you can enjoy the Spotify playlist, while being present in the moment with no distractions.
E AT I N A N E W L O C AT I O N : C h a n g e i t u p ! I n t h e m i d s t of your cooking preparation, don’t forget to prepare the space where you’ll eat. Consider a different location for dinner. Maybe on a blanket outside, fireside or cuddled up on the couch together.
To take this dinner to the next level, locate your recipe card with additional delicious options provided to expand your dining experience. Whether you stick to basics or jazz it up, either option will get you in the kitchen cooking in a new and different way.
SNAP A PIC OR VIDEO AND POST TO FACEBOOK OR INSTAGRAM USING THE HASHTAG #DATENIGHTINBOX TO SHOW US YOUR PIZZA MAKING SKILLS ;)
TABLE Talk Ciao lovers! We hope you enjoyed your time cooking together. A prominent aspect of Italian culture, besides delicious food of course, is their slow-paced lifestyle. For example, what would be considered a normal walking speed in other countries would look “hurried” in Italy. This is the slow life of Italians. The slow life in Italy is not only about slowing down to eat and walk, but also applies to every aspect of life. The Italian-style “slow” is actually more of an attitude. Everything seems to be in a holiday pace, whether it is dealing with work or life. There is no time and urgency to “get to the next thing” like we often see in our own country. This is such a beautiful take to have on life - to slow down, relax and truly take in each moment presented to you. Tonight we want to encourage you to try to incorporate this mindset into your own life. For many of us so many of our days are focused on thinking about what comes next. At breakfast we may be thinking of our mile long to-do list for the day, at lunch we are likely pondering what we will eat for dinner, and even up until it’s time for bed our minds are often already thinking about the next day. We totally understand that planning ahead is a necessary part of life. It would be completely unrealistic for us to tell you to live every moment without thinking about what comes next. Instead we want to ask you to decide where in your life you could best incorporate this slow-paced lifestyle. Maybe it’s during meals together, maybe it’s after a certain time in the evenings, or maybe it’s one set day out of each week. Whatever you decide, we want you to take it seriously. Make a plan that works best for your life and try to stick with it. Try to be as consistent as possible in using that time to truly slow down and just enjoy the moment. Discuss the following questions together:
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What benefits could taking the time to slow down have on you both individually and as a couple?
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What are some things, or moments, you may miss out on by having a “what’s next” mindset?
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How can you hold yourselves accountable for the time you decide to dedicate to slowing down?
LANGUAGE OF Love Italian can often be considered to be one of the most romantic languages in the world. Learn some romantic Italian phrases and recite a few of them to your partner! Feel free to even leave your partner a note with one of the phrases on a sheet of paper and see if they can translate it! If you aren’t quite sure how to pronounce a word, take a quick trip to google to listen to how it is correctly pronounced.
ENGLISH
I TA L I A N
P R O N U N C I AT I O N
Love
Amore
Ah-more-ay
My love
Amore mio
Ah-more-ay
mee-oh
My darling
Tesoro mio
Tay-saw-roh
mee-oh
Kiss me
Baciami
Ba-ch-yamee
Shall we dance?
Balliamo?
Ba-ly-a-moh
I miss you
Mi manchi
Me-man-key
Hello beautiful
Ciao bella
Chow, bell-a
Hello handsome
Ciao bello
Chow, bell-oh
I will always love you
Ti amerò per sempre
Tee amer-oh pair sem-pray
I love you
Ti amo
Tee-amo
Thank you
Grazie
Grah-tsee-eh
Scopa! Next you will play Scopa. Scopa means “to sweep” and is the particular name of an ancient Italian card game. Simply, it refers to the action of sweeping all the face-up cards from the pool! Italians have been playing Scopa for over 400 years armed with neapolitan cards and all their ability. The point is that playing scopa can be not only highly entertaining but it is also a card game where skill and chance are the key to the outcome of the game. Watching a game of scopa can be a highly entertaining activity, since games traditionally involve lively, colorful, and somewhat strong- worded banter in between hands so don’t forget to use your nicknames! Also, bonus points for sure should be awarded if you can incorporate some of the phrases you learned from the previous activity.
OBJECT OF THE GAME To be the first player to score 11 points.
GETTING STARTED Grab some pencils and give each player a score sheet (you can use any scrap paper around your home). Select a player to begin as the dealer for round one (you will switch dealers each round). The dealer shuffles the deck and deals each of you 3 cards, face down, one at a time. They then place four cards face up in the middle of the table and place the remaining deck to one side.
PLAYING THE GAME The dealer begins by looking at the three cards in their hand before attempting to match one card from their hand with one or more of the four cards laid face up. Read below the different ways a player can make a card match: S I N G L E N U M B E R M AT C H : I f a p l a y e r h a s a 6 i n t h e i r h a n d a n d t h e r e i s a 6 on the table, this is a straight match. They simply lay their card over the card on the table before picking up both cards and placing them at their side.
T H E CA R D S There are 40 cards in each Scopa deck. Each deck is made up of four suits: Coins, Clubs, Cups and Swords, which each contain 10 numbered cards, with face cards ranging from one (the ace) to seven and three figures cards: Knave (Fante in Italian, worth a value of 8), Knight (Cavallo in Italian, worth 9), and King (Re in Italian, worth 10)
C O M B I N AT I O N M AT C H : I f a p l a y e r h a s a 6 i n t h e i r h a n d t h e y m a y p i c k up a 4 and a 2 from the table or any combination of cards that add up to 6. BUT this can only be done if the player does not have a matching single number card in their hand. S C O P A M AT C H : I f y o u f i n d t h a t y o u h a v e a c a r d i n y o u r h a n d t h a t i s equal to the sum of all the cards on the table you may ‘sweep’ up all the cards in one move. For example, if you have an 8 in your hand and on the table were the cards 3, 2, 2, and 1 then you have a number match and a ‘Scopa’ and can collect all of the cards.
If the player is unable to make a match they must select one card from their hand and place it face up in the middle of the table with all the other cards. Their turn is over. Play continues in this manner with players taking turns to either make a card match or discard a card from their hand. When both players have no cards left in their hand the dealer deals out three more cards to each player, and the round continues. Keep playing until there are no cards left in the deck and the cards in your hands are gone. If there are any cards on the table after the last card of the last hand has been played, it’s that player who picks up all of the remaining cards. The round is now over and players may now add up their scores and mark them down on their score sheet. The first player to collect 11 points wins the game.
Caricature Drawings Italy’s contribution to the world
YOU’LL NEED
of art is immeasurable. So many famous paintings and sculptures can be found everywhere in Italy. It’s time for you to get creative and create some art of your own. You and your partner
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“How to” caricature card Included drawing papers Pencils Colored pencils
will be creating caricatures of each other! Grab your supplies and begin exploring this fascinating art by drawing one another. Have fun with this activity and most importantly do not overanalyze it! The goal is not perfection but instead to enjoy this new experience as a whole.
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Jessica Robin son WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE HOW YOUR DRAWINGS TURN OUT - FEEL FREE TO POST THEM ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH #DATENIGHTINBOX SO WE CAN SEE YOUR FINISHED PRODUCTS!
Bomboniere- Italian Wedding Tradition You would be hard pressed to attend an Italian wedding and not be given sugared almonds for a wedding favor. Five sugared almonds are given to each guest to eat, to remind each person that life is both bitter and sweet. The five sugared almonds are representative of five wishes for the new husband and wife: Health, Wealth, Happiness, Family and a Long Life. Take a moment to fill out your included piece of paper for your family’s goals in regards to the five wishes you want to complete as a couple. Keep this piece of paper for future reference and work together toward actively completing your wishes!
REFLECTION T AK E A M O M E N T T O RE F L E C T O N Y O U R D AT E NIGHT IN B Y D I SCUSSI NG T H E F O L L O W I N G Q U E S T I O N S T OGET HER:
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Which part of the date did you enjoy the most? Did you learn something new about yourself, or each other, as a part of your date?
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What aspects of the date do you want to incorporate into your relationship in the future?
MO VI E SU G G E S T I O N S
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Letters to Juliet Under the Tuscan Sun To Rome with Love La Dolce Vita When in Rome (2010)
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