DNI Reflections Date Guide

Reflections

DAT E N I G H T I N B O X

DATE GUIDE DATE GUIDE

Welcome

t o y o u r dat e

Dear Date Night In Box Seekers,

As we reflect on 2021 and look forward to 2022, it has been a bit of a whirlwind year during unprecedented times. Tonight’s date will help you reflect on the past and future. We have some great activities planned that will help you reflect on your life, relationship and so much more. Shortly, you will enjoy several engaging activities and we hope we have created a memorable way for you to kick off the new year.

As a family, we have been reflecting on the past and present, as we lost my mom to Covid on November 12, 2021. I have been forced to take a hard look at life and realize just how short and truly fragile it is. For any of you out there who have had a hard time in 2021, we might not know what 2022 has in store, but it is my prayer that we are able to look back upon 2022 at the end of the year with fond memories.

Thank you for allowing us into your home to help make memories and for trusting us to be part of your relationship. It’s not something we take lightly.

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.

Wishing you a very Happy New Year, Megan Pruitt (Owner) & The Date Night In Team

DATE NIGHT ITINERARY

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SET THE MOOD COOK YOUR SUGGESTED DINNER RECIPES TABLE TALK TAKEAWAYS MEMORY LANE REFLECTIONS PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT LIFE HIGHLIGHTS & POPCORN OUR STORY REFLECTION & WAYS TO CONTINUE YOUR DATE NIGHT

Set the Mood Take some time to set the mood for your date! You will more than likely need a table nearby to create your book and play your board game. Try to make your space cozy by spraying your included Room Spray and settling in to enjoy each other’s company.

Dim the lights, gather some candles and access your custom Reflections playlist at datenightinbox.com/reflections to enjoy a great date night soundtrack.

Cook Your Suggested Dinner Recipes Just like relationships, every recipe is built differently. Chefs, bloggers and foodies all seem to find their own take and spin when making food and it’s always fun to taste different renditions. No matter how food is put together, it’s always made with some sort of emotion.

This month’s menu includes some of Marina’s favorite meals, with the main meal and appetizer being in deconstructed form! We hope these recipes can serve as a reminder to you that although each meal is built differently, the final product is what counts - just like relationships. As you construct each recipe, reflect on the different things that have helped to build your love story to the place it’s at now. Enjoy cooking together and even consider switching up typical roles in the kitchen. Happy eating!

G r a b y o u r r ecipe card!

Table Talk How in the world are we already in 2022?! It seems like the more years that pass by, the quicker the time goes. Many people spend the month of January looking to the future - making New Year’s resolutions, setting new goals, and planning for the months to come. While looking to the future can be both fun and hopeful, we saw the start of a new year as a perfect opportunity to reflect on both the story of your life and relationship.

Taking time to look back on the moments in your life, and in your love story, that brought you to where you are today can be so beneficial. Reflection gives you the chance to consider all the moments (good and bad) in your life that have helped to create your love story. Every love story is unique. It can be mind blowing and strangely refreshing to think about how each and every decision made, moment experienced, and stepping stone laid has played a crucial part in establishing the love you have for one another in the present day.

We believe that by taking this time to reflect on your relationship, you are sparking a feeling of gratitude for your individual love story as well as the moments in your life that have brought you to the chapter you are currently experiencing.

Reflection forces you to slow down and cherish time passed. We hope through this date you are able to find genuine admiration for each and every page written in your love story.

Take this time to discuss the following questions together:

1.

2.

How often do you spend reflecting on the moments that have created your love story?

How do you think moments that occurred in your life before you met your partner help to contribute to (or complicate)

3.

4.

5.

6.

your relationship?

What do you feel are some foundational building blocks for the love story you have built?

What is something that makes your love story unique?

What is a hard time you experienced in your relationship, or in general, that later helped to build your love story?

How do you hope to see your love story flourish in the weeks, months, and years to come?

Cheers to a new year and new opportunities to grow the love story between the two of you!

Takeaways For the first activity in your date night, we are going to take the table talk a step further by building on the timeless notion of finding both positive and negative takeaways from a single experience.

Pull out your Positive/Negative Reflection card. Decide who will go first and lay the card between you with the negative reflection side facing up. Begin by sharing something negative that happened in your life with your partner. It can be a personal, professional, or relational memory or incident.

Then, flip the reflection card over to the positive reflection side. Partner one discusses the same memory again, but this time focusing on the bright side with positive takeaways.

Partner two helps to shed light on the silver lining of the negative experience. Next, switch roles and repeat the process.

We encourage you to try to complete 10 rounds of this activity together (5 experiences shared from each partner).

This short yet effective activity is meant to help you both see the good in things and people as well as challenge the preconceived notions. We hope through this exercise you are able to see how EACH moment in your life, even the not so good ones, have made some sort of contribution to your individual story.

Memory lane Next, it’s time to take a walk down memory lane by making your own custom board game that reflects on special moments in your life.

This game is meant to bring laughter, sentiment, and some friendly competition! Begin by using the following prompts to fill in your board game together in a way that is custom to your relationship.

BOARD GAME PROMPTS:

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Fill in one space (we suggest choosing a space that is a good distance from “home”) with the text “Grounded - lose

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a turn” Fill in one space with the text “Go to grounded” Fill in two spaces with the text “Move forward

____ spaces” and decide how

many spaces to move forward for each

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one Fill in two spaces with the text “Move backward ____ spaces” and decide how many spaces to move backward for each one (Hint: to make the game more challenging, place one of the

– – – –

spaces right before the “home” space) Fill in two spaces with the text “Lose a token” Fill in two spaces with the text “Free token” Fill in two spaces with the text “Steal a token” Fill in 16 spaces with different memory prompts (ex: vacation memory, childhood memory, romantic memory, embarrassing memory, funny memory, holiday memory, etc.).

For this part, really customize the memories that will work best for your

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relationship!

Out of the 16 memory prompts you just filled in, decide on 10 that will be token worthy. Distinguish these 10 by drawing an asterisk or writing the

–

word “token” by them.

Fill in five spaces with the text “future memory”

Items Needed – – – – –

Board game template Game pieces from your home Tokens Dice Writing utensil from your home

INSTRUCTIONS: 1.

Begin by both choosing a game piece from your home. To match the theme of the game, choose a piece that is memorable to you. For example, your wedding ring, the key to your first home, or a game piece from your favorite childhood board game.

2.

Place both game pieces on the “home” space. Play a quick game of rock, paper, scissors to decide who goes first.

3.

Take turns rolling the dice and moving the number of spaces. If applicable, complete the action on the space you land on. If you land on a memory prompt you must tell your partner a memory associated with that prompt. If the memory prompt is “token worthy”, and you are able to think of a memory, you receive a token. If you cannot think of a memory or want to “pass”, regardless if the prompt is token worthy or not, you lose a token.

Finally, if you land on a future memory, share with your partner one memory you hope to make together in the future (ex: having kids, visiting a new country, building a house, etc.).

4.

The object of the game is to secure 10 tokens and make it back to the “home” space. The first player to do this is the winner. Until you have secured all 10, you must keep going around the board game trying to collect tokens.

5.

Have fun taking this trip down memory lane! To make it more interesting, set an incentive for the winner.

Reflections Photo Scavenger Hunt Grab your phones and get ready to snap some pictures that reflect your love story. Take turns being the photographer and check off the tasks below by taking pictures to complete your photo scavenger hunt.

Take a picture that reflects how you first met.

Capture your best facial reenactment of how you each felt on your first date.

Snap a selfie recreating the moment of your first kiss.

Sneak a candid picture of your significant other.

Take a photo of the # of years (weeks or months) you have been together, using objects around the house.

Grab a memento that reminds you of a trip or event that you’ve enjoyed together.

Take a photo of the most valuable thing you own.

Take a selfie while you dance to a song that has significance to your relationship.

Take a picture of a place you want to visit together on your included map in your reflections booklet.

Take a picture of a place you have made a memory together on your included map.

Think about your plans for your future and snap a picture together taking an oath to actually make them happen.

A picture’s worth a thousand words.

But a single word can make you think of over a thousand pictures in your mind, over a thousand moments, a thousand memories.

- Rebecca McNutt

Life Highlights & Popcorn Take a break from your photo hunting and get comfortable. For this activity we suggest sitting facing one another. Each of you will close your eyes for a few minutes and consider the best moments of your life. This can include moments you’ve had alone, shared with one another, or shared with loved ones.

They can pertain to professional successes, personal revelations, or exciting life adventures. Let these moments play in your mind like a movie, really trying to imagine and relive each one.

After you have had a moment to run through the highlights of your lives, it is time to narrow your search. Keep your eyes closed and both take a moment to decide what 60 seconds of your life you would want to relive if you only had 60 seconds left to live.

Share with each other what your 60 seconds entailed and why you chose it. This activity has the purpose of encouraging you to reflect back on your lives and getting to know one another on a more intimate level. By sharing your chosen 60 seconds you are able to get a better feel for each other’s passions and loves, while hearing what moment has had the most value to each other’s life thus far.

As you share your 60 second choice, and the other life highlights you reflected on should you feel led, describe the moments as a movie. Provide detailed explanations to help your partner truly picture the moment with you. Bust open your included popcorn and enjoy while you share this experience with one another.

Our Story It’s time to get settled into the main activity of your date. Use this time together to truly reflect on your love story. Reflect on the memories you’ve made, times you’ve overcome, growth you’ve experienced, and love you have shared as a couple.

Grab your included booklet and a writing utensil and get busy assembling and filling out your Reflections photo album!

We hope this booklet is something you keep and cherish as a couple. We encourage you to take time in the future to reflect on this book together and remember this time together.

Until next time!

Reflection

TAK E A M O ME 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 SCU SSI N G T H E F O L L O W I N G Q U E S T I ONS T OGET HER:

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How has your relationship grown over the years?

What are you most proud of in your relationship?

What moments in your life (relational or not) have had the biggest contribution to where you are today?

How does the foundation of your relationship set you up for future success?

CONTINUE YOUR DATE NIGHT H ER E AR E SOME W A Y S T O C O N T I N U E YOUR D AT E NIGHT :

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Watch one of your favorite movies together Reminisce by looking at old photographs Go to the place where you first met Play the custom board game you made again!

Recreate yor first date

#DATENIGHTINBOX @DATENIGHTINBOX

Don’t forget to share pictures from your date with our hashtag #datenightinbox for a chance to win a FREE date.