This is a sponsored post by AARP® Credit Card from Chase. The content and opinions expressed below are my own. I am in no way affiliated with AARP® Credit Cards from Chase and do not earn a commission or percent of sales.
Going out to dinner and then seeing a movie is a classic date night pairing. I’m sure that nearly everyone has gone on at least one “dinner and a movie” date in recent memory! My husband and I do this fairly regularly as our weekly date night. And while I love dining out, and I love movies, as a date night activity it can eventually start to feel a bit stale. So I recently decided to put my thinking cap on and brainstorm some ways to breathe new life into the classic “dinner & a movie” date night.
Today, with the help of AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, I’ll be sharing a few of the ideas I came up with!
AARP Credit Cards from Chase sponsored this year’s Movies for Grownups Awards. These awards honor actors, actresses and filmmakers who make films aimed at grownup audiences. This year’s awards were held on February 6th in Beverly Hills, California.
I hope the following ideas provide some inspiration to take your next date night to new heights. 🙂
1. Be A Kid Again
I used to see LOTS of animated movies when my kids were little. But now that they are all grownup, I don’t see very many, which is a shame! Animated movies can be just as fun for adults as they are for kids, and you don’t have to have young kids to justify seeing one.
The organizers of the Movies for Grownups Awards seem to agree with me, because each year they name an animated film as the “Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up”….like me! 😉
This year’s nominees for “Best Movie for Grownups Who Refuse to Grow Up” were Kubo and the Two Strings, Moana, Sing, The Jungle Book, and Zootopia. Any one of these films would make a great choice for a date night, regardless of your age! Round out your date night by eating somewhere that reminds you of your childhood. When I was a kid, I loved our family outings to eat at Marie Callender’s followed by a trip to Baskin Robbins for ice cream!
2. Set a Theme
Themes aren’t just for parties! Anything can have a theme, including your next date night. When you choose what movie you’ll be seeing, think about a place you can go for dinner that ties into the movie somehow. For instance, if you’ll be seeing the recent critically-acclaimed musical La La Land, you could eat at a restaurant that has a live jazz pianist, since Ryan Gosling plays a jazz pianist in the movie. (If you haven’t seen this film…you MUST go! I absolutely loved it!)
Some of the other Best Picture nominees at the Movies for Grownups Awards includes: Lion, Loving, Manchester by the Sea, Silence, and Sully.
3. Explore Another Culture
Another surefire way to spice up your “dinner & a movie” date is to explore another culture! Make a plan to see a foreign language film on your next date night. This year’s nominees for Best Foreign Language Film included A Man Called Ove (Sweden) – such a great story, Aquarius (Brazil), Elle (France), Our Last Tango (Argentina), and The People vs. Fritz Banner (Germany). Any one of these films would make a great choice for an adventurous date night!
You can make your cultural experience even more complete by choosing a restaurant that serves cuisine from the country where the film was made. If you aren’t close to many restaurants serving foreign cuisines, don’t worry about trying to make a perfect match – just enjoy the cultural offerings close by!
4. Try Something New
The little theater in our town only has two screens, so movie options are limited unless we’re willing to drive somewhere else. But even with limited options, you can still make “dinner & a movie” a little more interesting by choosing a movie you wouldn’t normally be drawn to. For instance, rather than choosing a romantic comedy like I normally might, I could choose a science fiction flick. Anything that gets you out of your comfort zone a bit!
The perfect pairing for your out-of-the-box movie experience is a meal at a new (or new-to-you) restaurant! Even if the food or the movie isn’t quite your style, your date is sure to be an adventure!
5. Give Back
The simplest and most compassionate way to spice up your “dinner & a movie” date night is to use it to give back to someone less fortunate. AARP Credit Cards from Chase make it easy! Every time you use the AARP Credit Card at a restaurant, Chase makes a donation to support the AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger. The Drive to End Hunger aims to help feed Americans aged 50 and older who are in need.
In addition to benefiting a great cause, you’ll be doing yourself a favor as well! When you use the AARP Credit Card from Chase, you’ll earn 3% Cash Back rewards for restaurant purchases, and there’s no limit on the amount of Cash Back rewards you can earn. That’s what I call a win-win situation!
To learn more about AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger visit: http://www.aarpcreditcard.com/
Now go grab your sweetie and go make some date night memories!
