On the first date of Christmas...

A few weeks ago, Jess and I saw a news spot about couples trying to save money on Christmas this year.  One of the ideas was a couple who had decided to agree upon 12 dates that they would take during the Christmas season.  Jess and I thought that this was an awesome (I think her word was "cute") idea.  So, in no random order:

12 & 11 - decorating the apartment for Christmas (this seemed to be a two date process since we didn't have everything the first time) DONE

10 & 9 - movie nights (two nights were we each pick a movie to watch, usually rented from Netflix) HALF DONE

8 - Fair Trade expo in Madison DONE

7 - cookie baking

6 - Gamecube night

5 - game night

4 - TV show night

3 - organic food night

2 - serving night

1 - overnight to Milwaukee!

I've found that these dates have been super relaxing and helped to grow a lot of intimacy in our marriage.  It's been so good to just spend time with her instead of getting a Christmas gift that is either forgotten or used up in a short amount of time.  Instead, I'm investing in us.

FYI - Some of you might not know to what the actual "12 Days of Christmas" refer.  Historically, this has been the amount of time between Christmas and the Epiphany (I believe on Jan. 5), the day celebrated as the coming of the Magi to visit Jesus.  Now you know!