Photo Credit: Home Grown blog

Today I was in the grocery store when I paused to talk for awhile to an elderly man who has worked there for as long as I can remember. I mentioned to me his age, and I honestly had to ask him to repeat what he said.

“I’m 96.”

“96? Are you serious?” I couldn’t believe it!

He pulled out his driver’s license to confirm he was indeed born in 1916. That’s incredible on so many counts. He was born during World War I–unbelievable. And he’s still working loading my groceries in a bag with a huge smile on his face. I told him he had made my day; he had!

This gave me the idea for our featured date night idea.

Each year is full of it’s own highlights from history, sports, food and entertainment. Why not pick a year–any year–and celebrate it in a memorable way with your spouse? You can do something low-key at home, or go all out and enjoy a night on the town. The possibilities are endless. 

First, do some research about the year you’ve selected. After you’ve discovered lots of interesting facts, choose what sounds fun to you. It could be doing something together that was invented that year. Or fixing a meal based on a recipe from a favorite TV show. Whatever you do, have fun talking about the unusual events of the year.  I discovered that in 1977 France executed their last person by guillotine–certainly not an idea for your date, but an interesting fact to discuss nonetheless. The People History is a great resource where you can choose a year and find all you ever wanted to know about a specific year, and more.

The whole purpose is to have fun doing something together out of the ordinary. We can all use some inspiration, can’t we?

Following is an example of lists you could pull from to spark ideas for your date. We’ve chosen the year 1977 because this is the year I graduated from high school.

What year stands out to you as one worth exploring?

http://www.pophhistorydig.com

The year – 1977

Best Movie: Annie Hall. (Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind were all box office hits although they didn’t win an Oscar.)

Grammy Awards

Record of the Year: “Hotel California” … The Eagles
Best Song: “You Light Up My Life” … Joe Brooks
Best Album: “Rumours” … Fleetwood Mac
Male Vocalist: James Taylor … “Handy Man
Female Vocalist: Barbra Streisand … “Love theme from ‘A Star Is Born’ (Evergreen)”

Most Popular Television Shows

1. Laverne & Shirley (ABC)
2. Happy Days (ABC)
3. Three’s Company (ABC)
4. 60 Minutes (CBS)
5. Charlie’s Angels (ABC)
6. All in the Family (CBS)
7. Little House on the Prairie (NBC)
8. Alice (CBS)
9. M*A*S*H (CBS)
10. One Day at a Time (CBS)

Most Popular Books

Fiction:
1. “The Silmarillion” by J.R.R. Tolkien
2. “The Thorn Birds” by Colleen McCullough
3. “Illusions” by Richard Bach
4. “The Honourable Schoolboy” by John Le Carre
5. “Oliver’s Story” by Erich Segal

Nonfiction
1. “Roots” by Alex Haley
2. “Looking Out for #1” by Robert Ringer
3. “All Things Wise and Wonderful” by James Herriot
4. “Your Erroneous Zones” by Dr. Wayne Dyer
5. “The Book of Lists” by David Wallechinsky