Catholic Date Ideas: October's Date Night Challenge

Healthy Catholic Marriages have frequent dates!

Research shows, married couples who regularly date, are less likely to consider divorce, more likely to have more romance and report better sex lives, communicate better, and enjoy marriage more! So we have decided to challenge you to AT LEAST one date a month! Need some ideas? Keep reading!

October’s Catholic Date Ideas:

I just love when the suffocating humidity of summer starts to give way to crisp autumn breezes. It's still plenty hot in Iowa but I know that 'sweata weathah' is coming soon! I wanted to come up with some great ideas to date your spouse, taking advantage of the Fall Season. Your challenge is to talk to your spouse and choose one of the following and schedule a date night for the month of October!

Challenge Options:

1. Rosary Walk Date

   • October is the Month of the Holy Rosary! Take an evening walk together, pray one decade of the Rosary at a time, and finish at a coffee shop, ice cream spot, or cozy bench to share conversation.

2. Pumpkin & Prayer Night

   • Carve pumpkins or paint them with a Scripture verse, then light a candle inside. Afterward, spend a few minutes praying together for your marriage and family.

3. Saint-Inspired Dinner Date

   • Choose a saint with an October feast day (like St. Thérèse, St. John Paul II, or the Guardian Angels), cook a meal inspired by their culture, and read a short quote from them about love or marriage. I just love Becky at @RaisingSaintsInTheKitchen on Instagram! I highly recommend signing up for her newsletter filled with Saint inspired recipes!

4. Bonfire & Blessings

   • Have a simple backyard fire or candlelit evening. Share with each other one way you’ve seen God’s blessing in your marriage this past month. Roast s’mores and enjoy!

5. Charity Date

   • Pick one way to serve together as a couple—maybe volunteer at a parish event, write notes to parish shut-ins, or make a meal for someone in need. Then go out for coffee or dessert to celebrate serving side by side.

Open with Monthly Check In Questions

Whatever you decide to do, try and discuss the following things as ice breakers at dinner, at home after kids fall asleep, during a walk, in the car after you’ve grabbed hot cocoa, or in front of the fireplace with a bottle of wine or a cup of tea!

• Have you felt loved by me over this last month? Why or why not?

• What can I do to love you better? (See another month's challenge about Love Languages!)

• Do you have any prayer intentions I could pray for over the next month?

• What has been your favorite memory or thing that happened over the last month?

• What was the worst thing?

• What is one thing you are looking forward to in the coming month?

Before the date ends, be sure to schedule your next date night together!

We pray you fall deeper in love with your spouse this month and enjoy this intentional time together!

Want more Support for Catholic Marriage?

Wondering How to pray with your spouse? Check out this eBook, How to Create a Prayer Routine as Husband and Wife to help you and your spouse either refresh your current prayer life or to jump start a customized prayer routine together!

How to Pray for Your Marriage using the Luminous Mysteries : this free eBook download is great for husband and wife to reflect on the Luminous Mysteries of the Rosary and how they relate to Marriage, guiding you to pray for your marriage as you pray them!

We challenge you to a date each month with our date night challenge! Looking for a date night in? Check out the Catholic Family Movie Night discussion prompts for the movie Groundhog Day!