date night

parenting

Date-Night Solutions — Budget Date Night Done Right

For new parents, finding together time can be daunting.
Date-Night Ideas For New Parents

For new parents, finding together time can be daunting. Between organizing schedules, arranging for a sitter, and sticking to a budget, date night often gets pushed to the back burner. Hitting the town without your lil one in tow helps keep your relationship going strong and provides a well-deserved break from parenting. But date night doesn't have to happen at night. Why not enjoy a midafternoon outing, a special breakfast, or a fun night in? Along with being budget-friendly, these stress-free date-night solutions reignite that prebaby glow in your relationship. Call the sitter and make a date!

Shopping

5 Perfect Date-Night Looks, All Under $100

We love date night — though simultaneously dread the prospect of getting dressed for it.

We love date night — though simultaneously dread the prospect of getting dressed for it. Whether you're a part of a veteran couple or venturing on a very first date, you always want to look amazing. That's where we come in. We've combed the market for five fresh looks, perfectly suited for every date night occasion. From elegant eveningwear to the edgier, rock-concert appropriate, we've covered all your bases and kept you under budget, so you can say yes to both that night out dancing and that Saturday dinner and a movie. Rest assured that everything's under $100, so just click through to get inspired and shop the looks.


Photo courtesy of Man About Town

Shopping

Weekend Shopping: Date Night Cool, Under $200

We want to feel — or at the very least, project — our sexiest, coolest selves on date night.

We want to feel — or at the very least, project — our sexiest, coolest selves on date night. With that in mind, we've found just the pieces to create the look, which will hopefully alleviate the last-minute "what-do-I-wear?!" pressure. The best part? The whole look comes in under $200 — from a pair of perfect-fit skinnies to a sexy, cutout tee — shop all our budget-friendly picks!

sleep

How Late Do You Stay Out on Date Night?

Tonight's the night .

Tonight's the night . . . well maybe! When you and your partner get the green light for some kid-free time out on the town, how long do you last? While some couples try to party it up like they did in their prebaby days, others are more conservative with their outings. During a recent date night twitter chat, @npjohnson tweeted, "11ish. Tad past my bedtime to make it feel special." What do you do?

Photo courtesy of ABC

Poll

What Is the Best Comedic Movie of 2010?

Laughter is the best medicine, but which film brought in the biggest dose this year?

Laughter is the best medicine, but which film brought in the biggest dose this year? 2010 was filled with the ever-popular dude comedy, but there was also a Sex and the City flick and Easy A to prove that guys aren't the only ones getting big laughs. There may not be a standout like last year's The Hangover, but what do you think is the best comedic movie of 2010?

Don't forget to vote on all of my Best of 2010 polls!

relationships

How Do You Spend Date Night?

Katherine Heigl's husband Josh Kelley dished to People about how the two do date night, especially now that they live in Utah with their toddler daughter Naleigh.

Katherine Heigl's husband Josh Kelley dished to People about how the two do date night, especially now that they live in Utah with their toddler daughter Naleigh.

What we usually do is try to find out what's good on Netflix, get all the dogs on the couch, and make sure that Naleigh's in bed, and then we pretty much chill and watch movies. I think we've pretty much seen every movie ever made, because there's nothing else to do where we live.

Even if you live in a swirling city, getting off the couch and going out can be hard work. So no judgment here! Last year we asked how your ideal date night would play out, but now we just want to know, how do they really go?

What to Rent

What to Rent: New DVD Tuesday

On the menu for this week's DVD releases?

On the menu for this week's DVD releases? Comedy, comedy, and more comedy. Check out the titles below and start planning your next movie night!

Date Night

In this action romantic comedy, Tina Fey and Steve Carell play a bored married couple who get caught in a mix-up and end up on the run from a couple of thugs in New York City. The two stars are as perfect together as you'd think, and I was laughing out loud at their antics more often than not. The action sequences get a little tiresome, but the humor is worth the trip with Carell and Fey, not to mention the hilarious cameos from Mark Wahlberg and James Franco. DVD extras include a blooper reel, three dating PSAs from Carell and Fey, and director featurettes with Shawn Levy.

68%

The Joneses

David Duchovny and Demi Moore star as Steve and Kate Jones, a couple whose house, clothes, and kids are as good-looking as they are. Here's the catch: they're actually salespeople paid to create the illusion of a perfect life and plug products to their envious friends and neighbors. Things start to get messy when Steve develops feelings for Kate and his morals get in the way of his work life. I thought the film was very entertaining, thanks to Duchovny's endearing performance. Though the social commentary gets to be a bit much, it makes for the perfect rental. DVD extras include deleted scenes.

63%


See one more new release when you read more

Robert Downey Jr

Box Office: Iron Man 2 Skyrockets to No. 1

Robert Downey Jr. can add yet another film to his long list of successes: Iron Man 2.

Robert Downey Jr. can add yet another film to his long list of successes: Iron Man 2. The film handily earned the top spot at the box office this weekend with an impressive $133.6 million — that makes it the fifth-highest opening gross in Hollywood history! The weekend earnings also bested that of the original Iron Man, which raked in $98.6 million for its opening weekend back in 2008.

Obviously that means that last week's champ A Nightmare on Elm Street fell to second place with only $9.1million in ticket sales (sorry, Freddy). It was followed by How to Train Your Dragon in third with $6.7 million, Date Night in fourth with $5.3 million, and The Back-up Plan in fifth with $4.3 million.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Movies

Box Office: Freddy Terrorizes the Competition

Proof that people love a good scare: despite what the critics said, A Nightmare on Elm Street easily won the box office race over the weekend, bringing in $32.2 million.

Proof that people love a good scare: despite what the critics said, A Nightmare on Elm Street easily won the box office race over the weekend, bringing in $32.2 million. It's the second highest opening in the film's nine-movie franchise, only behind 2003's Freddy vs. Jason. Coming in a distant second was last week's champ, How to Train Your Dragon, which earned $10.8 million.

Date Night held onto its third place spot with $7.6 million, while The Back-up Plan dropped to fourth with $7.4 million. Finishing out the top five was Brendan Frasier's family film Furry Vengeance which eked out a measly $6.5 million for its debut.

Movies

Box Office: Dragon Swoops In During a Slow Weekend

After last week's close call with Kick-Ass, the animated family film How to Train Your Dragon came out on top this time with $15 million.

After last week's close call with Kick-Ass, the animated family film How to Train Your Dragon came out on top this time with $15 million. Unfortunately, the win is somewhat diminished by the fact that this weekend's box office had the lowest intake of the year thus far (perhaps everyone was playing outdoors?). Even the star power of Jennifer Lopez in newcomer film The Back-up Plan couldn't muster up big figures. It came in second with a modest $12.2 million.

Taking third was Date Night with $10.6 million, while The Losers debuted in its first week with a disappointing $9.6 million for fourth place. Following closely behind was Kick-Ass which dropped from No. 1 to No. 5 with $9.5 million.