Although bucket lists have been popular for a long time, I only got on board a few years ago!
As a single woman, I was growing more and more appreciative of the single season and recognizing the opportunities it could bring. But along with that appreciation, came a sense of urgency to make the most of that time, because I didn’t know how much longer it would last. (Thank goodness I did this cause it didn’t last too much longer!) Since learning that, I try to recognize the benefits and opportunities that each season can bring, so I can maximize it!
In a world that pushes us to focus on the next phase of life – for us that’s babies – I really want to focus on squeezing all the goodness out of where we are out RIGHT NOW without looking ahead to the future and missing out on the present goodness.
So about 6 months ago, I created our newlywed bucket list! I actually made this list on my own, but I plan to do the next one WITH Josh. He ended up loving the things I put on there and I included some that I knew he wanted to do anyway, but I think it would definitely be a more well rounded list if we did it together, not to mention just more fun!
At the end of this post, I’ll share some questions to consider when your making your list, along with a worksheet! Log into the Freebies Library to download your free copy or sign up below to receive an email!
Lewis Bucket List – Year 1
1. Go to Sandals for 1 Year Anniversary – Headed to Barbados in just a few weeks !
For our honeymoon we went to Sandals Grenada and absolutely fell in love with the all inclusive concept. It brought a whole new level of relaxation that I didn’t know existed! We had such a great time that even while we were still there we knew we would want to come back to celebrate our 1 year anniversary (and maybe every year after that ;)).
2. Fun Night to Eat 1 Year Cake
We had been looking forward to eating our anniversary cake pretty much since the wedding! I only had one bite at the wedding, but it was delicious. We enjoyed a fun night eating the cake with a bottle of Champagne that we had received at our wedding in our wedding flutes. It was so sweet!
3. Make a 5 year plan
We have talked a little about this, but I’m a pen and paper gal, so I’d like to write this out, so we can have it to look back on later. This may be something we do on our trip while laying out on some beach chairs!
4. Go to a Football Game
Josh played football in college and loves to watch games, so I knew we needed to have this on our list! It just so happened that our schools played each last year, so we decided to go to the game and had a blast. P.S. Don’t ask Josh who won… it’s kind of a sore subject :)
5. Dance in the Living Room
Sometimes we need to just slow down and romance each other a little bit. I wanted this as a reminder that we can do that with the simplest of activities on any old random night. Don’t overlook the small or mundane activities. Those are some of the sweetest times we enjoyed.
6. Go on a picnicWe got a picnic basket for our wedding and I wanted to make sure we put it to good use! Josh ended up cooking us a nice pasta meal with appetizers and we brought it out to a neighborhood lake nearby. It was so nice to enjoy the peaceful scenery and no TV in the background as we chatted through our dinner.
7. Drive a look at Christmas lights with CoffeeOn December 23, a year from when Josh proposed, I surprised him by taking him to Acadian Village to look at Christmas lights. He had planned to propose there the year before, but it got rained out, so I thought it would be fun to go. I considered pretending to propose to him, but I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of all those people ;).
8. Write down gratitudes for November
I did this myself last November, but we didn’t as a couple. I plan to keep this on the list for next year, because I think it would be so beneficial for us to be able to talk through gratitudes daily.
9. Watch a Halloween Movie, Thanksgiving Movie, & Christmas Movies
Maybe you can tell from all the movies, but I am a sucker for cheesy holiday movies, especially Christmas. I cannot tell you how many Hallmark movies I watched in my cozy little apartment by myself, with my Christmas lights on, and some wine or chocolates. It is such a sweet memory! So I wanted to share that with Josh for our first married Christmas. We had fun watching the movies and laughing at the cheesy plot lines and typical rom-com hijinx!
10. Christmas Shoe Box
If you have never heard of the Christmas Shoebox program by Samaritans Purse, it is a chance to put together a little shoebox of goodies for children around the world. Whether they celebrate Christmas or not, it is a sweet opportunity to be able to give and look outside of our typically materialistic holiday. We didn’t get to do this this year, because the deadline snuck up on me, but I’ll be leaving it on the list for next year.
11. Have Cheese & Crackers Date Night In
This was such a sweet memory from the last year! My plan was to start having surprise date nights for each other. This was the first one, so I told Josh to leave for a little while so I could get everything together. I put together a cheese board, breads and dipping sauces, meats, and wine. Then followed it up with an assortment of bitesized desserts. He loved the idea of appetizers and desserts for dinner, while sitting in the living at the ottoman. It was so romantic and cozy!
12. Eats S’mores by the Fire
After the cheese night was a hit, I wanted to continue to do it, but put a seasonal twist on it, so when winter came I thought it would be fun to have S’mores by the fire in the living room! We didn’t get around to it, so it is staying on the list for next year.
13. Have a Party at our House
Entertaining at our house is something Josh really loves to do and since we have started, I have found that I really like it as well! We actually had 2 Christmas Parties and recently did a Mexican themed night. I was intimidated at first, but after a few we have gotten into a rhythm and hope to do them more often in the future.
14. Make More Desserts
I am not a health nut in the least, but I tend to be more “sensible” when it comes to sweets, so I try to stay away from them! But for my sweets loving husband, I knew it would be a treat for us to get to enjoy splurging on a cookie cake or brownies & ice cream every now and then! Plus, it would be fun to make something together. We didn’t get to d this yet, but it’s staying on the list for next year… to do after our beach trip. :)
15. Go to a Concert
Josh & I are not huge music people, but there are a few times that I just love going to hear live music – NeedToBreathe and 80’s & 90’s Cover Bands. So last year when my sis mentioned she and her husband were going to see NeedToBreathe and accidentally bought 2 extra tickets, we knew we had to go! It was a weeknight and 2 hours away, but I’m so glad we decided to just be spontaneous and go!
16. Saturday/Sunday Big Breakfast
Josh enjoys food so much! He loves activities centered around good food. I am not a big breakfast person, at all. Give me an English muffin and a glass of iced coffee and I am a happy camper. So in an effort to enjoy that with him I added this to the list. We unfortunately did not get around to it, but I’ll be leaving this on the list for next year.
How many of you would like to create your own bucket list? If so, I came up with some questions to ask to help you brainstorm ideas and have even created a free worksheet for you! Talking through a bucket list can be fun just to get to dream with your husband and get to share your desires for the next year. You might find out things you never knew before! Grab your free download here!
- What season of marriage are you in?
Is it just the 2 of you? Do you have littles, teenagers? Consider what might be impossible or harder to do in the next phase and incorporate more of that. Having those sweet memories helps to be able to move on to the next thing without looking back like you took those opportunities for granted. I mentioned this a little last week, but one of our desires is to travel, so we also want to take the next year to get some traveling in, because it is one of the most frequent pieces of advice our friends with kids give!
- What are your goals for the year?
Did you make any goals for your marriage this year? If so, try to incorporate some action items that might help you reach that ultimate goal. One of my goals for 2017 is to really celebrate and enjoy our marriage. The first year brought some tough stuff and we needed the refreshment that fun and adventure can bring to a marriage. A lot of the items on my list ended up having to do with enjoying the small moments together and inserting some lightness and fun.
- What type of couple are you?
Are you an outgoing couple always on the go or a homebody couple who likes to stay in? Don’t add things to your list because you feel like you have to, but really add things that you two would actually enjoy! Social media makes me feel so lame sometimes, but then I have to remind myself that although the pictures are cute, going to events like Coachella or Jazz Fest would not be something that we would enjoy.
- What type of couple would you like to be?
After you answer the question above, think about what type of couple you actually want to be! Are you spending your time as the type of couple you want to be or have you defaulted to something completely different? This is where some growth comes in and is a great chance to stretch you as a couple!We want to spend more time with friends, but we find ourselves getting lazy on the weekends, so adding in those activities, helps us to grow into more social people. Also, I’m not the best the when it comes to gift giving or celebrating holidays. So you will see a lot of items on our list from last year had to do with embracing the season! Each one holds some unique moments or treasures and I want to take advantage of that.
- What do you need as a couple?
Do you need to insert more romance in your relationship? more adventure? more rest? more faith? Think about YOUR relationship and what your needs are, so you can come up with a list that will not only be fun, but beneficial for your marriage. You may already be doing to the outgoing, adventuring things, so adding some rest, margin, or alone time might be a better fit for you. Whatever you see that your relationship could benefit from, is what should go on your list!
We plan to work through this worksheet and create our next years bucket list on our trip in a few weeks, so if you guys have any ideas, please comment below! I’d love to know some of the things you have done as a couple that have created the best memories!