DNI Foundation of Love Date Guide

x o B n I t Date Nigh

YOUR DATE WAS THOUGHTFULLY AND CAREFULLY PACKED FROM OUR OWN FACILITY BY TRI-DEVELOPMENT CENTER OF AIKEN COUNTY.

Welcome To Your Date Night In Box! EDITOR’S NOTE: Warmest greetings! Thanks for allowing us to join you in your home to build memories! As a new house is being built next door to our home here in Aiken, I began thinking about all the moving pieces and people it takes to build a home. After some thought, I realized that it all relies on a solid, concrete foundation, both literally and figuratively.

Building and strengthening a foundation as we go through phases of life is so important. As we designed this date for you, I thought about how my husband and I’s foundation has evolved over time.

Our foundation has to hold so much more than it once needed to: children, a business, dogs, the hustle of everyday life, taking time out to reconnect, extended family support, and so much more. My hope tonight is that you will accept our building challenge, have a great time, and reflect on your relationship to strengthen your foundation as a couple.

As always, we are giving away a FREE Date Night In Box to someone who shares a picture while enjoying your date on Facebook or Instagram using hashtags #DateNightInBox and #DNIFoundationOfLove. A big congrats to last month’s winner! Keep reading to discover another opportunity to win a great prize later on in the date.

May you strengthen your foundation,

Megan Pruitt

FOUNDER OF DATE NIGHT IN

Your Blueprint For The Night ENJOY YOUR OPTIONAL DINNER FOR TWO & TABLE TALK Custom Curated Dinner Menu & Table Talk CHALLENGE ONE Make your own ambiance to set the mood!

SNACK & BUILDING REFLECTION Take a break, enjoy your included snack, and reflect.

CHALLENGE TWO Work together to build a strong foundation.

CHALLENGE THREE How high can you build a strong structure?

CHALLENGE FOUR Who can build the tallest structure to win a prize?

“A GREAT RELATIONSHIP DOESN’T HAPPEN ONLY BECAUSE OF THE LOVE YOU HAVE IN THE BEGINNING, BUT HOW WELL YOU CONTINUE BUILDING LOVE UNTIL THE END.”

- Unknown

ENJOY YOUR OPTIONAL DINNER FOR

d e t a r u C m o t Cus Dinner Menu FOR FULL RECIPES AND SHOPPING LIST PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT NIGHTINBOXES.COM/RECIPES

HORCHATA WITH TEQUILA

DECONSTRUCTED GROUND CHICKEN TACOS

DECONSTRUCTED POMEGRANATE GUACAMOLE

CINNAMON AND SUGAR CHURRO MUFFINS

R TWO & TABLE TALK TOOLS -- Small saucepan

-- Spoon

-- Cocktail shaker (can mix using a spoon as well)

-- Potato masher or fork

-- Knife

-- Mini muffin baking pan

-- Three medium-sized bowls -- Two small bowls

-- Large frying pan

-- Hand or electric mixer

HINT If you’re looking for a way to ripen your avocado quickly, place it in a brown paper bag for a day or two with a banana or apple.

RECIPES PROVIDED BY MARINA

Table Talk A lot goes into building a strong foundation. As you will see during your date activities, a foundation is only as strong as the patience, partnership, and dedication put into it. While thinking about your relationship’s foundation, take a minute to identify a few of your unique foundational building blocks.

Your foundation can be strengthened when it is tested, when it is trusted, and when it is nurtured. As honestly as you can, reflect on how you would handle these scenarios by completing each sentence.

When we have to talk about a tough topic, it works out best when we approach it with ______________________________.

Hi, friends! I’m Marina from Marina Makes (marinamakesblog.com). Just like relationships, every recipe is built differently. Chefs, bloggers, and foodies all seem to find their own takes when making food, and it’s always fun to taste different renditions. No matter how food is put together, it’s always made with some sort of emotion. Most of the time, I like to cook with patience, thoughtfulness, and creativity. This month, I encourage you to cook with all three in mind as you prepare your date night eats.

This month’s menu includes some of my favorite meals, with the main meal and appetizer in deconstructed form! I paired my recipes for chicken tacos and pomegranate guacamole to go along with this month’s theme, and I hope you’ll enjoy creating both recipes in a brand-new way.

I’d love to see how your food turns out, so please feel free to share pictures on social media; don’t forget to use the hashtag #marinamakeseats.

Happy eating!

When I’m overwhelmed and need a steady hand to guide me, I choose you because ______________________________.

We feel most in sync when we stop and take the time to ______________________________.

OUR FOUNDATIONAL TRUTHS: 1. When we are tested, we will _______________________.

2. For us, trust looks like ___________________________.

3. We value our relationship above __ __________________.

MAKE YOUR OWN AMBIANCE TO SET THE MOOD! e Challenge On Before you begin building, turn on the custom playlist we’ve created for your date. Head to our website nightinboxes.com/music and hit play on your “FOUNDATION OF LOVE” playlist.

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ati c i n u m

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Trust

MATERIALS Self Adhesive Popsicle Sticks

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Pen

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Candle

TASK This building challenge is going to help you set the mood for the rest of your date. Every relationship is unique; take some time to discuss what your relationship has been built on.

On each popsicle stick, write an example of what makes the foundation of your relationship—different aspects, traits or experiences. Use as many (or few) popsicle sticks as you would like.

Next, you will build a structure to surround your candle. Help each other build a candle lantern by using the adhesive sides of the popsicle sticks.

WORK TOGETHER IN AN EFFORT TO BUILD A STRONG FOUNDATION. o Challenge 2Tw

MATERIALS

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Empty box (box your date came in)

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Toothpicks

Jelly Beans (set 1 jelly bean aside for Challenge 3)

TASK

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Measuring Tape

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In this activity, you will work together to build a platform for your Date Night In Box to rest on using toothpicks and jelly beans.

Get creative! You can use as few or as many of the materials provided as you want; the only catch is that your foundation must hold the empty Date Night In Box a minimum of two inches off the ground. If you can build it higher, we would love to see photos using the hashtags #DateNightInBox & #DNIFoundationOfLove.

Note: This structure will have to hold up because you will be using it later on in the date!

HOW HIGH CAN YOU BUILD A STRONG STRUCTURE? ree Challenge Th

MATERIALS Straws

TASK

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Tape

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1 Jelly Bean

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Measuring Tape

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Ready for your next challenge? Is your structure from the last challenge still able to support your empty Date Night In Box?

Take a quick minute

to reflect on some of the lessons you might have learned from the first challenge. Remember, this structure will be used later in the date, so make changes to it if necessary.

Your next challenge is to use the provided straws and tape to build the tallest structure possible, with one of your jelly beans resting perfectly on top! Literally building a strong foundation will be the key to this challenge.

Take a few moments to come up with a strategy and jot down some notes before getting started.

Planning will help you work as a team. We have provided some blank space for notes.

After you have completed the planning process, build your structure.

PLEASE DO NOT FLIP PAST YOUR PLANNING PAGE UNTIL YOU COMPLETE CHALLENGE THREE.

CHALLENGE THREE Continued...

Is your straw structure still standing with the jelly bean on top?

When this task was

given to a variety of “couples,” including dating couples, married couples, young children, recent business school graduates, and lawyers, do you know who was the most successful?

KINDERGARTNERS. The only exception to this finding were individuals with engineering degrees.

Interested to know why kindergartners have a thing or two to teach us adults?

A few reasons led to their success and should serve as a gentle reminder in our own lives. None of the kids tried to be CEOs of the project. As adults, we tend to see one correct path with one possible solution and try to force it to fruition. For example, putting the jelly bean on at the VERY last moment might make the structure fall, causing a crisis at the end of all the hard work.

The children who completed the challenge had the idea to start with the jelly bean and built several prototypes so they could implement changes to their structures, allowing a higher chance of success. This allowed for instant feedback rather than realizing an idea wouldn’t work at the end of the project.

Discuss the following question: If the jelly bean is a symbol for important decisions or moments in your life, are you putting it on at the very last moment, or do you consider your jelly bean from the start, building the foundation and modifying prototypes?

WHO CAN BUILD THE TALLEST STRUCTURE TO WIN A PRIZE? ur Challenge Fo MATERIALS

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Challenge Two structure (foundation with Date Night In Box on top) | Challenge Three structure (straw and tape structure with jelly bean) | Measuring Tape

TASK

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1. Place your Challenge Two structure on the ground or on a solid surface.

2. Place your Challenge Three structure on top of your Challenge Two structure and use your measuring tape to record the height of the combined structures.

3. Snap a picture and share using the hashtags #DateNightInbox & #DNIFoundationOfLove!

The couple with the tallest structure (with the jelly bean still on top) will win a $500 gift certificate to Home Depot to help you with your own building adventures.

$50

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! e v o L e h Share T @DATENIGHTINBOX #DATENIGHTINBOX #DNIFOUNDATIONOFLOVE