The 7 Stages of Planning an Adult Night Out

Every so often, you find a way to trade in your comfy yoga pants for something a little more fun, leaving the kids at home. Since these adult nights out are a rare treat, getting there can feel like an epic journey. Here’s a light-hearted look at the 7 stages you’ll navigate to achieve your much-deserved evening of freedom.

1. The Invitation

You receive a text, call, or even an Evite, and your heart races—“Yes! A thousand times yes!” As you respond, your little one has a vomit explosion, clearly sensing your plans. It’s like they have a sixth sense about these things, and suddenly, leaving the kiddos with a sitter feels impossible.

2. Finding a Sitter

With visions of sipping on a frosty margarita dancing in your head, you embark on the mission of finding someone to watch your mini-mes. You start with the grandparents, but alas, they’re busy busting moves at the local disco. Next, you consider the neighborhood teens, but after exhausting all options, you even think about the pizza delivery guy from last week. He seemed cool enough—maybe he can babysit and bring pizza too?

3. The Acceptance Phase

As you confirm with your friend, you pray her sitter hasn’t flaked. You also worry if she really invited you, considering how uneventful your life has been lately. To prepare for conversation, you attempt to read a bestseller, but you only manage to check Wikipedia instead.

4. Wardrobe Woes

You dig through your closet, only to find maternity clothes and workout gear that you never wear. A trip to Target is in order, where you search for a shirt that flatters your figure. Just when you find the perfect one, your baby decides it’s a great time for a spit-up moment. You buy the shirt anyway—along with some OxiClean.

5. House Prep

The day of your exciting night, you scrub the house from top to bottom, determined to impress the pizza guy. You might even pull a muscle while mopping, but you ignore the pain and pour yourself a glass of wine—it’s the only way to survive this clean-up!

6. Kid Prep

You pull out all the board games you despise, stock up on junk food, and queue up every episode of Spongebob you can find. You remind yourself that if you’re not there to witness the chaos, it’s like it never happened. Tomorrow, you’ll get back to healthy eating; tonight is all about those margaritas with extra salt!

7. Spouse Prep

Gently remind your partner that he’s perfectly capable of dressing himself. And if he plays his cards right, he can help you undress later. Shove any body insecurities out of your mind, and maybe jot down a reminder to hit the gym on Monday.

Finally, it’s time to escape! After a mad dash away from your screaming children, you realize that all this prep has left you too worn out to socialize. You and your partner end up hitting a drive-thru for tacos and sipping tequila in the car parked a few houses down. You return home buzzed to find the kids still awake and the pizza guy snoozing on your couch. Well, at least you won’t have to give him a ride home!

For more insights on family life, check out our other blog posts, like this one on home insemination. If you’re looking for fertility resources, Make a Mom is a great authority on this topic. Also, NICHD provides excellent resources for pregnancy and home insemination.

In summary, planning an adult night out is a whirlwind of emotions and preparations, from the initial excitement of the invite to the chaotic reality of getting everything done. But despite the challenges, the end result is often worth it—even if it doesn’t go exactly as planned.