Are you looking for marriage tips or tips on how to save a relationship? Try dating your spouse.

When a couple is dating, they usually can’t get enough of each other and are constantly looking forward to spending time together. However, after marriage, life takes over and couples barely have time for each other. This can spell doom for the marriage.

Every couple should strive to go out on a date and spend time alone at least once a week. It doesn’t have to be anything expensive or fancy; it just has to be something that the two of you enjoy. Keep in mind that time spent with your spouse in the presence of family and friends does not count.

Ways to Spend Quality Time with Your Spouse

• Wake up an hour earlier. Couples that work late often do not have time for evening dates. If you are one of these couples, try waking up an hour earlier and enjoying a cup of coffee together. This can become your romantic ritual.

• Have a date night. Most marriage tips will tell you that date nights are the easiest way to spend time together as a couple. Unfortunately, date nights aren’t always practical, especially for couples with young kids. Babysitters are expensive. One way around this is to find another couple that also young kids and suggest an arrangement where they babysit your kids when you go out on a date and you do the same for them. It’s a win-win situation.

• Have a date night at home. Finding someone, even another couple, to babysit isn’t easy, especially for couples with very young kids. However, it is still possible to have a wonderful date night at home. Just make sure the kids have an early dinner and then let them watch TV for the rest of the evening. Explain to them that you need some peace and quiet and would really appreciate it if they could keep it down.

• Take turns planning dates. If the responsibility of planning dates falls on one person, it can begin to feel like a chore. Therefore, couples should take turns planning dates. This way, the responsibility is shared equally and the person who is not planning the date has something to look forward to.

• Try new things together. If the date nights start to get a bit boring, try taking up new activities together. Be creative and step out of your comfort zone. For instance, you can take tennis lessons together, go kayaking or try scuba diving together. Nothing brings a couple together like a shared experience.

No matter where you get your marriage tips from, there will always be something in their about spending quality time together. It’s the only way to keep the fire burning in a relationship.