Do you have a Valentine’s Day gift for your significant other yet? Well, if you don’t Monica and Jess from The Real Housewives of Bucks County got you covered with The Game of Love! I first discovered these lovely ladies when they appeared on The Nate Berkus show and it didn’t take me long to realize they have mad DIY skills. I can’t wait for you to meet them (if you haven’t already) because they rock.
Warning:We generally keep things rated ‘G’ around here but we are stepping it up to “PG-13” today, so mom and MIL, I appreciate you reading my blog and all, but please skip over this one :)
DIY Game of Love Set
Hey there! We’re Monica & Jess, AKA The Real Housewives of Bucks County. Don’t worry no plastic surgery or drama queens here! You can find out anything else you may or may not have wanted to know about us and our DIY adventures over on our blog.
We’re really excited Taryn asked us to help you spice up your Valentine’s Day!
Thanks Taryn for sharing the blogger love!!
Good ole Valentine’s Day… Love it or hate it it’s coming! Well, you can thank me later, but I have the perfect gift for your hubs! This gift started over ten years ago on our very first anniversary… we were broke, still in school, and oh so in love. Let me tell you it was a hit! So much so, that I just gave the same gift for our 10 year anniversary back in November.
**Disclaimer- This post is written totally from the perspective of a married woman that adores her husband. I’m being honest here ladies, so you’ve been warned. Also, if you are my mother, STOP reading right now. Thanks!**
The Perfect Valentine’s Gift- The Game of Love
Imagine with me for a moment… It’s been a long day, you and the hubs are headed to bed. You’ve put on your favorite comfy, frumpy sweats and a tee for bed. Once your hubs sees your bedtime wardrobe choice he knows there’s no shot of romance for the night. He pulls back the covers to hop in bed and… what’s this??
You’ve just pulled off the best Valentine’s Day surprise ever. It’s time to play The Game of Love! It’s a game your hubs will love even more than the Superbowl!
All you’ll need for this DIY is some time without your hubby around, some markers, some kind of shape template, and a fitted bed sheet…Seriously mom, if you’re reading- Stop!
Ok, you can kind of see where this is going, and I must make a public confession… yes, I used one of my bff’s birth announcement as my template! It was an adorable shape- Sorry Mandi!
I spent a lot of time ironing my sheet and then had an idea… I could have just washed and dried it. That would be easier.
Pop on your still wrinkly ironed sheet and you’re ready to start making your game board.
If you want nice, straight lines, you can use some masking tape and your template to help with your spacing.
It doesn’t have to be perfect (trust me he won’t be too focused on your straight lines!)
Start tracing your template. Trace it over and over again. Darn that I couldn’t really have a friend come and help me with this DIY… awkward :)
Before removing the masking tape, I added some cute little dashes along the top.
You can add your game’s title across the top. Don’t you love my cheesy name? The Game of Love… still makes me laugh! Feel free to use it or come up with a less cheesy one!
Now it’s time to get creative. I included a few presents, snacks, wardrobe changes, and lots more!
Here are a few of my squares… (if you really want to know what else I added, you can try and read the teeny writing! Ha!) I had a few gifts wrapped and ready to go and a few yummy romantic snacks as well.
Put your mattress back and it’s ready to go! (Okay, I have some limits, so I pulled a little censored for your protection action!)
In case you’re wondering, here are The Official Game of Love Rules:
1. The player will roll a die, but the highest number can be 3 (so divide by 2 or the game goes too fast!)
2. Each square has a 1 1/2 minute time limit
3. No getting carried away- you have to stop at 90 seconds and roll again (the hubs might fight you on that one)
4. Only one person “plays” your role is just the game “facilitator”
5. The Final square is “Score” and you can’t skip ahead (if ya know what I mean)
Okay, now my rationale for posting this. No, it’s not my life’s aspiration for my personal life to be all over Pinterest (don’t worry, I am cool with you pinning it though). I just know that marriage is tough. It takes effort each and every day, not just Valentine’s Day. I don’t know your situation, but I know that 4 kids takes a toll on the love life. As a woman, I have to be intentional about connecting with my husband and making him a priority (FYI “connecting” is a code word! lol). I wanted to encourage woman to have FUN with their husbands… it’s really okay- you’re married! I call this the “Perfect Valentine’s Gift” because for me, it meant so much to Eric that I took the time to think through this, plan out the surprise, and then have an unexpected evening dedicated to us.
PURCHASE YOUR OWN GAME OF LOVE SET!
UPDATE: Guess what?!? Monica has turned this amazing idea into an actual game! Save yourself the trouble of creating it yourself and buy it with one simple click.
So, will you be using The Game of Love to attempt to “Connect” with your husband this Valentine’s Day?
About Taryn Whiteaker
Taryn Whiteaker is the voice of style behind TarynWhiteaker.com (formerly Design, Dining and Diapers) ! Taryn is a previous PR/Marketing professional who got back to her creative roots after becoming a mom and now shares her passion for home decor and design for the world to see. Taryn lives in the greater Seattle area with her husband and three kids and loves coffee, the outdoors, and exploring with her family.
Shirlley Lupton says
February 4, 2012 at 3:25 pmMy husband and I are both retired so it would be really hard to do this since he is always around but I sure wish I had known about this earlier in life because I would have done this as we both try to surprise each other all the time. Thanks for sharing.
Pamela / Pamela's Heavenly Treats says
February 5, 2012 at 10:57 amThis is such a wonderful and different way of connecting with your spouse. I love it. Not sure if I can be as creative as you both were, but I am going to try to put this together as our 15th year wedding anniversary is Feb 15th, this would be a cute gift :-)
Kristen says
August 3, 2014 at 3:57 pmI’m just curious, didn’t your marker bleed through onto your mattress or the mattress protector? Thank you for sharing this idea. Can’t wait to try it with the sheet I got at the thrift store :-)
sam says
January 5, 2015 at 6:08 pmthis is a great idea!! i will definitely be stealing this! just a few questions though… have you washed the sheet with the marker on it? did the marker come off at all? ..also…i’m not sure how you are moving around the “board” after you roll the dice…could you explain that a little more. thank you in advanced!
Taryn says
January 5, 2015 at 10:48 pmHey Sam! This was a guest post from Monica at East Coast Creative, I know she has the tutorial on her blog. I might suggest emailing her directly.
Ericka S. says
January 22, 2015 at 9:33 pmI am looking forward to giving this to my husband this Valentine’s Day. It’s so clever. He will never see this coming and won’t soon forget it. That’s important when you’re in your 25th year of marriage. Thanks for the new gift idea. :)
Kate says
February 3, 2016 at 3:23 pmWere you worried about the ink bleeding through the sheet and onto the mattress?
Kaitlin calloway says
October 23, 2018 at 6:15 pmI put my cutting board underneath to prevent the bleeding.