Dana Lam, author of The Surprise Date Challenge: Be the Happiest Couple You Know, has written another book along the same vein called The Surprise Date Challenge: Home Edition. The second book builds on the first by providing twenty-four new date ideas to do without leaving the house.

The purpose of The Surprise Date Challenge is for each couple to plan one date night a month for each other. All twenty-four date ideas are listed in the back, in an easy-to-cut-out and use manner. You can cut them out, put them in a container, and then each draw an idea out and start planning. If you do not want to cut out the pages in your book, Dana gives you a link you can go to so you can print them out. The main idea is to keep the date a surprise from your spouse, giving you something to look forward to each month (and don’t we all need that right now?).

The Surprise Date Challenge is beautifully designed. There are bright pink hearts scattered throughout the book with interesting quotes on them, like this one: “The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us (Ashley Montagu).” While I like the pink heart design, in the digital format this hurts my eyes. This may be a non-issue for certain tablets or the print version.

The book has twenty-four unique ideas in it, that are explained in great detail. While there are some that I would not want to do – like those involving alcohol – the way they are explained gives ideas of what I could do instead.

I liked the way the book is set up. I like that the ideas are a good jumping-off point for those who need creative date ideas. I love that quite a few of them are cheap or free ideas, as the point is to spend time with your spouse, not spend money! I love that most of the ideas are not things that I would have thought up on my own. I also enjoyed that The Surprise Date Challenge provides complete recipes when cooking is involved.

I enjoyed this book and would have loved to have a print copy making it easier to refer to over and over again. My favorite date idea is the one about mysteries (no spoilers so if you want to know, pick up the book!), as this is not something I would have come up with on my own. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to get back in the habit of dating their spouse. I would also recommend it to those with an adventurous spirit as some of the ideas are a little out there. This book would also be great for couples who are just starting to date and have no clue as to what their date might like. It would be a great way to get to know them better.