This is a portion of a letter sent to me by Jenise Nelson from New Hope Baptist Church. She sent these FANTASTIC ideas in:

I & my husband have been putting together "Sweetheart Banquets" for many years. He is a Baptist minister & a very romantic husband. We use this time of the year as an opportunity to minister to our couples. We plan it & present it as a gift to our married couples. We have taken some flak for only allowing married couples to attend. We hope that during the 2 - 3 hours we can encourage & be an example to other couples to work on the romance in their marriage. There is so much divorce in our world & many times couples do not work at their marriages like they would their careers or other areas in their life.

Theme ideas we have used:

• Partners for Life - "western theme" decorations, food, dress, music - all western Picture taking of the couples is ALWAYS a MUST! Many couples do not have their picture taken together often enough! We give them copies the following Sunday at church & then we display a copy for others to see. At this one we had a dress contest - Best WESTERN dressed couple USED - The rose - as part of the program - poems & songs about the "rose" "BUY ME A ROSE" "THE ROSE" "THE YELLOW ROSE OF TEXAS" We had each husband come up to the front & choose a rose from a display to give to their wife - They were to tell the rest how long they had been "partners" - this is always a touching moment - the rose was presented with much affection & a lot of kisses We played a couple - "couples games" paper game - name the partner of some famous couples - Biblical & Secular
• Treasured Memories - Guys tell how they met - It's sweet, but comical sometimes Gals - tell the most romantic thing their husband has ever done for them - sweet, sometimes comical & sometimes pathetic (We gave a romantic night to the worst story we hear - they didn't know ahead of time there was a prize - Romantic night - dinner & a night in a motel (babysitting provided by Pastor & his wife if needed) BIG HIT!
• Love "Bears" All Things - we have this great P.A.L. bear idea we introduced - (P.A.L. - Pass around love) - There is a poem & the idea is to give each couple a small jointed white w/ red ribbon around the neck bear. (bought at Hobby Lobby) They are to hide the bear from one another in unexpected places & when the other person unexpectedly finds the little bear - It reminds them that the person who placed it there LOVES THEM & was thinking of them - My husband & I have done this for years - I still love slipping on a shoe, reaching in a pocket, opening the cabinets or freezer & finding that little bear. It always puts a smile on my face & a fresh thought of his love for me
• "TEN SECOND KISS" - Pastor led into this with a talk about finding time for each other - just a "ten second kiss" can make a difference He set a timer & had the couples share a "10 second kiss" & then he challenged them to find 10 seconds for a kiss everyday - a lot of couples came back in the weeks to follow with some interesting observations
• We've asked the guys to choose a song & dedicate it to their wife during the dinner (They were slipped a note at church a couple weeks in advance)
• We've played - Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, Name That Tune, & many other group type games
• Menus - Lasagna, Baked Steak, Beef Brisket, Ham (We like to use some of our more mature teens to serve us) Great for them to see couples getting along & "in love" - A single adult runs the kitchen - this can be a sensitive request (single, divorced, widowed) some couldn't handle it - others love the opportunity to work with the youth & minister to couples in the church

Thank you soooooooo much Jenise for sending these ideas in!!!