We can barely believe it – but it’s now 10 years since the spark of an idea evolved in to a business helping thousands of couples to reconnect.
A Year of Dates was born on the back of a simple and meaningful idea, given from husband to wife ten years ago. When John created the date jar, filled with date ideas sealed in envelopes for us to do together we had no idea what it would take us on the journey we’ve been on.
It was a different gift for sure – and every Monday morning I opened an envelope and we had to make an effort to do what the card said that week. It was exciting, some ideas weren’t what I’d choose to do but we made it fun, and most importantly we made time for each other in our busy lives – something we all can forget to do.
Fast forward 12 months and I was on maternity leave and as most mum’s experience, I did not want to go back to a 9-5 Graphic Design career. A chance conversation with new mum friends about our plans for the weekend (that involved an idea from the jar) “that’s a great idea, I wish I had the time to think of the date ideas”… And we realised we did have the time and the ideas.
A Year of Dates was born in September 2016 with our first product that is based on the original jar.
While it has been a rollercoaster that has seen us both leave our jobs, take on staff, open an office, bring in personalisation and sell all over the world; what is even more exciting to us, is knowing the huge impact that the date cards have on people’s lives.
We recently ran a customer survey and asked customers to share their stories on how the date boxes have affected their relationships, the responses were inspiring, amusing and touching. Below is just a small selection of the lovely comments we received.
“We got the sports event date card and getting my other half to a sporting venue was definitely not his thing. After the date night we now go so much to the ice hockey and absolutely love it. Its now a regular date night.”
“We had the date where we had to go to a car boot & spend £5. When we got in we went our separate ways to purchase our gifts. I got to a stall and I told the stall holder what I was doing, he thought it was a fab idea, gave me a big bag & said I could fill it up with anything for £5. I started to fill it up with random tat which you get from car boots when he came out of his van with candles and a book of poetry which he said I could have for my date. I also bought a year of dates for my mate who is terminally ill and we have made some fab memories.”
“My husband was diagnosed with cancer last year so we couldn’t get out much, so we dated at home, ate food from different countries and watched films we wouldn’t have usually watched.”
“I pulled out the picnic date card and my then boyfriend proposed to me at the end! It was perfect,”
“I was unwell for most of 2024 and the date box has taken the strain off our relationship at times of significant stress and helped us to not loose sight of the present moment.”
“Core memory – we booked a night way to Blackpool where we picked out an orange card that said “try something new” sooooo we braved the Blackpool Tower…. I’m absolutely petrified of heights but wanted to do something we’ve never done before. It was incredible, the view was amazing. This was such a memorable moment of trying something new together.”
“Our favourite date so far was to make a playlist together. We got wine and snacks and sat for hours talking about songs, telling each other stories of what the songs reminded us of and putting it together into a playlist. We listen to it every day, and add to it all the time.”
It’s hard to believe that it is ten years since John created that first date jar – and fills us both with great pride and happiness that his wonderful gesture has impacted the lives of so many other couples. We can’t wait to see what the next decade has in store for us, A Year of Dates and all our lovely customers.
Got a story to share?
We always love to hear from you, whether it is a review, a story caused by a date card, or a ‘one year on’ account when you finish the journey, you can email us any time to hello@ayearofdates.co.uk and share your story.
You can read more of our customer stories on the blog:
