When was the last time you had a romantic dinner with your spouse? You don't have to have a special occasion to host a romantic dinner for your spouse.

Set aside the excuse you can't cook.

If you are culinary-challenged, you can still plan a romantic dinner at home for the two of you by either choosing simple recipes to follow or by purchasing some of the meal courses from a restaurant or store. Difficulty: Average Time Required: As long as you want it to --------------Here's How:

-- Set the stage of your romantic dinner by making sure the two of you will be alone. If you have children, arrange for babysitting at someone else's home.

-- Plan your romantic dinner on an evening of a week that you are sure your spouse won't have other time commitments already scheduled.

-- Do you want the romantic dinner to be a surprise or not? If it is a surprise, light candles in the entrance of your home to surprise your spouse.

-- If the dinner won't be a surprise, consider giving your spouse an invitation that you write yourself.

-- Send the invitation by mail, leave it on your mate's pillow, send it with a bouquet of flowers, leave it on the dash of your spouse's car, etc. -- Your invitation needs to be specific as to when the romantic dinner is planned. Be creative!

-- Set the table with a tablecloth, cloth napkins, nice dinnerware, crystal, unscented candles, and flowers. The napkins can be rolled or folded in a pretty way.

-- Sprinkle the table with rose petals or sparkly heart shaped sprinkles. You can set floating candles in small glasses filled partly with cranberry juice.

-- Keep it simple, but don't forget the appetizers. Plan on serving foods that your spouse likes. This isn't a time to experiment with a new recipe.

-- If you are going to order your part of your romantic dinner from a restaurant or other source, make sure you have time to transfer the menu items to attractive bowls and platters.

-- Choose the music you want to listen to ahead of time, and have soft romantic music playing in the background.

-- Create dimmed lighting for the room where you will be dining. Small, white light strings can have the desired look. So can a fire in a fireplace.

-- Turn off the television, computers, and other distractions.

-- Get dressed up.

-- Have a plan on what you will do after dinner. You could take a moonlit walk together, or watch a romantic movie.

And be sure that candles, flowers, tablecloths, crystal, etc., aren't essential props for a romantic dinner. Cooking on the Coleman and eating by the campfire off tin plates is romantic too.

I do think it's a shame if a couple never sets aside some sort of quality time for romance of whatever variety they prefer. It does have to be cultivated; it won't happen by itself. --------------What you need A Plan, a menu, determination, candles, mood music, romantic movie, flowers, nice linen for the table, good tableware, crystals, and creative thinking (Source: Marriage.about.com)