Date Night Ideas
Date night is one of those things that can easily be overlooked. Especially if you’ve been together for a while. Once kids are in the picture it definitely has to be planned. It’s so important though! It’s something that can reconnect you and your significant other during a crazy week! My husband and I used to do date night every week. But, it doesn’t always happen that way these days. Because life and kids and finding childcare. I try to keep my expectations for date night to realistic. It’s what works with your life and your schedule! However often date night happens for you, it’s supposed to be about time with you and your significant other! So, set a date on the calendar, book the babysitter and get ready for some fun, quality time with your significant other!
I know our date nights a lot of times look like going to eat, getting ice cream, running to Target and then being home by a decent time! haha! But, here are some ideas to make date night a little more fun and interesting! These are all things me and my husband have done at least once!
1. Try a food truck. Then, take it to-go and eat it on a scenic overlook or park. Seriously this is so simple. But, there is nothing like eating good food for cheap and enjoying a view! The town we used to live in had the BEST hibachi food truck and a lot of nights we would eat for $12 and then go to the local park or mountain and sit there and eat and enjoy conversation! We did this a lot of the times during the pandemic. It is one of my favorite memories during that time.
2. Be a tourist in your town. Whether this be a day or a weekend, it’s so much fun! Try out the museum you have never been to, go to all the touristy places, try a restaurant you’ve never tried. It will feel like you are on vacation without the expense of gas for traveling!
3. Stay in a hotel in your hometown. So, this could go with #2. But, maybe you want to be a little fancy and you want to splurge a little. Check into a hotel for one night! Wear the fancy robes, order room service, relax! I would love to do this now, just me tbh!
4. Progressive Dinner. This requires pre-planning and pre-knowledge that this will cost more than your average date night. So, be prepared for that! This is such a fun idea. We’ve actually only done it once! So, this is what you do: you eat a different course at different restaurants. Start with drinks at the first place, move to appetizers, a main course, then dessert somewhere else! It sounds crazy but it’s a great way to change up the regular date night! We had a lot of fun deciding which course we would eat where! Most of the restaurants that were on our list were in close proximity so we were walking to at least 3 of them. This made it less complicated!
5. Go hiking. This is something we do a lot of during the Fall. It’s a great time for conversation and enjoying nature. It’s also affordable and fun and you get exercise in! So, it’s a win-win!
6. The coin date. Y’all. This one is so. much. fun. This is leaving your date night destination up to a coin! You set the max number of times you want to flip your coin and then each side means you either take a left or right turn. So, heads= right and tails= left. Or vice versa. We usually start as soon as we turn out of the driveway. If you live far out from town or places to eat, start closer to your options! You do not want to get lost! One person flips the coin, the other drives. Once you complete the max number of flips you set, then, you see where you end up! So, if it’s McDonald’s you eat there, if it’s the place you’ve never eaten at but have been wanting to try, you eat there!
7. Stray from the regular. You might love going to your favorite restaurant and ordering the same thing each time but try switching things up and going to the restaurant you’ve never tried. It’s been on your list for a reason! You might as well try it on a night when you can’t decide where to eat!
8. Do the seasonal, cliché dates. Around Christmas go ice skating, pick out a Christmas tree together, build a gingerbread house together at home. During fall go to the pumpkin patch, carve a pumpkin together, do a corn maze with another couple, go to football games and during Summer and Spring go to the baseball games, do brunch and then the Farmer’s Market during the day on a Saturday.
9. Cook together. For a short time, we did Hello Fresh. You don’t have to have a meal subscription to do this one. It may look more like buying ahead as you meal prep (which is what most weeks look like for us). But, this was such a fun way for us to cook together during the week or weekend. We both enjoyed putting our meal together!
10. Stay home. Once my husband told me we were going on a fancy date night and told me to close my eyes and go change when I walked in. Then I walked out ready to go somewhere fancy and I discovered he had brought Olive Garden in and we ate at home! It was so thoughtful and fun! Listen, you do not have to spend a lot of money to have a great date night! Stay home, order a pizza or your favorite restaurant in, watch a movie or your favorite show on Netflix or Hulu. It’s simple and easy and not so stress-filled! We recently did this for our anniversary. We started the meal with a charcuterie board with cheeses, olives and meats from Aldi, Walmart and our fridge. I attempted to make a crispy baked boursin cheese recipe from the Cheese Gal. Even though I slightly burned it, it was very tasty! I would 100% make again. The main course was a pasta recipe from half-baked Harvest, SO good. We put music on, lit some candles and had the best night. So simple yet so great. Here is a playlist I made for a romantic dinner at home!
I hope this is helpful and that you try one of these ideas! Just remember, date night doesn’t have to be boring! It doesn’t have to be complicated. Whether it’s going out, or staying in, you do whatever you and your significant other enjoy doing together!