What can I say, hubby and I like date night. Before kids we went out a lot. Oh how I miss that! But, we’ve been trying to carry on with our date night traditions even with two little ones. More often then not that means in-house date nights so in the spirit of Valentine’s Day (you know, in case you are looking for something to do Friday night) I thought I would share with you our top 10 picks for stay at home date nights. In no particular order.
(This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. See full disclosure here)
- Picnic by the Fire – Light the fireplace, spread a blanket out on the floor and pile on the picnic food. No fireplace? No problem. Light some candles or, if your kids have one of those stuffed animals that project stars onto the ceiling, picnic under the stars.
- Cook Together – We both like to cook so this works for us. We are always finding new recipes we want to try so after the kids go to bed we’ll get started on a real meal for the grown ups.
- Bake Together – If your having dinner you need dessert right? Got a favorite dessert or one that is meaningful to both of you. Make it together. Is there something you’ve never made before but would like to learn how? Go for it! For us it was creme brûlée. We both wanted to learn to make it at home so that was an event in and of itself, and one I should have probably blogged about at the time but I digress.
- Game Night – Pick your favorite board games or card games and make a night of it. There are some fun themed monopoly games out there too like this Wine-Opoly
or Chocolate-Opoly
that can help you create a whole theme night around game night.
- Wine Tasting – Ok this one may or may not lend itself to frugality but it sure could be fun to set up your own wine tasting at home. Just pick a few bottles of wine you’ve been wanting to try and pop some corks 🙂
- Make Art – Buy a canvas at your local craft store and do a collaborative art project together. You never know. You might create something really funky and worth hanging on a bedroom wall.
- Play Video Games – Nothing like a little Guitar Hero to make you feel young again.
- Take it Outside – Granted this lends itself better to warmer weather but take the baby monitor with you and head outside together after the kids go to bed. Shoot some hoops, play lawn darts, frisbee, hopscotch in the driveway, ride the kids scooters. Whatever it is you get the idea. Doing something out of the ordinary while acting like kids and getting fresh air is bound to make you all giddy inside.
- Surprise Date Night – This is one of my favorites! We used to take turns doing this when we went out. It would be one partner’s responsibility to plan the entire date night and the other just gets to sit back and be surprised. It can be as simple as elaborate as you like but half the fun is the surprise.
- Movie Night – Need I say more? Sometimes snuggling up on the couch with a good flick, a warm blanket and a fresh bowl of popcorn are just what the doctor ordered.
Looking for more ways to show your significant other some love? Show them how much their love “rocks” by making THESE or leave them a Message In a Bottle.
Hi Jen,
Wonderful ideas. Evenings in are some of my favorites. Making a plan for the evening helps us from treating it like any other night. Thanks 🙂
I love the wonderful read Jen! Date nights are quality times with my hubby. As soon as the kids are asleep, we make sure will bond and these are great ideas. We’ve never had picnics by the fire nor do something artsy. We’ll definitely!
Pria recently posted…ILOILO SHOWROOM
Ha! Great Ideas! Even though our kids are gone and we have nothing tying us down….now, it’s that my husband can’t stay up much passed 8!
lol….so….will give some of these a try!