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Are you looking to save money on date night? Thinking about staying home but want to keep the magic alive? Try one or all these eight at-home ate ideas.

Game Night

This classic date night idea has been around forever, but that doesn’t mean it’s old and boring. Game night can be the most romantic, most entertaining date night ever. Game night is a super flexible date idea, and it can cost next to nothing.

There are a few different ways to go about Game Night. For example, you can have a Board Game Night, Video Game Night, Trivia Game Night, or any combination of them all.

The only cost for this date night is the food. If you want to save money, make a game using the phrase “everything but the kitchen sink.” Look in your fridge. Look in your pantry. What can you make with the food on hand?

Great Board Games to Try

Here are some examples of games you can play for board game life.

• Jenga.
• Uno.
• Solitaire, poker, or other card games.
• Scrabble.
• Monopoly.
• The Game of Life.
• Sorry.
• Battleship.
• Risk.
• Connect 4.
• Checkers.
• Chess.
• Backgammon.
• Blokus.
• Apples to Apples.
• Yahtzee.

As mentioned above, you can also play video games or even trivia. The most important this is to have some fun competing against each other. Grab some snacks, settle in, and have a great night at home.

Romantic Picnic

What could be more romantic than a picnic? To make it even more romantic, make your picnic meal together.

Picnics at home are great because you can have them inside if the weather is bad or outside if the weather is good.

If you want to go all out, you can go on a camping date in your backyard if you own a tent and have a yard! So put up the tent, make your picnic, play camping games, tell spooky stories, and have fun!

Things You’ll Need

• A picnic blanket.
• A nice meal.
• A secluded spot.

Picnic Planning

An ideal picnic will take some planning. Here are some important questions to ask yourself:

• Where are you going to have the picnic? Indoors? Outdoors?
• What is the meal you have planned for your picnic?
• What are you going to do on your picnic?
• What is your backup plan if anything goes wrong?

Book Club or Reading Date

If you and your significant other enjoy reading, this one is for you. There are two different ways to go about a reading date. Plan a two-person book club or plan shared reading time.

If you want to go all out, plan a literary-themed meal for each of your Book Night Dates.

Book Club

If you and your partner enjoy reading the same genres and the same kind of books, you can start a book club together. Depending on how quickly you both read and how much time you have to read, plan for one book every month or two months.

When it comes to choosing a book, you can take turns picking the book. Alternatively, you can both submit options and then research and vote. For example, which one will you read first and which second?

Shared Reading Time

If you and your partner enjoy reading different books, you can plan for a shared reading time for a date. Find a comfy spot in your home and settle in with cushions, blankets, and whatever else you need.

You can each bring your book to the date and then spend some quiet time reading if you enjoy sharing your reading. You can plan for small breaks in the reading time when you both stop and share your thoughts about the book.

Arts and Crafts Date

If you and your partner are into doing shared activities, you might enjoy a date night where you both participate in a shared hobby or try something new. These dates can be art-related, such as painting, coloring, drawing, etc.

You can also do a date night where you each do your kind of activity, but you do it in the same room and talk while working. This is great for couples who don’t have a shared activity but enjoy spending time together.

Ideas

• Arts and Crafts.
• Writing.
• Pottery or clay.
• Knitting, crochet, etc.
• Sewing, needlepoint, cross-stitch, etc.
• Photography.
• Scrap-booking.
• Gardening.
• Painting, drawing, etc.
• Dancing.
• Play instruments.
• Yoga, Pilates, meditation, etc.

Sleep Over Date Night

Remember sleepovers from your teens? They were always tons of fun. You and your friends got together, did silly things, told silly stories, and more.

Guess what? A sleepover can be super romantic and fun. Best of all it doesn’t require anything special, so it isn’t costly. At most, you’ll need to pay for food.

Sleep Over Activities

• Truth or Dare.
• Would You Rather.
• 20 Questions,
• Never have I ever.
• Build a blanket fort.
• Improv or play acting.
• Tell stories.
• And more!

Date Night Dance Party

Who says you have to go to a club or a ballroom to dance? You can dance in your living room. Plan it out or make it impromptu to make this night the most fun it can be.

1. First, you’ll want to plan your evening meal. It could be one part of the night that might cost money. You can make a meal out of what is in your kitchen, plan a meal and shop for it, or order take-out and bring it home.
2. Next, you’ll want to plan your music. To keep costs down, use music you already have. For example, you can pull up YouTube and get all kinds of dance music. You can also use Pandora, Apple Music, or any other music streaming service that you prefer.
3. Lastly, you’ll want to plan your space. For example, dancing is fun, but it is less fun if you trip and fall. To avoid accidents, move all your furniture to the edges of the room.

Romantic Dance Party Tips

• Lights off and candles lit – Keep the candles out of reach for safety.
• Lights down low.
• Change out regular light bulbs for colored light bulbs.
• Dress up nice like you’re going out.

Chef Date

This date idea is great for cooks and chefs of all levels. The goal is to cook together. It doesn’t matter what you are cooking, so long as you do it together. It also doesn’t matter if it turns out or if it is a flop. Flops make great stories later on.

Planning and Cooking Together

This date night idea involves planning, shopping, and cooking together. First, you and your significant other will decide together what direction you want to go.

• Do you want to cook a favorite dish together?
• Do you want to try something new?

If you are cooking a favorite dish, do you both know how to cook? Or is it a dish that one of you makes and can teach the other to make?

If you are cooking something new, decide what recipe you want to try. For example, are you going with a physical paper recipe? Or would you prefer to cook along with a cooking show or video?

You can also decide to play “Everything but the Kitchen Sink.” In this impromptu cooking game, you both look at what is available and try to come up with a meal without shopping.

Iron Chef or Top Chef Cook-Off

This date night idea is for couples who enjoy a bit of competition. Each of you will plan your meal or dish separately. You will shop separately. You will have to figure out how to share the kitchen while you are both cooking.

Check out some of the great reality TV shows from the cooking channel like Iron Chef, Top Chef, or Chopped. You can have an ingredient that you both need to use. You can make up your own rules.

Themed Night Date

Theme nights are great at-home dates. First, you can choose a themed meal, such as sushi, tacos, or pasta. Then you choose things that go with the meal.

For instance, if you chose a taco night, you might watch Coco or Zorro.  Or you can pair a themed meal with a book. You could also add salsa dancing and don’t forget the music!

You can also start with a movie, such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Then, you can either make the meal or order it from a restaurant—Greek food for My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

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