In the last 24 hours, a lot of events have been canceled and venues have closed, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Our date night plans for the weekend were canceled by the venue where we were going to see a musical. If you are like us, trying to avoid COVID-19 and canceling any plans that would take you to public places, you might think that date night is out of the question. I’m prepared with a lot of fun at-home date night ideas! This is what I’ve been training for, and I’m excited to have fun at home together while we can’t go out!
Related: Tips for Making Date Night at Home More Intentional
I’ve been hearing that these quarantines, in other countries, have led to closer family relationships and more fun together! Don’t limit that fun and extra connecting time to your family as a whole, or just the kids, save some for your marriage as well. Take advantage of having more time at home, and fewer outside commitments, and spend more time together! Below are some ideas for at-home date night activities that can be done without having to make an extra trip to the store.
For more date night ideas like these ones, check out the book, Prioritizing Date Night in Your Marriage, with 300+ date night ideas.
Related: At-Home Dates are Date Nights Too
We have a great board game collection, but we only play about half of them. Pull out all of the games that are good for two players and play a new one each night. You might find new games you didn’t know you loved, or master a game to win on board game group dates. If you need a few new games to play, you can grab some of our favorite two-player board games from this list to add to your collection.
One of the “fun” parts of quarantine is creating meals out of whatever you have at home. It’s ok in the beginning but gets more challenging the longer the quarantine lasts. Plan a date night in the kitchen together and create a meal from only what you have in your house. Plan to make a specific type of food (tacos, pasta, breakfast) and get creative with the ingredients you have on hand. Or find a recipe you want to make and substitute the ingredients you don’t have with other things from your pantry.
I love having a few date night subscription boxes on hand to use for our regular date nights at home. They’re also a great option when we have to cancel our original plans to go out! We’re big fans of Night in Boxes and the variety of activities that come in each box. Each box includes a curated playlist on Spotify and a menu for your meal, with recipes. They offer a date night box, and faith box upgrade (for those of you whose church has been canceled). We also love that they have a kids’ date night box filled with fun activities to keep you and the kiddos occupied.
If you’re looking for a more general subscription box, check out all of the options on Cratejoy! They have fun food-themed boxes, no matter what your tastes are. And they have really great mystery/escape room style boxes that can take a night at home to the next level. Click here for our post listing all of the available date night subscription boxes and their prices.
This idea is fun as an indoor or outdoor activity! For an indoor mural, if you have butcher paper, use that! You can also use a box that’s been pulled apart and laid out flat, or tape together some smaller pieces of paper. Grab your colored pencils, markers, or crayons and create a picture that means something to the two of you. For an outdoor date, use sidewalk chalk and create a mural on your driveway. You could also draw along the sidewalk in the park or in your neighborhood, to brighten someone’s day. Work together as a team to create something awesome!
Stargazing is such a classic date activity, but one that we don’t do often enough. Lay out blankets, put on bug spray, and enjoy talking together while you watch the stars. You can take your date to the next level by downloading a star gazing app. There are a variety of apps to help you locate constellations based on your location and learn more about what you see in the night sky.
I love a good movie night and cuddling up on the couch to watch a show. Make your next movie night a little different by having a double feature! If you’re too tired to stay up for both movies, split your date into two nights. Grab a movie from each of your favorite genres, or watch both of your favorite movies. We also like watching two movies from the same series; Red and Red 2 or Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Jumanji: The Next Level. Click here for even more date night movies that you can both agree on!
One of my favorite things to do during high-stress times is to let the kid inside me free! Play on a playground at the local park, play a game of Candyland or Chutes and Ladders, drink juice boxes, make your own cracker stacker sandwiches (cracker, cheese, and meat), draw with sidewalk chalk, etc. Do whatever your younger self loves to do for fun and do it together!
We’ve all seen those posts floating around social media where a spouse (or a mom) has left Nerf guns (or squirt guns) with a note that “this is war”. We pulled ours out for date night one weekend and had a blast playing against each other! Click here for more ideas to go along with this date, including a movie and a meal idea.
Pull up some videos on YouTube that will help you learn a new kind of dance. You could learn to waltz, salsa, tango, or swing, whatever fits your mood. Have a lot of fun learning in the privacy of your living room, where nobody can see if you aren’t the most graceful or coordinated couple out there. When you’re done learning, turn on some slow songs and sway together to the music, just enjoying being together.
Grab every blanket in your house and build the biggest fort you can! Leave your fort up for days and make so many activities, with your family and with each other, seem more adventurous. “Pack” a picnic with foods that you have in your pantry and eat a meal together in your fort. While you eat, talk about more lighthearted things in life. You could even bring in a few books and read together in the comfort of your little hideaway.
I know this date night activity isn’t technically an at-home date. Late night is a good opportunity to get some fresh air and decompress. If you don’t have kids who are too young to leave at home, plan a walk through the neighborhood after dark. We love to go out around 10 pm, hold hands, talk, and enjoy the stillness and silence of the night.
When you aren’t able to go out and enjoy your favorite meals at your local restaurants, recreate them at home. This could be a bit challenging if you’re missing ingredients and avoiding going to the store, but with a little creativity, you can make it work. Search online for copycat recipes and see what you can find and what you are able to make. Enjoy cooking together and taste testing your creation to see if it meets the standards of the restaurant version.
Putting together a puzzle can be a fun challenge to tackle together. It can also be relaxing and a fun way to connect and talk after a long day. Click here for a list of fun ways to incorporate a puzzle into your next date. These ideas will change things up a bit from the way you’re used to building a puzzle.
You don’t need to be professional musicians for this date to be fun! Sit down together and write the lyrics to a song. They can be funny lyrics, a parody of a favorite classic, or your own love story in a song. If you feel a little musical, create the melody to go with your song. If you’re a really musical couple, go all the way with your song, and maybe even record it!
Related: How Your Marriage Could Benefit From a Few Date Nights at Home
Whatever your world looks like next month, don’t forget about date night! Find a way to date your spouse, even if you feel like you are forced to stay home. Even a sick day can be more fun with your best friend by your side! I hope your life is relatively normal and you remain unaffected by everything going on in the world today. If things look different, make the most of your situation and try to look for the positive in every situation! I hope these at-home date night ideas help you out!
