So… we’re all stuck inside. Most beaches have closed, and so have playgrounds and some parks. For couples, date night options have fizzled – and those with children at home may need them now more than ever. It seems we’re left with Netflix, and that’s about it.
If we can’t venture very far from our own front yards, does that mean we have to forget about date night altogether? Are we doomed to fight in close quarters? Not necessarily. Here are some date ideas for those nights when you REALLY want to get out of the house but can’t:
1. Lady and the Tramp Date
Warm weather is on its way, and that means dinners outside. Make some pasta or order an elaborate takeout dinner from an Italian restaurant, and recreate that famous Lady and the Tramp date scene. Use a tablecloth and cloth napkins. Use real silverware. Put on some music, and enjoy some al fresco dining. The spaghetti kiss is optional.
2. Match Your Dinner with Your Movie
Pick a theme and have your dinner match your movie. Watching Crazy Rich Asians? Order some Chinese. Watch The Hundred Foot Journey with Indian food and a French dessert. Make an Irish dinner of corned beef, potatoes and soda bread for P.S. I Love You. Have fun alternating who cooks and who picks the theme.
3. Formal Fridays
Jimmy Kimmel’s wife is making him get dressed up on quarantine Fridays, and it’s not a bad idea. Take a shower, do your hair and makeup and put on some nice clothes for dinner. It’s only silly if you think it is.
4. Workout Date
Get outside and enjoy the weather together. Go for a run. Do yoga together on the lawn. Do a body resistance workout. Take turns picking which workout you’ll do. Finish a morning workout with a healthy breakfast together.
5. Turn out the Lights
Have a candlelit night playing board games, drinking wine, playing music or watching a scary movie.
6. Wine Tasting
Buy several bottles of wine and some snacks (like a charcuterie board) and do an in-home tasting. If it’s nice outside, set up a picnic on the lawn like you would at a winery. Get a couples quiz book and ask each other questions.
7. Spa Date
Do a couples spa getaway in your bathroom. Buy some champagne and strawberries, put in the bubble bath, and get out your softest robes.
8. Art Date
Create something together. If you’re art-challenged, get some paint-by-numbers. Buy fancy watercolor paper and watch a watercolor lesson on YouTube. Take an online drawing class together. Turn old photos into a scrapbook.
9. Go Old-Fashioned
Before television, families used to sit together in the evenings and read books out loud, or they would listen to the radio while they knitted or played cards. See if you can go an entire night without checking your phone or turning on the television. Get some old records off eBay and a record player, and make it even better.
10. Do Your Budget
This might not sound like fun, but if your turn your budget into a date night, it will make it much easier to do. Commit to one night each month going over your finances, pair it with some wine and dessert, and get your budget in order. Couples may fight about money more than anything else, but you don’t have to.
11. Be Kids Again
Spend an afternoon doing all the things you loved as a kid. Play HORSE with the basketball. Color with chalk. Get some hula hoops, sprinklers, a pogo stick or a Skip-bo. Look for four-leaf clovers. Choose flowers to press and save. Lie in the grass and look at the clouds.
12. Start a Garden
With grocery stores becoming more and more crowded, now is the perfect time to start that garden you always wanted. Choose five things to plant. One of my favorites? Stevia. Most people don’t realize you can grow your own stevia leaves; they taste just like sugar!
Choose one night and time each week for a date, and stick to it. Take turns picking the date idea, and make it a surprise for the other person. It will give you something to look forward to during the week, spark your creativity and bring you closer together.
