This page contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links at no extra cost to you. 

 

With just over two weeks to go until Valentines Day, it is looking increasingly likely that we will be able to celebrate our relationships in the ways we often try to. With restaurants, hotels and spas closed, it could be very easy to dismiss Valentine’s Day or Date Night completely! Or perhaps you have children and find it harder to go out due to childcare. I would urge you to still invest in your relationship and carve out special times for you both regardless, it is so important to still have quality time together. I have made a list of fun date night ideas that I hope will inspire you, whether you are at home due to a lockdown, or just fancy a stay at home date night (they are often cheaper than going out, and are just as fun!).

Cinema Night

As you can see from the photo above, Julian and I used this date night idea frequently over Christmas. With all of the Cinemas closed due to Covid-19, we decided to bring the cinema to us. It is cheaper, you can eat anything you like without having to sneak it in, and you can watch it in your pyjamas! Whether you watch a favourite film or a new release, you can create a really special evening together.

You can, of course, have a cinema night using your TV, however, we bought a projector to upgrade our cinema experience! Here is a link to the projector we invested in. I am particularly excited about our projector purchase, as it also means we can set up a garden cinema too when the weather is a bit warmer!

Three-Course Meal

I genuinely believe that home-cooked food is often better than eating out, particularly if you are on a budget! Why not create a three-course menu of food that is more luxurious than your everyday choices, and cook up a fancy three-course meal? With a few candles and a bottle of wine, you can completely transform your dining room into a swanky restaurant, at a fraction of the cost!

Spend time getting ready like you might do if you were going out, and enjoy one another’s company. For some great recipes, I can totally recommend BBC Good Food or if you particularly fancy a healthier option, Pinch Of Nom have some incredible guilt-free recipes!

Board Games Night

If you are feeling up for some competition, why not get some board games out? Whether it is Monopoly, Exploding Kittens, or another favourite, this is a great way to spend some quality time with one another! If you fancy spicing it up a little, set some forfeits for the loser before you start!

Bonfire and S’mores

If the weather is looking good, another fun activity is to set up a bonfire or fire pit in your garden, bring out the blankets, and spend the evening together around the fire. You can cosy up, perhaps talk about your hopes and dreams for the future, and toast some marshmallows too.

A fire is a great way to relax together and do something different at home!

Gin Tasting

Lots of breweries offer at-home tasting kits, where they send you miniature bottles of their gins and matching tonics for you to try. We got our kit from Pin Gin, a local brewery to us in Lincolnshire, and accompanied them with a selection of local delights! What better way to spend the evening together than supporting local businesses, enjoying some gin together, and experimenting with flavours you might not usually choose?!

Cheese and Wine

If gin isn’t your thing, swap it out for wine, and have a couples cheese and wine night. This is a great one to do alongside another idea here such as the cinema or board games evening. Pick out some new cheeses you’ve never tried before. We particularly love Mouse House cheese, as they are our local posh cheese shop.

At-home spa

I am a massive lover of bubble baths, bath bombs, and all things pamper related! Another fantastic at-home date night evening is to create an at-home spa together. Lay out some candles, try a face mask together, and treat each other to a massage. If you’ve never given a massage before, there are some fantastic tutorials on YouTube you could use, and learn together.

A great investment if you are planning a pamper evening is some massage oil or a massage bar. We particularly like the Lush massage bars, because they are very moisturising, but as they are a bar, they do not leak or cause a mess!

Bake together

Perhaps you have a favourite dessert or treat that you both adore. For Julian and I, we love a good Jam Roly Poly! Rather than buying it from the shop, why not spend an afternoon or evening baking together from scratch? Freshly home-baked treats always taste incredible, and you’ll be surprised at how much fun you’ll have together making it. Not to mention, you get to eat the finished product!

If you don’t fancy eating all of your creations, why not give some away as gifts? This could be a great Christmastime date night, and you would create some tasty and cost-effective gifts.

Travel Inspired evening

With Covid-19 pausing all of our travel plans, here is a throwback to the Caribbean from our honeymoon in December 2018! We might be unable to travel, but you can always bring travel to you. A fun date night could be to pick a destination and plan your whole evening around that theme. For example:

• Mexico – watch the Disney film Coco, whilst eating nachos. You could even set up a piñata!
• Italy – Pizza or Pasta whilst watching The Godfather.
• India – Order a curry, and watch an Asian film – we recently really enjoyed Baahubali.

Pick a destination, and celebrate everything you can about that culture. It is a great way to bring the holiday to you.

Video game contest

Challenge one another to a video game contest. Take it in turn to pick a game, and battle it out! Two of my favourites for this type of evening are Mario Karts or Crash Bandicoot, but I am sure you have your favourites too.

Chocolate tasting

This one can be as posh or not as you fancy! A chocolate tasting evening at home can be a lot of fun. You can choose a selection pack from a Chocolatier, or pick up a selection of flavours from your local supermarket. Taste each one, and see which chocolates you enjoy most.

You can make this evening more interesting if you do some blind tests! Take it in turns to be blindfolded whilst your partner feeds you a type of chocolate. See if you can guess the brand or flavour without looking!

Picnic

Whether you are able to go to the park, sit in your garden, or even set up in your living room, lay out a blanket and eat picnic food together. Some time spent enjoying one another’s company and eating some great food! There are some great afternoon tea delivery services if you do not have time to prepare food, or create your own extravagant spread of treats!

 

Despite restrictions or budgets, I truly hope you can make some beautiful memories at home. Let me know if you give any of these a go!

Do you have any other suggestions for great date nights at home?