Struggling to figure out a way to do a romantic date night at home? Find out 5 easy stay at home date ideas you can pull off quickly! Scroll down for all our ideas!
This post about easy at home date ideas was written by family travel expert Marcie Cheung and contains affiliate links which means if you purchase something from one of my affiliate links, I may earn a small commission that goes back into maintaining this blog.
My husband and I have had some really incredible date nights in the past ten years. A decade in, and I’m glad we never ran out of night-out or stay-at-home date ideas.
One of our favorite Seattle date nights is going to the Seattle waterfront. I really miss all the romantic things to do in Seattle.
I really loved how we could easily go for a romantic weekend getaway in Seattle, and the fun couple stuff we could enjoy together.
Going on a date at a fancy restaurant sounds pretty amazing right now. And who wouldn’t want to kick back and relax with a massage for two at a 5-star hotel? But staying in and planning a romantic date night at home isn’t as bad as it sounds.
In fact, it’s pretty freaking great to spend some time together, turning your house into a romantic venue just for the two of you. But I know that coming up with date night ideas that don’t involve Netflix, takeout, and the couch is not easy.
That’s especially true if you have little kids at home. The mental drain is real, and it can be extra hard to come up with creative date night ideas that are actually fun.
So if nothing’s coming to mind, try these five charming date night ideas that are better than a night out on the town.
5 Easy At-Home Date Night Ideas for You and Your Partner
1. Recreate Your First Date Night
There’s nothing more beautiful than reliving your first date and reliving it. Think back on that day and spare no details. Look for photos (if you took any) too what you were wearing that day.
Use the same perfume, plan the same menu, and try to recreate it to a T.
Chances are that you probably met outdoors, at a coffee shop, a nice café, or a park, so you’ll have to get a little creative and decorate an area in the house that’s similar to that location.
Was it a picnic? That’s easy to do at home. Just throw a blanket on the living room floor, dust out that picnic basket, add a few sandwiches, some fruits, cheese, and don’t forget the champagne glasses and a bottle of bubbly. Or, if it’s a nice evening, head out to your deck or backyard and enjoy a romantic night below the night sky.
Was it an Italian restaurant? Make some pasta, print out a couple of posters of Rome or Milan and tape it on the wall. If you got an array of wine at home, you can even play out a bit of wine tasting. Then put on some Italian music in the background, dim the lights and fall in love all over again. Don’t be afraid to turn up the cheese factor!
2. Have a Living Room Campout Date Night
This is one home date idea that doesn’t have to be over the top. This is simple but is so much fun! Just dig up that old tent out of the garage and set it up in the living room.
Don’t have one? That’s okay. Grab the mattress and drag it to the middle of the room. Sleeping bags work, too. And hey! If you have a backyard, you can even set up a tent there and spend the night outside.
Bring lots of pillows and blankets to make your camping experience extra cozy. Don’t forget the games and, most importantly, the outdoorsy snacks. A homemade stew isn’t out of the question either.
Break the proverbial 4th wall and head to the kitchen to roast some marshmallows over the stove and make your very own indoor s’mores. Add a little realism by playing outdoor background noises, which can be found on YouTube.
Outdoor sound noises:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39xoSAcsMw8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoSo9zIu5ZI
3. Have Your Very Own Couple’s At-Home Spa Date Night
You knew it was coming! Who could say no to an at-home massage? Warm up some massage oil and give each other a neck, back, hand, and foot massage.
Afterward, run a nice hot bubble bath and lay in the tub together. You can spread flower petals, Epsom salts, and thin slices of lemon and grapefruit to relieve stress and nourish your skin. Is there anything more romantic?
Help each other out of the tub and slip into some comfy robes and slippers. Lather each other’s faces in face masks (there are tons of at-home recipes you can make in your own kitchen), put on some relaxing spa music, and lay in bed together.
4. Play a Game that Tests How Much You Know Each Other on your Next At-Home Date Night
If you’re looking for cheap date night ideas that would last for hours, having a game night with a touch of romance might be your thing. Aside from being a game, this can become a great conversation starter, and you wouldn’t even notice how much time has passed.
Grab a sheet of paper and cut it into squares or a couple of index cards. Then, write down a couple of questions to see how well you two know each other. You can compete against one another, and whoever wins gets to choose what they eat that night or gets a special treat.
Make the questions fun but not so difficult that they set the other partner up to fail, or the night could end with some petty bickering.
Ask simple questions like:
- “What was the first gift you ever bought me?”
- “Where did we go on our first date?”
- “What’s my favorite color?”
- “Which is the one actor/actress I can’t stand?”
Add an incentive for the winner, like whoever gets the most questions right gets to pick the movie for Netflix and chill, or their favorite childhood dinner, or they could even get a pass and not clean the house for a whole week.
Want to take it to another level? Why not make it a full-blown game night? You can play board games, have a dance party with your gaming console, or play video games. Game nights are always fun, no matter what game you play.
5. Have a Virtual Museum Date Night
Museums might not be for everyone, but a lot of them offer something unique that’s bound to pique your interest. Do you like dinosaurs? Animals? Creepy and bizarre findings? Are you a big Disney fan? Does one of you love outer space? There’s a museum for everything!
But there’s no need to get all dressed up. There are lots of famous museums that offer virtual tours that couples can take from the comfort of their own home.
And while you don’t have to dress up for this virtual date, no one said you couldn’t. So, get into the spirit of things and go on that museum tour. Once it’s done, head back to the kitchen and whip up a dish inspired by the country the museum was in.
Virtual Museum Tours You Can Do at Home
The British Museum in London offers virtual visitors the chance to tour the Great Court and examine hundreds of artifacts, including the ancient Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies.
The Musée d’Orsay in Paris allows couples to walk around this gallery, which is full of famous works by French artists who lived between 1848 and 1914. How many couples can say that they saw the works of artists like Gauguin or Monet without spending a dime?
The National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City offers 23 exhibit rooms full of ancient artifacts, some of which belong to the Mayan civilization. It’s perfect for that significant other who’s a total history or archaeology enthusiast.
The Picasso Museum in Barcelona, Spain, offers a 360-degree tour of some of the city’s most preserved Medieval architecture and a peek at some of Pablo Picasso’s most iconic works of art.
The National Palace Museum in Taipei City, Taiwan, allows couples to explore the vast collection of Chinese arts and crafts that date back to the Neolithic era and the modern era.