7 Easy Stay-At-Home Date Night Ideas

Alright, if you tuned in to my last marriage post, “Why I Date My Husband,” you were probably waiting for this post.  I promised you easy and fun date night ideas for the times you can’t leave the house.  Whether it’s because you don’t have childcare or because you don’t have money, I’ve got you covered. Over the last two years, my husband and I have had to get pretty darn creative with our date nights.  Initially, our creativity was required due to our location and the lack of unique things to do.  Our struggle now is more that we can’t leave our house because we don’t have childcare. And, like most of you, we don’t have a ton of extra money to spend on dates!

Because we have had to be so intentional, we have made a point to keep track of the creative date night ideas that were a true success so that we can pull those out of the hat again.  I took a look at my list of about 30 random and fun ideas and I chose my top 7 to share with you!  So here you go!

1. Indoor Camping– Now, before you think this one is boring, just hear me out.  I am not talking about just sleeping on the living room floor!  This date night idea requires being fully committed if you want the full fun experience!  Get your tent (or make one with rope and a sheet) and set up an entire campsite in your living room after your kids go to bed! Use only lantern light and create a ‘real’ campsite in your living room!  Use your sleeping bags and hang out in your tent, and eat only ‘camp food.’  We like to make stovetop s’mores and enjoy them in our tent while playing cards or other two person games.  Another bonus to this particular date night setup is that the lantern light and cozy setting feels quite romantic, so it usually leads to a romantic evening!
2. Breakfast In Bed–  People have breakfast for dinner all the time and people have breakfast in bed all the time, so why not have breakfast in bed for dinner?! We absolutely love breakfast, and we especially love breakfast in bed, so this date night is super fun for us!  We go all out with food trays, fancy bottles of juice, fruit bowls, and our favorite “special” breakfast meals!  We even get all dressed up in our pajamas. The most fun part of this date (for us) is actually making the meal and setting everything up together!  It feels so intimate and special, and it’s so fun to get cozy and cuddle up after we finish eating!
3. Theme Night– This one is so fun!  Pick a theme and stick with it for the entire night!  Our best theme night so far has been Nacho Night!  We dressed up in Nacho Libre attire, made a huge cast iron skillet full of nachos, and watched Nacho Libre!  We even kicked things up a notch by make a rule that we could only talk with Spanish accents.  This made for some hilarious moments and a really enjoyable evening! You don’t have to do this theme- you could have French night, cook together, and watch Ratatouille, or your French night could include making a variety of crepes and drawing caricatures or one another!  You could have a 50’s themed night and end the evening watching Grease!  The theme opportunities are endless! (Here are a few to get you thinking: Disney Night, Italian Night, Greek Night, Pirate Night, American History Night).
4. Quiz Night– This is one of my favorites, as it reminds me of our very first date! The first time Daniel took me out, he created a list of questions to ask me, and I got to ask him the same questions in return. The questions were a wide range of serious, intimate, and funny (absolutely hilarious is more accurate). He did this again the day he proposed to me, so I always love it when this date night pops up!  We have found that having a glass of wine and asking each other these questions always leads to loads of laughter, but more importantly, we always feel like we learn something new about each other.  This is also a great opportunity to sneak in a few serious questions about your relationship or your future but sandwiched between fun and random questions! We even created a list for you with our 30 favorite questions!  Click here to download it now!
5. Game Night– We Crawfords absolutely love games!  I feel like this particular date night idea gets overlooked quite often simply because it’s hard to come up with games that can actually be played with just two people and be fun. But I got you covered with this, too! Here are my top picks for games that are actually fun with just two people!
   • Jenga:  We LOVE jenga! It requires so much patience and strategy, and it becomes addictive after a round or two!  It’s a classic that never gets old! It can also be played with more people.
   • Bananagrams: Bananagrams is pretty much speed scrabble.  You build your own board with the letter you have, and you can’t pick up more letters until you use all of the ones in front of you.  If you are a fast thinker, this one is super fun!  Your partner has to pick up letters each time you do, so it makes it a challenge when one or the other of you has not used all their letters and has to draw more!
   • Scrabble: Scrabble is a classic, but has to be included! You can play the regular way where you just take turns and get the most points, or you can spice it and played theme scrabble.  In theme scrabble you can only spell words that fit in the theme.  It makes the game more fun and it takes more time!
   • Cribbage: This is definitely the best two person card game out there! You do need the cribbage board to go with it, though!  It’s hard to get bored with this one because of how it is played, and it can definitely occupy your whole evening if you want it to!
   • Exploding Kittens: This is an absolutely HILARIOUS game about kittens, explosions, and a few goats. It is a lighthearted game that doesn’t require you to think too hard, but is SO much fun.  It can also be played with the whole family or at a party!
   • Ticket To Ride: Y’all, this game is just so fun!  You go on a cross country train adventure and each player collects and plays matching train cards.  As you collect and play, you win railway routes that connect cities through North America. The longer your route, the more points you collect.  This one is great for strategic game lovers!
   • Golf: This game can be played with just two people, or with a bunch of people. All you need is a regular deck of cards. The object of the games is to get the lowest score over nine rounds!  It’s super fun and makes for a great marathon!
6. Mystery Historical Figure Night– I originally learned this idea when I was in an AP American History class in high school.  We had a lunch party where everyone dressed up as a historical figure and had to communicate as if we were that person.  We were not allowed to break character until someone guessed who we were.  Since my husband and I are both history lovers, we decided this would make for an awesome and engaging date night!  Here’s how it goes- you each dress  up as a historical figure, but keep it within a ‘theme’ (American history, World history, etc). Prepare a dinner that correlates with the region/theme.  Over dinner, talk as if you are that person. Give subtle clues as to who you are, making it more obvious as the evening progresses. You can simply talk about what’s going on in that era, or you can even reference famous quotes from that person!  Whatever you do, don’t slip up and say who you are! And don’t break character until your spouse figures out who you are! I promise this is SO fun and so worth it!  Even if you don’t feel like you are outgoing enough for this one, it can be fun for anyone!
7. Memory Night– Take a walk down memory lane while looking at all of your old photos, starting from the beginning of your relationship. This is a great opportunity to relive some of your favorite memories and be reminded of your best experiences together as a couple!  We absolutely love doing this because it always reminds us of moments we may have forgotten, and it never fails to make us feel super lovey and connected.  Often times it also reminds us of a fun activity or date idea that we had forgotten, which is a plus because we are always looking for more date ideas!

And, there you have it!  Those are some of our favorites, but there’s more where that came from!  Feel free to reach out if you are looking for more!  We would also love to hear your unique stay-at-home date ideas, so be sure to comment below if you have something to share!

Also, I didn’t include this one in the list, but I wanted to remind you to never underestimate the power of a good movie and nice bowl of popcorn!  Sometimes those movie and popcorn nights turn out to be the very best date nights!  You can even amp it up by doing a movie marathon.  Just choose a series of movies and watch as many as you can before you fall asleep!

Just remember, whatever you are doing, even if it seems too simple to qualify for a “date night,” the most important thing is that you are having fun and feeling connected!  Whatever gets you to that place, that is what you should be doing!

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