45 creative date night ideas

Are you bored with date night? Do you end up slouching in the same ‘ole movie theater seat or get stuck ordering the same burger every time you head out for a night on the town? Let’s start a new trend: date night, done right!

Today, we are sharing 45 creative date night ideas to help you get out of the date night rut and take your courtship up several notches! I’ve separated the ideas into five different categories: Unique Experiences; Teaching/Bonding Moments; Sentimental; Stay-At-Home; and Budget-Friendly. No matter your ideas of what’s “fun,” there are bound to be plenty of options to tickle your fancy below. Grab a cup, let’s chat it up!

Unique Experiences

(1) Scavenger hunt date – This one requires quite a bit of forethought, but what a day to remember! The idea is to hide items across town (sentimental or not) and provide your partner with clues to locate the hidden treasures. These extra special dates don’t have to be reserved for over-the-top engagements anymore, guys! Plan ahead to spoil your loved one with an adventure to chat about for years to come.

(2) Start a couple’s book club – Who says book clubs have to be reserved for ladies who lunch? Team up to select some great books, take some time to give the books a good read and then live your best book club life. You can do this as a couple or invite other couples to join as well.

(3) Polaroid date night – Take photos throughout your entire date night. Either use a Polaroid camera, which prints the photos automatically, or upload photos from your phone to a one-hour printer at your local pharmacy. Pick up the photos and create a scrapbook together you can look back at forever.

(4) Pretty Woman date – You’ve seen the Julia Roberts famous flick, and if you haven’t, well, there’s your date night for the weekend. But, if you have enjoyed the cinematic genius that is Pretty Woman, you know exactly what this date is all about. Make your partner’s dreams come true. Take your partner on a special shopping spree and let him / her select an outfit, some shoes and a piece of jewelry. Trust me when I say that this splurge will totally be worth it and give you a story to share at the water cooler on Monday!

(5) Surprise getaway – Pick a fun spot, pack some bags, and go along for the ride!

(6) Role play date – Dress up as a character entirely different from your traditional persona. Meet your mate at a restaurant and act as if it is a blind date set up by someone. You can be anybody you wanna be for the night. Have fun with all the ways you can make this one thrilling adventure.

(7) Art museum tour –  Go to an art museum and sketch the pieces of art. Make it a competition by purchasing sketchbooks and pencils ahead of time (you can buy them inexpensively at Hobby Lobby, Michael’s craft stores, or Amazon) and designate a prize for the “closest to the original.” Have an unbiased couple pick the winner!

(8) Go ice skating (or roller skating depending on availability in our area) – Pretend you’re on the Olympics team and give it your all!

(9) Fantasy date experience – What have you always wanted to do? Is there a restaurant/city/entertainment spot you’ve always wanted to check out, but never got around to going? Make your partner’s dreams come true by surprising them with their dream date night!

(10) Progressive dinner night on the town – Remember the good ‘ole bar crawls from back in the college days? Give an upgrade to the age-old tradition by adding in some mealtime favorites. Grab cocktails at one location, move the party to another spot for dinner and round out your night at a third location for dessert. You can make this as budget-friendly as you want, and lunch time is another great way to save some cash for this super fun experience.

(11) Be a tourist in your own town – Take a minute to explore the town you call home. If you need some inspiration, contact your local Chamber of Commerce and pick up some pamphlets cluing you in to all your city has to offer.

(12) Schedule a couple’s massage at a local or nearby spa – If you want to really turn up the romance factor, see if the staff offers massage lessons or will allow you to get involved in pampering your sweetheart!

(13) Interview one another and record the interviews – Consider compiling the footage to glance back at years from now. This video may become your child’s most prized possession one day.

(14) Staycation — Have a slumber party at a nearby hotel – Changing up location can often times be all the spice you need to change things up. Treat it like a real slumber party with popcorn, games and dinner served right to your bedside.

(15) Have a painting competition – Grab some simple white canvases, some paint and a few paintbrushes for a night you won’t soon forget. Take turns posing for one another while the other partner paints a memorable portrait. If you feel uncomfortable serving as the muse, select a random object or scene the two of you can paint together. You can also dial up the comedic factor by turning on a Bob Ross painting tutorial and competing to see whose end result most closely mimics Ross’ masterpiece.

Teaching/Bonding Moments

(1) Take a cooking or winemaking class – Pro tip: you get to enjoy what you make at the end of the class.

(2) Take a workout class together – Nothing bonds two people like sweating it out striving to meet a goal. Go on a journey of healthier eating and serve as each other’s biggest cheerleader the whole way!

(3) Plant a garden or tackle a landscaping project in the yard – You may discover a green thumb in your pairing existed all along!

(4) Take up a new hobby together or share your hobby with your significant other – Consider something like tennis, golf, swimming, antiquing, crafting, DIY team, hunting, fishing, camping, etc. The options are endless!

(5) Teach your partner something – Dig deep to discover a skill, fact, story, etc. you can share with your partner to let them in on what is important to you.

(6) Take a dance class

(7) Train for a race together – 5K races and marathons are all the rage these days

Sentimental

(1) Story of us date – Take some time to jot down the story of how you met in a journal. Include highpoints and possibly even low points that you triumphed through together. This will be an heirloom to treasure for years to come.

(2) Wedding video date night – Dress up in cocktail attire. Serve a signature cocktail – possibly your favorite as a couple or the one you served at your wedding. Set your viewing area up with some simple decorations and treat yourselves to a walk down memory lane. To make this even more fun, you could invite others to watch the video with you for laughs!

(3) Plan your dream vacation – Sharing your goals and dreams is one of the most connective activities you can experience as a couple. Throw in exotic plans for a getaway and you will both have a shared dream to look forward to until you are able to embark upon it together.

(4) Recreate your first date – Take it back to where it all began and relive those first few moments. Where did you eat? Did you see a show or concert? Bowling? Whatever it was, you can recreate it in the city you live now. You don’t have to include travel if you have moved away from where you met. Obviously, it kicks the romantic factor up if you do, but take the pressure off of yourself to pull off an exact replica. Take some time to ask each other questions dating back to those first few months together – what initially attracted you to one another? How did you meet? What are your favorite moments as a couple?

(5) Be kids for the night – Go play putt-putt, go-karting or bowling. Take an entire night to let your inner children living inside come out and have the best time together!

(6) Goal set and plan for the future – Get excited about your future by sitting down and comparing notes on all your hopes and dreams. Make a dream board and start checking goals off as you achieve them.

(7) Memory maker date – Print a ton of your favorite couple photos and create a scrapbook or shadow box together. This will create a fun new DIY coffee table addition to share with all your family and friends.

(8) Give each other tours of your past – Who doesn’t love a walk down memory lane? Take your partner to your hometown and do the whole house/school/hangout tour date day. It will be fun to discover things about your significant other you may have never known.

Stay-At-Home Dates

(1) Redo/renovate a room or tackle a DIY project – There has to be something in or around your home that could use a little update. Tackling the project together makes it fun and will take less time to achieve.

(2) Stock your home bar or entertainment center together – Rather than spending money on a night out, invest in several nights in. Take a look at your in-home bar (or pantry) to see what items you’d like to add for future enjoyment. If you’d prefer, you could add to your movie or game collections instead. Stock up and enjoy in the months to come!

(3) Make your own pizza – Select ingredients for your dream pizza, turn up the music and spend an evening playing chef in your own kitchen. To take it up a notch – serve it on some fine china in the dining room and dress up for the occasion.

(4) Throw a dance party in your den and build your ultimate couple playlist – Who says you have to go out to get down? Turn out the lights, crank up the music and party like it’s 1999!

(5) Purchase a question/answer for couples book and take some time learning about one another – You can purchase books like 101 Conversation Starters for Couples and have a wild night learning things you never knew!

(6) Take turns preparing each other’s favorite meal – Knowing what your partner likes is half the battle, right? Once you feel like you have a good handle on what they prefer, make it your mission to prepare the best version of their favorites they’ve ever had!

(7) Game night! – There are so many games available for couples. You could play cards, board games or even enjoy a wild rendition of old school Truth or Dare!

(8) Indoor glamping/outdoor camping – You don’t have to rent an RV and hike up a trail in the woods to get that outdoorsy feel. You can team up together to create your own night of fun by making s’mores together and maybe even telling a ghost story or two.

Budget-Friendly

(1) Go to a matinee movie and/or a farmer’s market – Heads up: matinee tickets are cheaper and crowds are much smaller. Entrance to farmer’s markets are also free and the products are often offered a discount because the local sellers are trying to find new clients. Date day on the cheap sounds like a weekly must!

(2) Plan a picnic at a local landmark or beautiful park – Regardless of how cheesy this idea sounds, picnics are always crowd-pleasers. You forget how nice it is to escape the humdrum same ‘ole places you’ve grown to frequent and experience a whole new view of the world. Picnics are relaxing and can be a place of rest and rejuvenation for both of you. Picnics are not just for playdates, people – get out there and soak up the sun!

(3) Start a supper club and/or host a dinner party – You can do this as a couple or invite a few friends to join you. You can make it fun by creating theme nights and allow each person to bring their own contribution to the meal. Or you can do it the traditional way by one couple hosting each time.

(4) Go grocery shopping together to collect dinner ingredients, but make it a game by setting a tight budget – Think of this as a challenge you have to conquer by putting your minds together and being thrifty. Head back home and try to make your dinner as delicious as possible using your staple items and the short list you picked up at the store.

(5) Polaroid date night – Travel around with a Polaroid camera for the night, capturing moments from all of your experiences. Consider doing this for a whole week and then create a memory book to enjoy for a lifetime.

(6) Eat takeout by candlelight – It is a proven fact that eating at home saves you megabucks. When eating in the restaurant, the add-ons like appetizers, dessert and beverages add up quickly. If you restrict your takeout order to your favorite main course, you can save a lot of money by adding the other items at home.

(7) Create your own YouTube video – This is out of the box, no doubt. But if you have a particularly gregarious partner, this may be right up their alley. Take turns as the lead and video a day in the life – or a day date. Trust me, watching this back may be the most cringy, yet most enjoyable laugh fest you’ve had in quite a while.

Erin Brown Hollis is Yellowhammer’s lifestyle contributor and host of Yellowhammer Podcast Network’s “Cheers to That” podcast. An author, speaker, lawyer, wife and mother of two, she invites you to grab a cup as she toasts the good in life, love and motherhood. Follow Erin on Instagram ErinBrownHollis or Twitter @ErinBrownHollis