Inexpensive Date Night Ideas
There are plenty of reasons why the inexpensive date night has been my go to recently. A lot of my evenings and weekends are occupied with work, leaving limited time and energy to dress up and hit the town. Unless of course it consists of hitting up the local Mexican restaurant for bottomless chips and salsa, then I’m all in!
Sven and I have been brainstorming different ways to make date night a more low key and cost effective part of our week. Besides just staying home (and in our sweatpants) throwing on a movie and zoning out, we have been on the search for more engaging activities. Whether you’re spending this Valentine’s Day with your significant other, your best friends, or your fur babe, here are a couple of things we thought might make the night a little more captivating.
Build your own pizza night. Are you a meat lover but you’re spending the evening with a vegetarian? No worries here. Head to your local Trader Joes or favorite grocery store for pre-made crust, sauce and your favorite toppings.
Lookup youtube videos on how to Dance. Sven surprised me a couple months ago and bought us dance lessons. Despite doing my senior project on ballroom dancing, it had been a while since I had dusted off my dancing shoes. It was a blast learning the basics and we have been brushing up on our moves thanks to YouTube. My personal favorite is the salsa, it’s upbeat and great to know to bust out at weddings or family events. Here is one that we have used that covers things pretty well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVtWSZOttC0
Make each other a scavenger hunt to some of your favorite places you have been. Whether it’s just around the house or you use it as an excuse to explore the city, this can be a fun and exciting way to spend the evening.
Walmart $5 challenge. Bring an Abe Lincoln (5 bucks) and see how creative of a gift you can find for your person. Comb through the isles, check out the clearance section and see . Don’t forget a tub of ice cream on the way out to celebrate.
Plan your dream vacation. I’ve recently been hit hard with the travel bug. So far Thailand is on the very top of my list, but there are some places in the USA that I’ve been itching to visit. If you don’t already have one, create a VRBO account and start saving places to your different boards.
Bust out the cards or board game for some friendly competition. Some of our favorites are Rummy and Yahtzee and we avoid Monopoly. We learned that lesson the hard way…. ‘
Twenty questions… or more. There is nothing more relaxing than disconnecting from technology and reconnecting with people you care about. Sometimes it takes some pre-printed questions to get to know a little bit more about someone you already know pretty well. I like to partner a good beverage (either La Croix or white wine) with some quality conversation. Here are a few sample questions:
How did today challenge you?
How did you exhibit kindness towards others?
If you could spend the day in someone else’s shoes (dead or alive) who would it be?
If you could relive one day of your life again, what day would you choose?
What is your biggest fear or phobia?
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
Who are the few people that have made the biggest impact on your life?
What habit of yours would you most like to break?
Pretend money is no object, how would you spend your day?
What’s the one material thing in this life that you can’t live without? Or if your house was burning down and you could only grab one item, what would it be?
What is something you learned later in life that you wish you knew sooner?
How do you think the world will be different in 10 years? 50 years? 100 years?
What’s the thing you would most like to achieve before you die?
What do you most look forward to about getting old?
What is the most favorite place you have ever been?
Remember, take this time to truly devote to the person that you’re with. Put your phones down and enjoy some activities that will hopefully leave you a little closer at the end of the evening.