101 Creative Date Ideas
(Those with a * indicate can be free or done for very little cost)
Looking for a great date idea? Here are 101 creative date ideas to help you plan your next date night!
Active/Outdoors Date Ideas
- Go for a swim, just the two of you*
- Go rock climbing at a rock gym
- Rent paddle boats
- Tube a local river
- Kayak a river or lake
- Go hiking*
- Train for a 5k to run or walk together
- Go camping (just the two of you)
- Rent or borrow a jet ski
- Go through a corn maze
- Set up a tent in the backyard and order takeout*
- Have a campfire with s’mores*
- Go horseback riding
- Ride bikes (try renting a tandem)*
- Ice-skating (even more fun in summer months)
- Roller skating
- Go bowling
- Build a snowman together*
- Go sledding*
- Put on some boots and go country line dancing
- Pick fruit together at a local farm
- Learn to skateboard or longboard together*
Romantic Date Ideas
- Make fondue together
- Read The 5 Love Languages and discuss what you can do better to help your spouse feel loved*
- Go stargazing*
- Watch the sunset*
- Watch the sunrise*
- Pack a picnic basket and go to unique location*
- Make a nice dinner together
- Look on Yelp, find a high rated restaurant and recommended meal for a type of food you’ve never tried before, share dishes for a new culinary experience
- Enroll in a cooking class for 2
- Have your own cooking class at home with YouTube or Food Network video demonstrations
- Rooftop picnic at home or a building you have access to*
- Give each other massages at home*
- Find a hill or mountain in your area and go to the top at night to look at the city lights. Enjoy a “dessert picnic” while you look at the lights. *
Intellectually/Culturally Enlightening Date Ideas
- Go see a play
- Go to the symphony
- See a concert of any type (favorite band, school, etc) *Many are free
- Watch TED lectures on your computer and discuss your thoughts on what you learn (I love this one and this one)*
- Take a city class together; most city websites list offerings (photography, dance, etc.)
- Make a bucket list of things you want to together, with kids, independently, and share*
- Find a lecture at a local University or community college and attend*
- Watch a foreign film together (rent from library for free)*
- Download a vintage radio program podcast, go listen to it in a unique location (think horror story in the woods at dusk)*
- Rent a documentary (try Fast Food Nation, Waiting for Superman, or Grizzly Man)*
- Read a novel/short story/play together (I’m happy to recommend some J)*
- Borrow a guitar or other instrument, watch YouTube videos teaching you how to play, take turns and be sure to perform a song for each other.*
At-Home Date Ideas
- Play board games for 2*
- Buy a cheap canvas and paint portraits of each other
- Build an adult fort and watch a movie*
- Buy Pinewood Derby kits from BSA and build/race your carts at home
- Buy a bunch of popsicle sticks at a craft store, have a competition who can build the best structure out of the popsicle sticks and glue*
- Build “gingerbread houses” out of graham crackers and frosting (be creative)*
- Bake sugar cookies and decorate to look like people you know (deliver them after)*
- Draw a cartoon of how you met in sidewalk chalk on your driveway*
- Rent or borrow a Wii and play games together*
- Do “Dinner and a Movie” with a theme (like watch The 3 Amigos and make Mexican food)*
- Do a puzzle together*
- Build paper airplanes, make sure to get fancy and look up several different types, then have a flying competition*
- Get on Spotify and make a playlist of your favorite songs from high school. Take a trip down memory lane and share your favorite songs while telling a memory attached to each one. *
Group Date Ideas
- Host a dinner party (themed, formal, or casual)
- The Amazing Race Dates (tasks for couple to complete at various locations)
- Host your own murder mystery (you can buy games online)
- Couples game night (charades, catch phrase, whatever group games you enjoy)*
- Build a marshmallow gun out of PVC, have a fight
- Play “Bigger or Better” and compete which couple returns with the best item*
- Karaoke out on the town or at home*
- Have a scavenger hunt taking pictures or retrieving items, compare findings after*
- Have white elephant gift exchange (no need to wait for the holidays)*
Places to Go on a Date Night
- Art Museum (often free one day of the month)*
- Art walk (usually held as summer festivals in college towns or state capitals)*
- Musical Instrument Museum (BofA card members can get in free at certain times, check websites)*
- Improv comedy show
- NBA game
- MLB game
- NHL game
- Visit an aquarium
- Local high school sporting events*
- University sporting events
- Visit the Zoo
- Visit the nearest rodeo
- Go to the circus
- Ride go-carts at a Raceway
- Visit a home décor store (like Pier 1 or Crate and Barrel) and each of you takes a turn design a dream room in your house or apartment separately, pretending money is no object. Meet up and give each other a “tour” of the items in your room. *
- Paint pottery at a paint your own pottery shop (like Color Me Mine or As You Wish)
- Miniature golfing
- Arcade games (like Dave and Busters or Gameworks)
- Ride the light rail and enjoy people watching*
- Go to a drive-in movie
- Visit a car show (like Barrett Jackson) when they are in town (score points with your husband)
- Walk through IKEA, it’s an experience all its own! (and there are cheap Swedish meatballs)*
- Go to a bookstore and share your favorite books with each other (you can even read your favorite children’s books to each other)*
- Go to a bookstore and look at the travel section. Plan your dream vacation on your own and then present yours to your spouse and listen to their ideas too.*
- Volunteer at a soup kitchen, nursing home, or women’s shelter*
- Visit your local “Movies in the Park” during spring or summer offering (usually free)*
- Visit a planetarium and learn about the solar system
- Visit your state’s science center*
- Test-drive cars you have no intention of buying*
- Go look at model homes or home shows and pretend you’re in the market*
- Go see lights at Christmas, just the two of you*
- Watch a local band’s show (often free)*
Beyond Dinner and a Movie
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