Looking for date ideas?
My new book is out 175 Best Date Ideas! Below are some of the ideas from the book…
Prepare
First off, we recommend making a date jar – read full instructions here. It’s a fun way to get rid of the “what do you want to do tonight?” question.
Fun Date Ideas
I’ve listed 15 simple but fun date ideas to start off your date jar below… snag the book to make sure your jar is completely full!
1. Our favorite $10 date idea — this is our all time favorite, it’s so flexible it can be turned into several different date nights. Here are the rules and how this date started…
About a year ago, it was nearing the end of the month and we still had $10 in our spending envelope! So we hopped in the car with our $10 and started brainstorming ideas. We decided to drive to the closest grocery store and divide the money equally and see who could me more creative with their $5 to find something fun for the night.
We call it the “Choose Anything Game” and the only rule is: you can’t overspend. It ended up being perfect, Corey chose a dinner item and I, of course, chose a chocolaty dessert. But the best part of the entire date is how much fun and laughter we had in that store before we finally decided what we were getting.
The flexibility of this game is endless. It doesn’t have to be a grocery store. Here are some more ideas:
- Target is actually my favorite place because of their $1/$3 section always having something new!
- Find a store with a $5 movie bin.
- Stop by a true dollar store – you’ll feel rich with $5 each. 😉
- A craft store adds a whole new dimension to the game.
- Stop by a thrift store and choose outfits for each other – whatever the other chooses you have to wear out.
If you both agree, you can pool your money and work as a team to spend $10 together instead of $5 separately.
We almost always use the $10 cap, but on occasion we will bump it up a little. Next time I’m actually tempted to see how creative we could be on even less. You can also take your kids on a date and let them join in the fun, I always love watching how creative kids can be, they blow us out of the water for sure!
The goal is to have fun, be goofy, and most importantly be creative. Try it out and in the comments let us know what your $10 date ended up looking like.
2. Photo Shoot — Photo shoots are such a great way to have a good time! The point of this date is to have a lot of fun during the shoot. It’s less about the pictures (those are a fun bonus) and more about having fun while the pictures are being taken.
- Hire a professional photographer for an anniversary shoot
- Or just have a friend take your photos (even a nice phone with a camera will do). Pay your friend back with home baked goodies or by returning the favor and taking photos for him/her.
3. Start a blog to record your adventures — at the end of each date upload a photo and a favorite memory from the night! Or start a blog together on just about any subject as a fun side project to connect over.
4. Food Crawl — this date is a full night out, and so much fun!
It’s simple – each of you choose 2 favorite restaurants (4 restaurants total). You’ll be doing appetizers, dinner, drinks and dessert at four differently restaurants.
Drop them in a hat, draw them out one-at-a-time so you’ll know where to go and in what order.
5. Draw a game board on your sheets.
Bring the romance and fun back into the bedroom! Check out how to draw the game board pattern and ideas on what to include in the spaces here.
Or they have an actual game, if you don’t have the time to make one! Buy it here.
Simple, fun, timeless ideas…
6. Game night at home.
Stop by a thrift store and buy a few favorite games for cheap. Play by the rules or make up your own rules. Invite another couple over just keep it simple with the two of you.
7. Cook a meal together — simple but just add a twist every time…
- Make it a cook-off
- Try something fancy and new
- Plan a make your own pizza night
- Or bake instead… bake as many recipes as you can in a pre-determined time frame
- That’s just to name a few!
8. Make a vision/dream board together — buy a large poster board and use it to create a collage of all you biggest dreams. Dare each other to dream as big as you can – you’ll likely learn new things about what excites and inspires your spouse!
9. The surprise date — plan out an entire night and only tell him the very minimum he needs to know as you go! Consider stopping by a photo booth kiosk so you have a fun memory from the night.
10. Open House Date — go to open houses, even if you’re not currently in the market for a house!
11. The good, old fashioned picnic is always a winner and makes for the best conversations.
- make fruit skewers
- salad in mason jars
- chocolate dipped anything (nuts, fruit, etc.)
- veggies and dip
- mini dessert sampler
13. Movie and popcorn — absolutely timeless so we had to include it! Grab a Redox or turn on Netflix, pop some popcorn and snuggle up!
14. Coffee shop and games — many local coffee shops have games you can play at the tables or bring along a deck of cards to play while you sip your latte.
15. What if I have kids and no babysitter? For those of us with kids, finding someone to watch the kids can often be the trickiest part. I’ve included a ton of at home date ideas in the book for this reason but sometimes it’s refreshing to go out too, try to find another mama friend who will watch your kids one night and you watch hers another.
16. to 175. For a complete list of date ideas check out my new book, 175 Best Date Ideas. See if you can accomplish all 175 dates!
P.S. Are you looking for extra side income? I make full-time income blogging part-time—check out this easy step-by-step tutorial on how start a blog (no tech knowledge required).
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