7 Stay-At-Home Date Ideas

Since Brett and I moved in together, we designated every Tuesday as a date night. It typically involved going out, whether it was for an activity or dinner. However, our date nights have looked different over the past year, so we have had to get creative with our date nights at home. I’m sharing a few stay-at-home date ideas that have allowed us to spend quality time together. I hope you’ll chime in with more suggestions in the comments!

Have a picnic on the patio. Enjoy a picnic outside and watch the sunset. We typically order from Mingle + Graze because I love their monger’s board. If you don’t want to order takeout, make a charcuterie board or use whatever else you have at home.

Have a romantic candlelit dinner. Brett made filet mignon, mashed potatoes, and asparagus, but you can also order takeout if you’d prefer. Light a few candles, put on background music, grab a drink, and enjoy quality time together.

Cook together. Many dates involve eating, but how about first cooking a meal together? Make one of your favorite meals or try something new. Since we’ve been trying to eat at home more, this is one of my new favorite ways to spend quality time together.

Watch a movie. It’s not the most creative idea, but it’s an easy option that we enjoy. I typically choose romantic comedies, but Brett’s been picking horror movies lately, which has been a nice change of pace. Netflix and dessert are our go-to these days.

Exercise together. I recently downloaded the SWEAT app, and we’ve been doing it together. We’re enjoying it, but there are also plenty of free workouts online. Then on the weekends, we like taking our dogs for long walks around the neighborhood.

Have a game night. Typically, we play only one game, but if you have time, play multiple games! My favorite game is Rummikub — it’s easy and fast-paced, so we can usually play the best of three rounds. To make it more competitive, sometimes we designate that the loser cooks dinner.

Do a puzzle. We turn on the evening news when we work on puzzles. It’s a great way to unwind before bed; we recently finished this one. As a challenge, we try to complete a puzzle in a set amount of time.

What are your and your significant other’s favorite stay-at-home date ideas? Let me know in the comments. As always, thanks for reading! xo

Leave a Comment

43 Comments

  1. Exercising together has been so key for us! we try to do a workout every weekday and go on at least 1 walk. It’s a great way to chat and plan and connect with each other. I love that you guys have designated a specific day of the week! We should do that!

    Posted 3.29.21 Reply
  2. Fabiana wrote:

    Here in Italy, we are still in lockdown, so you gave me fantastic ideas to create the right atmosphere while we are forced into our house! Thanks for sharing

    Posted 3.29.21 Reply
  3. Biana wrote:

    It sometimes takes us an hour just to pick a movie and then we end up having to save it for the next night LOL! These are all fun ideas! xo, Biana BlovedBoston

    Posted 3.29.21 Reply
  4. Mariya wrote:

    Thanks for sharing these great ideas. Can’t wait to try them out!

    Posted 3.29.21 Reply
  5. These are some fun ideas! 🙂

    Posted 3.29.21 Reply
  6. My husband and I love playing board games or card games together at home! It is such a great way for us to connect.

    Posted 3.30.21 Reply
  7. Becky wrote:

    We have been trying to do some things like this too! We had a lot of game nights, as we got this Sherlock Holmes game that we were really addicted to – it’s not a typical board game but more like solving a mystery.

    Another thing we did was have a few “tastings” together – I’d buy mini bottles of wine or went to a beer place where you can buy individual cans and get a variety and then try them and rate them!

    Posted 3.30.21 Reply
  8. Jessica wrote:

    I love this blog! In this global pandemic it’s not just important to look after yourself, but also your relationship with your spouse. It’s so easy to get caught up in life and forget to make time for each other. My favourite thing to do with my husband (that’s pandemic friendly), is a hike on walking trails. Cook meals together (usually something we’ve never had before) and snuggle up to watch a movie! Great blog!

    Posted 3.30.21 Reply
  9. Doing a puzzle together sounds great! For me, I hate doing them by myself, it would be fun to do one with someone else!

    Posted 3.30.21 Reply
  10. I don’t have an S.O. but these are still great ideas, and you could adapt many of them for siblings or friends, etc. Netflix and dessert sounds like a lovely way to relax. And walking your dog together is another wonderful option where you can at least get outside!

    -Lauren

    Posted 3.30.21 Reply
  11. Lovely wrote:

    Excellent ideas! Yes, to the picnic on the patio! This pandemic has forced us to be creative!
    xoxo
    Lovely
    http://www.mynameislovely.com

    Posted 3.31.21 Reply
  12. Regina wrote:

    Love this at home date ideas! My husband and I have done all of them except candlelit dinner or picnic on patio. Since it is getting warmer, we can try that!

    Posted 3.31.21 Reply
  13. Jessi wrote:

    Such fun ideas! Now I just need a significant other to do them with 😂

    Posted 3.31.21 Reply
  14. Lindsay wrote:

    Love these date ideas!! Will be keeping these in mind for me and my boyfriend. We don’t have a set Date Night, but having some ideas to spice things up a bit are always welcome!

    Posted 3.31.21 Reply
  15. These are wonderful and simple ideas that is practical to make happen.

    Posted 3.31.21 Reply
  16. Kayy wrote:

    Love all of these suggestions. Even doing a simple puzzle is all that’s needed to spend time with your significant other .

    Posted 3.31.21 Reply
  17. Susanne wrote:

    Loved reading these mindful ideas to a date night at home just now! Being in an LDR, I want to make those moments we do get to spend together, last, as well. We do cook together more often than that one of us cooks for the other, so I know what I am putting on my list for the next time my bf comes over 😀 (and he can cook too, so I think I just need to give a nudge, lol). Another thing I truly like to do is have a good/in-depth conversation about a certain topic. How that works: one of you gets to pick a topic, or maybe even a section of a book/scripture, you both get some time to contemplate, and then you’ll pick a date to discuss it. Next time, the other person gets to pick the topic. Has counted for many inspiring and thought-provoking conversations in our case. Hope this helps 🙂 Love, Susanne

    Posted 3.31.21 Reply
  18. Shala wrote:

    Picnics are always a great idea! Food + drink = love.

    curatingstories.com

    Posted 3.31.21 Reply
  19. Kari Lorz wrote:

    My husband and I sometimes cook together, but he usually gets upset as I always seem to be standing right where he wants to be in the kitchen 🙂 Oh well! BUT, we do get lots of laughs about it (after he’s done be annoyed with me), so it’s a great stay at home date night option!

    Posted 3.31.21 Reply
  20. Jennifer wrote:

    Puzzles are so underrated! They’re fun. Thank you for these brilliant ideas. My husband and I are looking to shake up at-home date nights.

    Posted 4.1.21 Reply
  21. Allison wrote:

    Such great ideas! This past year has really rattled me and my hubs date night routine as well. We’ll have to try some of these!

    Posted 4.1.21 Reply
  22. Amanda wrote:

    Yes ! This is the perfect read for my husband and I! Thank you !! Love these ideas!

    Posted 4.1.21 Reply
  23. Great ideas! These are all things we do too!

    Posted 4.1.21 Reply
  24. Tanya wrote:

    Love these ideas! We are overdue for a candlelit dinner so I think we’ll do that this weekend. Great post!

    Posted 4.1.21 Reply
  25. Natascha wrote:

    LOVE YOUR LIST 🙂 What I also love is organizing a spa night with face masks, teas, zen music,… to become completely chilll and relaxed

    Posted 4.1.21 Reply
  26. Amy wrote:

    These are such great ideas and I love the little balcony set up!

    Posted 4.1.21 Reply
  27. Genesis wrote:

    I know it’s not related, but I LOVE how you decorated your balcony! These are great ideas to do together. My husband and I are both working on an art project that we also like to save for date nights. We listen to a podcast together while working on the art <3

    Posted 4.2.21 Reply
  28. Amy Smith wrote:

    Great ideas! We love Rummikub as well. Sometimes we will have a campfire in the backyard and stay out there after the kids are in bed. It feels nice to just chat and enjoy a beautiful night.

    Posted 4.2.21 Reply
  29. Jolayne wrote:

    My husband and I do a lot of hiking for our dates.

    Posted 4.2.21 Reply
  30. Jessica wrote:

    We had started making date nights a priority, but this last year has been tough with all of the lockdowns! With three kids, it is hard to have a date night at home right now. 😉 Walks have been one way we can escape for some time to ourselves!

    Posted 4.2.21 Reply
  31. Stephanie wrote:

    I’m a huge homebody and introvert, so while some people may be missing date nights out, I’m thriving at home haha! My husband and I love doing game nights (we like playing The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel edition of LIFE while rewatching our favorite episodes of the show) and cooking together!

    Posted 4.3.21 Reply
  32. We’ve been watching a Netflix series every night such as The Sinner and now Broadstreet.

    Posted 4.3.21 Reply
  33. Rachel wrote:

    Very fun ideas for a stay at home date night!

    Posted 4.3.21 Reply
  34. Ayanna wrote:

    So many great ideas! I haven’t done a puzzle with my husband in a long while.

    Posted 4.4.21 Reply
  35. I love all of the date night ideas. I’ve been married for almost a year and I do know first hand how difficult it can be to find creative ways to have quality time… especially during a pandemic. Thanks for sharing.

    Posted 4.4.21 Reply
  36. Linda wrote:

    We’ve started doing yoga together and it’s so fun…never thought my husband would join me in that, but he’s kinda into it. Yay! We’ve also been cooking together once a week (or he’ll cook and I’ll drink wine and hang out with him). I’m really excited for the warmer weather so we can do some picnics in the yard

    Posted 4.4.21 Reply
  37. Nayomi wrote:

    My favorite stay-at-home date is game night with family board games. It’s nice – you can be silly and not take yourself too seriously.

    Posted 4.4.21 Reply
  38. My husband and I used to play games and might need to bring that back!

    Posted 4.5.21 Reply
  39. Kait wrote:

    I love the idea of home date nights, and so many of these are things my husband and I do all the time anyway – like cooking together, watching movies, and doing puzzles. But we have also decided to start exercising together!

    Posted 4.5.21 Reply
  40. Some great stay at home date night ideas! I love that you designated a particular night each week for date night. I also believe that as this world opens up more and more, still keeping some of the dates at home is a good idea…so cozy!

    Posted 5.25.21 Reply
  41. Shanna wrote:

    These are cute ideas that can develop into even more ideas for the future. I definitely think that having regular time with your partner strengthens your relationship.

    Posted 5.27.21 Reply
  42. Jasmine wrote:

    These are such cute ideas! My husband and I have been married for 3 years now, and the pandemic has made it hard to have a date night! Now places are finally opening back up. I love the exercising together suggestion. We take walks almost every night and sometimes work out together, it’s always fun pushing each other and encouraging each other to continue through a tough workout.

    Posted 6.3.21 Reply
  43. I love these date night ideas my husband and I watch 5 nights at Freddy’s lol.

    Posted 11.5.23 Reply