Desperately in need of a date night with your spouse?
Don’t have a babysitter for date night?
You’re in LUCK! Check out these 5 Fun & Frugal Date Night In Ideas! Great ideas for Valentine’s too!
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Remember back when…
Remember when you first met your spouse and you went out on dates every other night, sometimes two nights in a row? You looked forward to getting all dolled up and going out, enjoying time with each other and enjoying each other’s company. Those were the days…
Fast forward to when you got married…and those fun, amazing date nights slowly but surely, just…stopped… happening. Trust me, I know first hand; it has happened to us all!
When you’re newly married, have small or younger children, it is IMPOSSIBLE to get in a date night out. I get it, sometimes you’re just too tired, there’s so much laundry to do and put away, dishes to wash, toys to pick up & put away, homework to help the kids with; the days, nights, weeks, and months turn in to years, and you just get into a rut of living, surviving (barely), and being…
Guys, that’s no way to live! You and your spouse MUST find time out of your crazy busy days to devote to each other! You have to make quality time with your spouse a reoccurring necessity. Carve time out of your schedules and make spend meaningful time with each other.
If you haven’t had a date night in who knows how long, it will probably work better to start off taking small baby steps. Start off with once a month, and start off with a date night in, instead of a date night out! If you’re going to be successful at getting back into the swing of things of date nights, you have to both be willing participants in understanding how important date nights are for your marriage.
The benefits of date nights
Something so simple as carving out time to spend with your spouse for date nights can have lasting implications on your relationship. Date nights can foster communication, reduce stress, and strengthens your relationship by bringing you closer together.
Fosters Communication
Ask anyone who has been married for awhile what the secret is to staying married. Their answer will most likely be: COMMUNICATION. Communication is key in any relationship. The hustle and bustle of everyday life may prevent you and your spouse from being able to really talk, and listen to one another. When you have a date night, you remove many of your everyday distractions; sorry kids, and are able to talk, listen and communicate your thoughts and feelings with one another.
Reduces stress
Stress. We all have some form of stress that we need to relieve. Date nights can offer some relief in that you have something to positive to look forward to with the love of your life! Just knowing that my hubby and I have a date night planned at the end of the week makes my stress levels go down a bunch! The anticipation of spending time alone puts a smile on my face and brings me joy!
Strengthens your relationship
Did you know that date nights can bring you closer together? This one should really be a no-brainer! Obviously, the more time you get to spend alone with your spouse, the closer you get and the better your relationship gets. I have yet to meet a couple that have said that participating in date nights has ruined or tainted their relationship! I’m not saying it can’t happen, but the odds of it bringer you closer together are higher than the odds of it pushing you apart.
Basically, only good things can come from your partaking in date nights!
Fun & Frugal Date Night In Ideas!
1. Play a game
Enjoy yourselves by playing a game together! Show off your competitive side with a fun game! Show your competitive side by making a fun wager or bet! Doing so definitely ups the ante! Games are a great way to get the fun rolling. You could even make this a weekly thing!
Would you like to know if you’re smarter than a box of rocks! Then you definitely need to get your hands on this fun game!
It’s humans vs. rocks – a battle as old as the stone age! Draw a card, pick a category, shake the box, and open the top. Who has the correct answer: you or the rocks? The first to reach finish wins! This quick play trivia race asks the obnoxious question: are you dumber than a box of rocks?
Hubby and I played this game, and had so much fun!!! I have to honest though, some of the questions had us stumped, so many times we made a calculated guess! Sometimes we were right; other times, not so much!
Here I am reading one of the question cards!
2. Cook a meal together
Why not cook a meal and then enjoy it together? What’s more fun that choosing a meal, prepping it, cooking it and then enjoying it together, nothing! You can opt to make one of your favorite meals together, or try something new and make something out of a cookbook. If you didn’t know, there is a thing called couples cookbooks! Couples cookbooks seem so much funner than regular cookbooks; because they were designed with couples in mind! Here are a few couples cookbooks that caught my eye!
3. Have a movie night
Have a Netflix and chill kind of a night! Don’t have Netflix? What are you waiting for? Netflix is amazing for movies, shows, and games! Find your favorite movie, grab your favorite cocktail, and settle in for the night! Here are some must haves to make your Netflix and chill night memorable!
These tumblers are great for any time! Use these to enjoy your favorite cocktail or mix things up a bit and put your favorite dessert in them!
You must have a cozy blanket or throw if you’re going to watch movies! The softer and fluffier, the better!
4. Get creative and start a new hobby
Do you and your spouse share any of the same hobbies? If not, why not think about starting a new hobby together? There are so many how-to kits and books out there to choose from, just pick one and let your creativity out! YouTube is a good place to find a little more research on your new found hobbies as well! Here are a few that the hubby and I found interesting! We choose these for the simple fact that we can use what we already have at home and can find great resources on the internet!
Origami
If you have some paper lying around, then you can easily learn to make some origami! You can make animals, boxes, and other fun objects! From easy to difficult, you decide!
Drawing
If you have kids then you should definitely have some paper and pencils around the house, so help yourself! You are set and ready to learn how draw. Pick simple or more complex items to learn to draw.
Building with LEGOs
This may sound kind of odd…so let me explain. There are all kinds of things that you can make from LEGOs! Castle, airplanes, cars, animals…you name it, and it can probably be made with LEGOs. Here’s where your kids come in handy again; grab their LEGOs and get to building!
5. Have an indoor picnic
Why not have a picnic…in the comfort of your own home?! All you need is a blanket, a cozy place to sit, and some yummy goodies! Indoor picnics are the new popular thing to do; it’s fun, different, and you don’t have to worry about those pesky ants, bugs or bees bothering you! You can invest in an all-in-one picnic basket, or just use what you have at home. Either way, have fun and enjoy the night!
The important thing to remember
The most important thing to remember is that it is important to incorporate date nights into your busy life and schedule. You will reap the rewards of doing so! The goal is to make it a priority to carve out some time to partake in some date nights. Sooner, rather than later. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate or fancy, just make sure that you are devoting time often to your spouse and your relationship!
Enjoy yourself and the alone time with your spouse, and by all means, HAVE FUN!
Do you have any date night in ideas that you’d like to add? Share them in the comments!
Anitra J.
Great ideas…We have integrated many of them in our life for years, guess that’s why we will celebrate #23 in July!
I enjoy cooking with my husband. It doesn’t happen everyday and it’s a special moment when we do. Lovely post
These are great ideas for date nights, but I can see doing some of these activities (like the indoor picnic) with kids on a rainy day. Thanks for the ideas!
We love board games so that’s usually our go to for date nights in!
Wow, so many great ideas! My fiance and I love to cook together, but I might consider playing with legos as a date idea.
Great ideas! My husband and I enjoy going to the gun range, fishing or just enjoying one another’s company on any given day/night.
Love these ideas!! I don’t let my husband bake with me but he can cook with me lol =P. Our date nights in consist of watching our favorite tv shows (soooo thankful for DVR) =P. We also enjoy asking each other simple and random questions like “what’s your favorite childhood memory?” to keep things fun and continue to date each other after years of marriage =D.
What an awesome list of ideas for having a date night in! Playing a board game together is one we used to do when we were newlywed, but we haven’t played one just the two of us for years – think I know what’s on the agenda soon! Great encouraging post for couples!
Great ideas! We need to find more games for just the two of us!
I love all of these ideas. It’s a good reminder too that you don’t need to go out and spend money to have a date night. I love playing board games and an evening of ‘kissing in the kitchen’ sounds amazing!! I have always wanted to try an indoor picnic too, so this is on the top of my list. Great ideas!
I love these ideas! Thanks for the reminder that we don’t have to go out to have fun together.
I am really bad at this. I mean, REALLY BAD. I actually paid a service to review local babysitters, interviewed a few.. and yet still we havent had date night in like…. 2 years?? I know its important, and I know we need it. Maybe this post was just the push I needed to finally get it done!!
In the past, my husband and I would play Mancala or boggle before we went to bed. I was a fun bedtime activity. Now our schedules are opposite 😩
Cooking together is my favorite! Especially when we’re trying to watch what we eat– it feels less like a chore!
Date night is SO important! Some of our favourite frugal date nights have included movie nights, hikes with the dogs, afternoons hanging out in our back yard by the pool and taking on random DIY projects around the house together. There’s something about doing it together.
Fantastic ideas, these will sure come in handy now that I’ve found myself dating again. Having no babysitter for my daughter means we’re pretty limited on date day/night options – these are great! Thank you.
Davis | http://www.everythingstartswithtea.co.uk
These are all wonderful ideas. My husband and I have built legos on a date night before. We did a little completition from it. We love making games out of the things we have around the house!
I love these ideas!! I’m still a baby in marriage but I certainly understand the importance of continuing to date! Great post!
This is so so true and my husband and I need to definitely find time to have date nights, even if that means at home. We have randomly done movie nights at home together. Need to start that up again!
Date nights are a challenge with two little ones. I love these suggestions! They are doable and practical. Thanks so much.
I LOVE to play games and once in a while, I can get my hubby to play one! It’s fun! Cooking together is so much better than doing it alone in my opinion! Movie nights happen at our house about once a week, I need to make an effort to make them a bit more special, like a date night!
It’s so important to date your spouse! We usually do movie nights, but cooking together sounds fun!
Dating your spouse is so important and I really enjoyed reading about these ideas.
We have had some amazing date nights by county mbining a few of the ideas shared here.
Great post. Not only are these frugal but they are all dates you can have at home right after the kids go to bed! No need for a sitter. Such a great idea.
Good suggestions. We recently had free time without the kids but had no idea what to do. Next time I’ll be sure to refer to this list.
These are such fun ideas! My husband and I date at home often 🙂
These are such good ideas! I need to try some.
These are such great ideas. My husband and I are gamers, so we always make a snack together after our son goes to bed and start up a couch co-op to dive into. Those moments are so special to us.
My husband and I are big advocates for date nights! I like the idea of starting a hobby together!
These are all great date night ideas!
This was a great post. With everything going on me and my significant other is looking for way to make it about each other with out spending an arm and leg!
I love that you mentioned how dates can enhance your communication. So true! Something my husband and I also like to do for frugal date nights is go geocaching. It has become a fun hobby of ours and it’s free!
It’s nice to have it all laid out. I do not have a husband, but read this because I am always looking at ways to connect with my host of friends. My best times are one:one with a friend, so “date” night ideas are good for any relationship.
Love these ideas, the indoor picnic and games night are my favourite. Our favourite game to play is Monopoly and we are both so competitive, it never ends well lololol. We also do karaoke.
Great ideas! I’ll try to use some. We are married 12 years and still going out for dates…lol It’s our tradition🤗
I have been married for 33 years and can attest to the fact that communication is key! I love all of the ideas you listed in this blog post. We still have date nights even though our children are grown and out of the house.
I love that you’ve mentioned building LEGO pieces together. Hubby and I do this often and it’s such a stress-reliever.
Date night is always a fun night here. It has been a while though so this is something we need to start again.
These are all great ideas. We have been so busy, and not spending much time together. It is nice to have some suggestions.
We rarely go on a date as couple on Valentines day because we don’t have someone to take care of our kids but these are great ideas for a date night at home.
I love these ideas, sometimes its nice to just stay in with your boo and have a great time without breaking the bank.