Ten Date Night Ideas For You and Your Significant Other.

As we come to the season of love or as some people like to call it, “the holiday Hallmark invented to make money from people in love” I always use this time to look at what aspects of my relationship I want to improve on. During this time, it’s my fiancé’s birthday shortly after Valentine’s Day then it’s our anniversary just less than a month later so we have lots of little occasions to celebrate. I thought today’s post would be the perfect opportunity to give you ten date day (or night) ideas that you could share with your partner, or you could do with a friend instead.

Every relationship is different, and we all have different needs.

If you’re a believer of love languages, you may prefer quality time together rather than gifts, so going on date nights or having a date day together is perfect or if you’re a person who loves acts of service, you might prefer a hot breakfast in bed on a Sunday morning. (If you’re interested in finding out what your love language is, I would recommend going to 5 Love Languages and seeing how you thrive when it comes to your own relationships, romantic or otherwise)

We need to keep on top of our relationships with our significant other, but you don’t need it to be fancy and you certainly don’t need to change it up every single night.

For me, especially coming out of the pandemic, it’s important to stay connected to the person I love, even if we did spend a lot of time together during that time.

We’re not very adventurous people; I love my comfort and I also love coming home and jumping into bed at an appropriate time of night. That’s just me, and that’s who I will always be. I do love trying new things though; I tried bouldering a few years ago with a friend and had the best time, I also love trying new restaurants and seeing what else is out there in the city (and beyond).

Below are ten date night or date day ideas (and an additional two little surprises!) that you could try out with your partner or your friend, if you want to either spend more quality time together or if you want to try something different. Remember, it doesn’t need to be really expensive or really fancy in order to be a lovely time.

Make a meal at home together, from scratch.

Such a nice, simple idea especially for those who may work different work shifts or possibly don’t get a lot of time to cook together. I don’t cook from scratch as much as my fiancé does, but when I do, it’s so satisfying knowing that I know what exactly went into my meal, and more often than not, I also have leftovers for the next day. You could pick a recipe together, or maybe someone picks the main course and your partner chooses what dessert to make. It’s really one of the simplest dates that you can plan out ahead of time, and it doesn’t need to be expensive either, it can be added to your meal plan for the week through your weekly shop.

Make a packed lunch, pack it in a picnic basket and take your lunch outside.

Depending on where you live and what the weather is like, where you will be able to eat will vary. Every much like making a meal at home, you can plan it out ahead of time alongside your weekly shop. It’s nice to be able to get out of the house once in a while, and you can even incorporate it with a nice walk too.

Drive somewhere that’s not close by, and go for a long walk.

I absolutely love driving so I love going somewhere new for a walk, especially if it’s further away, and this has been perfect since we adopted our dog Gizmo. We have been to more little parks and beaches around the outside of the city, to give him a new piece of scenery to look at, and to give us a fresh breath of air. Here in Northern Ireland, there are so many beautiful spots that I haven’t had a chance to visit yet, so it’s the perfect way to do it.

If you are an animal lover, visit some animals.

You know if you are an animal lover, there is nothing better than spending time with some animals, even if you have your own at home. You can visit your local zoo or open farm, if you have something like that in your area, or if you want to volunteer your time, you can see what options are available for cat and dog shelters, as long as you can promise yourself that you won’t want to take all the animals home!

Go on a double date with another couple.

One of the many perks about getting older is that more of your friends are either in relationships or have really great friendships with others, so it means your opportunities to go on double dates are so much greater than when you were younger. It can be as simple as going out for food or if you wanted to try an activity that one of you can recommend, it’s a real bonding experience.

Go to a class together.

Learning something new with other people can be quite challenging but very exciting too, especially if you are competitive or you just love learning. Depending on your skill set, this could be a cookery class, an art and crafts class or even planning to attend a night class together over a monthly period.

Learn something new together at home.

You don’t always have to spend lots of money to learn something; Scott and I used to practice Polish on Duolingo every night, and we committed towards the end of the year to start teaching ourselves how to play chess. With how many videos there are on YouTube, you can truly learn anything in just a few hours.

Plan an active activity that you haven’t tried before, or haven’t done in years.

I really love active activities, and even though I’m not as fit as I used to be, I still love it. I spoke briefly about bouldering but I have been rollerskating and ice-skating with a friend (and solo) and it’s so much fun. You might not know what you’re doing, but if it’s an activity you remember from your younger days, the nostalgia is the best.

Try out a new restaurant or bar.

I’m a routine girl, I like to know when I go to a restaurant what I can have, and I like to know that it’s nice, but sometimes it’s just lovely to try somewhere new. (Of course, I check online or I give them a call to see if they definitely have something that I can eat, that habit hasn’t died yet.) There are constantly new eateries opening all the time and with so many recommendations from friends, family and online peers, you have so much choice.

Have a cosy night in with a new series or film.

Sometimes we just need a cosy night in; light some candles, microwave some popcorn, make a cup of tea and watch a new series or a film you’ve been wanting to watch for ages. My partner and I tend to watch the same things, and if you’re like that, it’s always nice to change it up and level up on your film watching.

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Don’t want to make the decision?

If you don’t like making decisions, I have two options that you may absolutely love. One is from a company called Twist Stationery, I had bought a Christmas Film boxset from them as a cute advent present and every day it gave you a Christmas film to watch. It’s such a lovely idea, and they have a date night version too. This particular one I have chosen from their Etsy shop is called “Date Night Cards” and you can either choose from “indoor date” or “outdoor date”. It’s such a good choice if you like a wide range of options that you didn’t need to think of before.

Another option I had found, and have seen advertised constantly on Instagram lately is from The Adventure Challenge. They have a few versions of their challenge, for couples, friends, family and solo, so there is something for everyone! It’s like a scratch card book, and you can choose any page you like, scratch off the challenge, and your challenge is to do the activity. You can write about it afterwards and add in a photo of you both completing it. It’s a really nice journal too, so it’s like a little memory box on top of that.