30 ways to have Date Night at home

Date Night at home is all the more important when no other options are available.

Sometimes leaving home for Date Night is simply not an option.  That is why is is so important to continue Date Night at home to reconnect and strengthen your relationship.

For some couples, a change in circumstances may mean that you find yourself spending more time together than usual.  You can get complacent and forget to work on your relationship.

Currently couples all around the world are living in isolation and find themselves in close proximity to each other 24/7.  Their routines have changed drastically.  Not long ago those who worked outside the home now find themselves having to work from home.  The lines are now blurred between finding a balance between work and home life.  They have become one.

Date Nights are a way for couples to reconnect and focus on each other.  Ideally, uninterrupted.  However if you have small children there are plenty of ways you can still have Date Night at home, alone.

What do you do when you are faced with having to plan a Date Night at home instead of the usual reservation at your favourite restaurant?

Here are 30 ways to have Date Night at home:

1. Alphabet dates - choose a letter of the alphabet and plan 3 or 4 activities to do that start with that letter.  Take turns planning the dates.
2. Play a board game - drag out your favourite board or card game and this time change the rules slightly.  Make sure you set a prize for each of you before you begin.  When we play my prize is usually receiving a foot massage and Russell's is receiving a back massage.
3. Cook a meal together - usually it is only one of you who does most of the cooking but when you are both in the kitchen you have more chances to brush past each other which can be great foreplay.  Get dressed up and treat it as you would if you were going to a fancy restaurant.  For those who have children, have them wait on your table throughout the night.
4. Movie night - pull out your favourite dvd, pop the popcorn and reminisce about the last time you both watched that movie.
5. Love letters - sit down and write love letters to each other to be opened at a later date.  What would you want to say to each other in the future about how you feel about each other now.  These are great to add to a time capsule with other mementoes.
6. Mood board - create a mood board together using mementoes of your relationship.  Have you kept ticket stubs, flyers, photos of places you have visited.  Now's the time to put it all together.  You could even frame it and hang it on the wall.
7. Treasure hunt - leave post it notes around the house for each other to find.  Be creative in how you set it out.  One note could lead them to the next and so on.  Or you could write one new task on each that has to be done before moving onto the next one.
8. Pamper session - pamper each other by doing things that relax you both.  For some men this may not mean having a pedicure or manicure.  It could mean sitting down and watching their favourite show.  If your partner loves to be massaged then make sure you give them one while watching it.
9. Photo hunt - grab your phones and take obscure photos of things that make it hard to tell what it is.  Have your partner guess what it is.  The one who gets the most correct is the winner.  Set a time limit and prize for the winner.
10. Read a book together - download a copy of the same book and read it together.  Find a book you haven't read before about a topic that you are both interested in learning about.  It could be a self help book, a travel book, a fictional book.  Anything that leads you to engage with each other.
11. Catch up - has there been a task around the home that you have been putting off?  Now's the time to work on it together.  Remember the end goal and stay focused.  Be patient with each other.
12. Teach each other - you each have strengths that can be taught.  Take this time to teach your partner one thing that they have very little knowledge of.  It could be something you build, something you make or something that you are passionate about.
13. Vision board - create a vision board for your relationship and include places you want to go, things you want to achieve.  You can add to this regularly.  Use magazines to make the collage.
14. Online course - take an online course together.  It could be to learn another language in preparation for a trip you are taking later on or it could be to learn a new skill that you both would love to learn.
15. Plant a garden of love - Find an area of your garden where you can plant things you both love.  Perhaps you want an edible garden you can use in your cooking or a scented garden where you can pick flowers from to place inside your home.
16. Declutter - declutter the garage/pantry/wardrobe together.  Use my rule:  "if you haven't used it or seen it in two years then chances are you are never going to."  Choose to either sell it, give it away or send it to the dump.  You can use the money from the sales to spend on each other.
17. Get physical - and I don't mean to each other.  Get out for a walk, run, dance together.  Dance like no ones watching.  Do something physical together where you can breathe fresh air into your lungs.  It is great for the endorphins which can also be foreplay for later.
18. Quiz night - play the "How well do you know me" quiz or even head over to 5 Love Languages and identify your language of Love.
19. Indoor picnic - set up an indoor picnic on the floor and make it as Romantic as you can.  Have background music to create the mood, use candles, cushions, throws etc.  It's not about the meal but more about what you do when sitting together.  Talk, play cards, make plans.
20. Conversation cards - if you are lucky enough to have a pack of our conversation cards use them to have a healthy conversation and to learn more about each other.  An internet search will provide you with some conversation starters if you don't have our cards.
21. Create your own playlist - spend time creating a playlist of songs that have had meaning to the two of you since meeting.  Don't forget to add to the playlist as you go so that you have it to listen to for years to come.
22. Make a photo album - with the end of print photos now's the time to make an online photo album of the history of your relationship.  This legacy you are creating will be looked at for years to come.  Especially by your grand children and great grand children.  Choose together which photos to include.
23. Do some chores - for some the most Romantic thing you can do for your partner is to do the chores that they would normally do.  So swap out the chores and do the ones your partner would normally do.  Again, this is some serious foreplay here.
24. Prepare a Will- have you prepared your Will?  Have you both discussed who will get what and if you have small children who will raise them if something were to happen to you both?  It is best to be prepared at all times and to have your wishes written down on a legal document.  I have gone one step further and have planned my funeral as well.  This has been done to save my loved ones the agony of having to spend time thinking about what I would want when I am no longer here.
25. Face painting competition - this is Russell's suggestion to the list so please don't shoot the messenger.  He recommends that each person paints the other persons face and puts photos up on social media to gain votes.  The person with the most votes wins.  You can choose what paints to use although it might just be fun to use real make up instead of face paints.  Have fun with this one.
26. Blind food tasting - take a blind fold and cover your partners eyes.  With an assortment of different foods in front of them give them a spoonful of each one to taste.  Don't go over board here and give them food that they simply can't eat or food that is inedible.  Be creative and allow their taste buds to take over.  Think about igniting their senses.  Again, done right this too can be foreplay.
27. Puzzle time - do a puzzle together.  If you don't have one, make one.  There are many lessons you can learn when working so closely to each other.  Patience and tolerance are just two.  Enjoy.
28. Vouchers - make a booklet of vouchers that your partner can redeem at a time convenient to you both.  These vouchers can include tasks to relieve them of their duties around the house, including childcare and housework, or they can include erotic activities for the bedroom.  Make the vouchers fun and only include options that your partner would be comfortable with.
29. Create a video - use this time to make a short video for others to watch and learn from.  Be sure to include one thing you have achieved in your relationship, one thing you learnt that didn't work so well and one thing you are needing help with.  Be prepared to share your video on your social media platforms so that others can see you working on your relationship.
30. Play an instrument - learn a musical instrument together.  Perhaps one could play the guitar while the other sings.  Or one could learn the triangle while the other plays the drums.  If you don't have any instruments at home, make them using what you have around you.

These activities are designed to give you an opportunity to spend focused time together.  It is important to add Date Night into your schedule and have them regularly.  Just as you would schedule a check up for your health or car, scheduling Date Night for your relationship is equally as important, if not more.

For us, we have done most of those suggested above.  There are many we haven't and now that we have no excuses not to we will be looking forward to working through the list.

For those couples who have young children, there are many suggestions above that can be done with the children awake.  As long as you are talking to each other and working on the same project at the same time, you will find it easier to achieve.

I would love to hear how you got on with some of these.  Feel free to leave a comment below, send an email or leave a comment on any of our social media platforms.  If you have trouble being creative with any of these suggestions please do not hesitate to get in touch.  I am more than happy to share some examples.  Enjoy.