9 At-Home Date Ideas to Better Connect with Your Partner

These at-home date ideas are fun, unique and something different you can do at home with your partner to switch things up.

With Valentine’s coming up, I started thinking about fun date nights we could do at home. To be honest, with two little kids, our date nights out on the town are few and far between. By the time you hire a sitter, get a ride share and pay for dinner and drinks, you’ve spent a hefty chunk of change!

That being said, I still love making date nights out a priority, but they just don’t happen quite as often.

So, when they don’t, we love doing a date night at home. For us, that usually involves dressing up, cooking a fancy dinner, listening to jazz music and chatting over cocktails.

If you’re like us and spending more nights in, I wanted to share some more fun at-home date night ideas that you can try out this weekend.

9 At-Home Date Night Ideas to Connect with your Partner

Cook a Fancy Dinner

This is my go-to date night and I usually keep the meal simple with filets, potatoes and a vegetable. And if you’re thinking that steaks sound hard to cook, I promise, they’re not.

RELATED: How to Cook Perfect Filets

You can cook and prep together, which is always great bonding time. A few other easy fancy meals are pasta with bolognese, roasted whole chicken and this tangled noodle salad.

Movie Night with Popcorn

Movie night is a popular one in our house! After a long week, sitting down to watch a movie while cozied up on the couch is such a treat. But, to take it up a notch, splurge on a nice bottle of wine, some freshly popped popcorn, and your favorite movie candy to make it a real experience!

Game Night Date Night

Rob’s family grew up playing games, so having a few card games or board games that work for two people is such a fun way to change up your normal routine. Make sure you keep a few card decks on hand, or your favorite game or even a puzzle.

This is such a great way to disconnect and put technology away for the evening and just have fun. One of our favorite is Rummikub.

Make Fancy Cocktails & Charcuterie

Usually we just open a bottle of wine, but getting creative and making fun cocktails at home is a blast! Do some research, make sure you have all your ingredients and mix away.

I love an Eastern Standard or a mezcal negroni, personally! Make sure to have some snacks too. A simple charcuterie board, or even a few apps you’ve grabbed from the store are perfect to go alongside your drinks!

Plan a Trip

Most of our early dates would end with us talking about where we wanted to travel to next and what kind of activities we’d do on our trips. We don’t get to travel quite as much with two little ones, but we still love to travel and explore.

This is such a fun way to learn more about your partner and see what kinds of things really interest them and keep them day-dreaming.

Indoor Picnic

A perfect change up for winter! Grab a blanket and put it out in front of the fire and set up a charcuterie board, appetizers and a bottle of wine and enjoy a cozy evening together.

Candlelit Dinner

Whether you cook the dinner yourself, or order from your favorite restaurant, set up a fancy table with candles, the good dishes and glasses and light the candles and eat by candlelight! It’s romantic and fun and totally different than every other meal you eat at home.

Breakfast in Bed

Switch it up and make your at-home date a morning date! Make coffee and breakfast and serve it in bed. Get some of these handy trays so you don’t spill and enjoy a long morning cozied up in bed with a yummy breakfast.

A few ideas for breakfast: pumpkin coffee cake, these perfect omelets, banana bread and the best homemade granola.

Wine & Paint

You’ve all seen those wine and painting places around town, but why not just do it at home? Pick a painting you want to recreate, grab some small canvases, a paint set and brushes and pour a glass of wine. It’ll be a fun way to bond, and probably laugh, over your creations.

Even more fun, forget the old masters’ paintings they always do in store and find a piece you actually like and see if you can recreate it!

BTW, how to stock a healthy pantry, and how to organize your food pantry.