14 Stay At Home Date Ideas You’ll Want to Try

My boyfriend David and I LOVE to go out on dates. Seriously, we live for margaritas at our favorite local taco shop, trips to the museum or zoo, and Saturday morning brunches. You can probably imagine my concern when I found out we couldn’t go out again for a couple of months due to COVID-19. Luckily for me, David and I were quick to come up with some fun date ideas we could do at home. So, whether you’re social distancing or just trying to save a buck, here are some at-home date ideas my boy and I have loved (and we hope you do too!)

Game Night

Board games are so underrated. Before quarantine, David and I hadn’t even played a single board game or card game together. Now, games are life. Here are our current favorite options for 2+ players!

• Exploding Kittens (seriously our favorite! If you’ve never played, I highly recommend purchasing. We get really competitive and laugh so hard.) – https://www.amazon.com/Exploding-Kittens-LLC-EKG-ORG1-1-Card/dp/B010TQY7A8/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=exploding+kittens&qid=1585600569&sr=8-2
• Mancala – https://www.amazon.com/Mancala-Real-Wood-Folding-Set/dp/B001FA22DC/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1NRR8R6UTZL89&keywords=mancala&qid=1585600650&sprefix=mancala%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-5
• Guess Who Clue Edition (Regular Guess Who and regular Clue work just the same!) – https://www.target.com/p/game-mashups-guess-who-clue-game/-/A-76431683
• Battleship – (we can play this silly classic for hours at a time!) https://www.target.com/p/battleship-game-retro-series-1967-edition/-/A-50696068
• Monopoly – https://www.target.com/p/monopoly-board-game/-/A-52117861
• 3 Up 3 Down Card Game – https://www.amazon.com/Ok2Win-3UP-3DOWN-Card-Game/dp/B01CPQD4YK/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=3+up+3+down+card+game&qid=1586802819&s=toys-and-games&sr=1-1
• Order an Escape Room in a Box or Crime Scene in a box online or from your local Escape Room! (We borrowed ours from a friend!)

Paint and Sip

We aren’t usually an “artsy” couple but we LOVED following along to this couples paint tutorial on YouTube with a glass of wine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-dpSk0-HCU 

Here are our results!

Try a New Recipe

I think the best thing David and I did for ourselves right before social distancing got strict was buy an air fryer from Target. We have had such a blast making new snacks in the air fryer. Not only has it been fun, but it’s been delicious.

Here’s the relatively affordable air fryer we went with: https://www.target.com/p/as-seen-on-tv-powerxl-vortex-air-fryer-3qt-black/-/A-76544201

Also, something just feels right about baking in quarantine. Make banana bread, cookies, and cakes as MUCH as possible.

Cozy Movie Night

Set up some pillows and blankets on the floor in your living room, turn down the lights, grab a glass of wine, and pop-in (or just search for on Netflix because this is 2020) a movie. Preparing in advance for a movie night by making a fort or lighting a lot of candles makes it seem like more of an occasion than an everyday movie night.

Like a lot of ladies out there, I am a big fan of Rom-Coms. David? Not so much. However, it hasn’t been impossible to find a few romantic movies he’ll dig too. Here are a few “romance” movies your boyfriend won’t hate:

• 50 First Dates
• Slumdog Millionaire (Not a rom-com! More like a rom-crime)
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• Crazy Stupid Love
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Forgetting Sarah Marshall
• A Star is Born
• Disney’s Live Action Aladdin (Okay I’m reaching here but David loved this movie)

Fondue for Two

David and I had originally planned on celebrating our anniversary at the Melting Pot in Denver. Unfortunately, the Corona Virus rained on our parade… but we picked up fondue at-home kits from them instead! David got me flowers and lit some candles and it was just as romantic (if not more romantic!) than our original plan.

Have a Picnic in your Backyard

If you’re reading this in Spring of 2020 you might not be able to go for a picnic in the park, but who’s to say you can’t have a picnic in your backyard? Get that blanket and basket, pack some sandwiches (or pick up Chick-fil-a…), and get outside!

Go for a Walk

I’m pretty sure I would have gone crazy by now if I couldn’t at least go outside for a walk during this time of social distancing. I think going on walks has become one of our favorite things to do together as the weather warms up. It’s where we have our best conversations and feel our best too.

Take a Personality Quiz and Compare Your Results.

• My personal favorite type of personality test – The Enneagram
  • $12 test https://tests.enneagraminstitute.com
  • Free tests https://www.eclecticenergies.com/enneagram/test or https://www.9types.com/rheti/index.php
  • After you have figured out your types, the Enneagram Institute has a free resource to see how you work in a relationship together: https://www.enneagraminstitute.com/the-enneagram-type-combinations
• Myers Briggs https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
• Love Languages https://www.5lovelanguages.com/quizzes/

Watch Church Service at Home Together.

This is a date. Don’t @ me.

Do a Puzzle!

Turn on some tunes and pull out a puzzle.

Get to Know Each Other Better by Asking Deep OR Silly Questions.

• So cheesy but I definitely bought us these conversation starter cards for couples. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078RDNFSC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 We haven’t read through them all yet because we can truly spend 15 minutes on one card.
• Would you rather questions https://conversationstartersworld.com/would-you-rather-questions/

Support Your Favorite Local Businesses Together.

Although we can’t go OUT to eat, we can still go out and pick up takeout from our favorite restaurants and coffee shops. This has been something I’ve looked forward to doing every weekend while in “quarantine.”

Take Turns Reading a Book to Each Other.

Just ordered David and I, Love Does by Bob Goff. It’s one of my faves and I wanted to read it again with him!

Just Spend Quality Time Together

All in all, I still miss going out to the movie theater and coffee shops. However, I’m really thankful for all of this quality time I’ve been able to spend with my boy and for this season of “slowing down.”

What to do in Oregon… Portland and beyond.

Hi friends! Two years ago I spent the summer living in the beautiful city that is Portland, Oregon doing a missional internship with QuadW. The internship itself was an experience I’ll never forget, but doing it in Oregon made it even that much better. I did SO much while I was there and I realized today that I’d be a cruel and evil FOOL to not share all my knowledge. So, that being said, here are 12 things you need to do when in Portland (and surrounding areas).

1. Get some donuts

If you know anything about me or care about my existence AT ALL, you know I am a donut enthusiast. There is nothing I love better than a delicious donut. If you go to Portland and don’t eat donuts you are committing a DEADLY SIN. My recommendations? The original Voodoo Donuts, Blue Star, and a donut food truck.

 

2. Hike your booty off

It’s no surprise that the Pacific Northwest is known for its hikes. I did a hike every week while in Portland! Here are some of my faves

Multnomah Falls – a classic Portland landmark

Salmon River

Columbia River Gorge / Cascade Locks

Hood River / Mitchell Point Overlook

Ape Caves of Mount St. Helens – the most memorable and adventurous hike I’ve ever done.

3. Drink Stumptown Coffee

Sadly, I wasn’t a coffee enthusiast yet at this point in my life. However, I did get me some Stumptown Coffee, a Pacific Northwest fave.

 

4. Go to Mount Hood/Timberline Lodge

You can probably imagine this Southerners complete and utter surprise when we drove up to the Mountains for the Day in June and they were COVERED in snow. No warning (hence the capri leggings), just complete awe. Real tears were shed, folks. This was a memorable a spiritual moment for me.

 

 

 

5. Eat.

If there’s one thing I know how to do it’s eat. Here’s my fave places in and around Portland! (Picture creds to me but mostly to my dear friend Alex Bryan who is way better at taking food pics than me!)

Cubo – Hawthorne District, Portland

This place gave me a little taste of home and made me extremely happy.

Burgerville – a Pacific Northwest fast food chain

 

Brix Tavern – Downtown Portland

An affordable and yummy brunch spot!

The Local Cow – Gresham, OR

Best burgers in my favorite little town.

All the Food Trucks

Don’t matter which one, just try ’em all. Portland is notorious for its food trucks.

 

6. Use Public Transportation

Tbh, I hate public transportation. That being said, Portland and surrounding areas had the easiest to navigate bus/transit system I’ve experienced. Plus, everything is better when you have 9 other friends with you at all times.

 

7. Get lots and lots of ice cream

Whether it’s Tillamook from the cartons or Salt and Straw. Ice cream is a MUST.

 

 

8. Pick wildflowers and berries.

I so dearly miss walking home from the bus with all my pals, eating berries, and picking wildflowers and sticking them in my hair.

9. Explore Cannon Beach

Make sure you visit this iconic beach and explore the sweet town after.

10. Visit the Grotto

I didn’t know how much I would really like this Catholic outdoor shrine, but I loved it. The gardens, the spirituality, the labyrinth. Everything.

11. Dye your hair a crazy color, just cuz

Keep Portland weird

 

12. Be extra kind to my friends who live outside

Portland has a large homeless population that I spent some good quality time with while I was there and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Make sure to be extra kind to them, they live lives worth knowing about.