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.”
Christina Claire 