Spin the wheel At home date ideas
Dates that do not need a babysitter
A date at home works when going out feels like too much: a sitter costs $20 to $25 an hour in many US cities, and a dinner for two can reach $100. The 37 ideas here cost between $0 and about $20 and need only a kitchen, a few lights and some privacy.
Parents with kids in bed by 8 can use the shorter ideas, such as a game of cards, a puzzle or a dessert-only dinner, and finish by 9:30. For a long weekend evening, pick something like fresh pasta, slow cooker chili or a canvas painting, where the activity is the date.
The trick is to mark the date in the calendar and put the phones in another room. Without that, even the best idea turns into two people on two screens. Taking turns to spin gives each person a bit of control over the evening.
What's on this wheel
- Cook a new recipe together
- Pizza night with homemade toppings
- Living room floor picnic
- Board game tournament
- Dessert-only dinner
- Build a blanket fort
- Dance in the kitchen
- Home spa night
- Puzzle for two
- Cook the same dish, then compare
- Backyard fire pit and s'mores
- Photo album night
- Karaoke at home
- Taste test: chocolate or cheese
- Paint a canvas side by side
- Play cards and keep score
- Plan a trip you might take
- Candlelit dinner, good plates
- Breakfast for dinner
- Read aloud to each other
- Stargazing from the yard
- Make a playlist swap
- Bake cookies from scratch
- Video game co-op night
- Write each other short notes
- Learn a dance from a video
- Slow cooker chili night
- Stretch and yoga together
- Rearrange a room together
- Make fresh pasta
- Build a model kit together
- Homemade soda bar
- Watch old home videos
- Deep questions card game
- Foot rubs and a podcast
- Recreate your first date
- Plan a future bucket list
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Making the evening happen
- Delete anything you cannot do tonight in Entries. No yard? Remove stargazing and the fire pit.
- Both of you spin once, or alternate weekly so one person is not always the planner.
- After each date, press Remove from wheel so the next spin lands on something you have not tried yet.
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At-home date night questions
How often should we do a date night at home?
Once a week is the common goal, but every other week is realistic with kids. A short date you actually have beats a perfect one that never happens.
What are cheap at-home dates?
Most of this list costs nothing: indoor picnic, dance in the kitchen, photo album night, stargazing and the reading-aloud idea all use what you own.
Does this list include outings?
No, it stays inside your home. The date ideas wheel mixes in outings, and the first date ideas wheel is for people who are still getting to know each other.
What if one of us hates the result?
Remove it and spin again. A date that one person dreads is not a date, and there are plenty of other options on the list.
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