Sometimes, money is tight, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still treat your significant other to a nice date. Don’t lose the romance of your relationship just because funds are low or because you have kids and can’t actually leave the house for long.
Instead, get creative and make those dates a bit more meaningful. Try some of these inexpensive date ideas and nix those excuses to not date your significant other. Plus, check our unique date list for even more perfect dates you’ll love!
Inexpensive Morning Date Ideas
- Enjoy breakfast in bed and complete a crossword puzzle together.
- Start your day by planning a dream vacation together. Spend time looking at cruises, flights, hotels, and whatever else you two want to do on a vacation together and count it as a date with your partner – which means no interruptions!
- Divide up the newspaper and then discuss the articles you read with your partner over brunch.
- Clean out the attic or basement together – and have fun doing it. Try on those old clothes, or play those old records as you clear out some space.
- Get up early and watch the sunrise.
- Plan a scrapbook date to start your morning off with some creativity and reminisce on your favorite memories.
- Decorate your home for the new season together. Be playful and productive all in one!
- Give each other a massage outside! If there isn’t enough privacy for that, you can stay indoors but do it near an open window so you get fresh air and some sunshine.
- Log on to a free museum website and explore some art pieces before your even get out of bed. This can infuse some culture into your relationship, as well as some romance.
- Try different juice flavors every morning for a week straight.
- Learn how to bake donuts together.
- Sleep in – cuddling together on a lazy weekend morning.
- Dream up a family bucket list – make sure you write down your ideas!
- Take turns writing in a journal together filling in the details of your past day, week, month, or year.
- Give him a haircut or shave his face.
Inexpensive Lunch Date Ideas
- Candlelight lunches are a very romantic mid-day surprise. Get dressed up and have a nice lunch while the kids are at school or taking naps.
- Go for a walk together. It isn’t at the house, but it is still close to home. Walk the dogs and get a little exercise in during the day while you connect with your sweetheart.
- Spend the afternoon lying on a blanket and writing out your love story so that your kids can one day read about how the two of you met.
- Have a picnic on your patio!
- Play a game of cards, chess, or Monopoly.
- Sit out on your front porch and watch birds, animals, or people passing by.
- Get back to being a kid and color in coloring books. This is especially fun if you have kids to help you!
- Spend the day exploring your town and snapping pictures of fun things. Don’t show each other the photos until you get home!
- Don’t let rain stop you from a great date – go play in it! Splash in some mud puddles, too.
- Do a craft together – doesn’t matter what!
- Play a game of “Get to know me better.” Write out (or buy) questions on index cards and see how many your partner can get right.
- Buy a classic book and after you have read them have a “book club” type discussion about them.
- Organize a scavenge hunt and have fun doing it together! It can be done all at home, in the neighborhood, or around the town.
- Buy paint supplies and have a painting date where you paint a picture for one another.
- Make shadow puppets in the backyard with your bodies casting the shadows together.
Inexpensive Date Night at Home
- Cook dinner together and add in a “surprise” ingredient you have to try to incorporate into the meal.
- Themed movie night – watch horror movies and make some “spooky” themed snacks and drinks to go with it. You can do this with any movie genre!
- Go camping in the living room, complete with a tent.
- When was the last time you had a slumber party? Have one with your spouse and stay up late laughing and talking.
- Turn your dining room into a dance floor and dance the night away. Or go outside and do it under the stars.
- Watch classic movies together.
- Watch the sunset together.
- Take a late night, candlelit bubble bath together.
- Watch the night sky and wish on shooting stars.
- Split a mug of hot cocoa complete with a scoop of homemade whip cream and chocolate crumbles on top. Share memories of your childhood days playing in the snow.
- Ask a friend or family member to do a photo shoot at your home with the two of you. Print out and frame the pics together, too!
- Fill the gas tank and get some snacks, then drive around and check out the Fall scenery. If it is Christmastime, check out the decorations and lights on homes.
- Make ice cream Sundaes together.
- Have a karaoke night! Bust out your iPod and see if you really know those lyrics.
- Order take out appetizers from different restaurants and have a “tasting” of different cultural foods.
Find even more fun date ideas in our other post, 50 Unique Date Ideas!
Lindsay VanFleet
Friday 13th of February 2015
Thanks for the ideas! My husband recently lost his job and we need a list like this!
Em Mahr
Tuesday 10th of February 2015
Great list! Once a month, my husband and I will watch an old movie together - some classic, black and white film. We have so much fun and really look forward to this date night.