Dating doesn’t necessarily have to involve going outside and being around people. You can have an intimate date right at home with just the two of you.
The only catch is that you need good ideas for it to work, unless you want to just watch Netflix and eat takeout food. Trust me, that’s not exactly the best date idea.
So I’ve come up with some of the best ideas for a stay at home date night for when you just can’t be arsed to go out in the rain, but you don’t want to be glued to screens all night….
Painting
Ladies, your man will likely make a face when you bring this up, but reassure them that it’s not a matter of skill, you just want to make fun memories while also having quality time together. And guys, if you’re reading this because you’re looking for ideas then please don’t look further. This is the most romantic thing a guy can set up at home on a budget and even if your partner doesn’t like painting all that much they will love the sentiment.
All you need is a few acrylic paints, you can get several small tubes of them in a box in the arts and crafts section of any store. Then you need some brushes (make sure to have ones with tiny tips for details) and at least two canvases if you want to make two different paintings. If you’re lucky you won’t even go over £25.
Also, if you want to make it spicy, then you can take reference pictures of yourselves and turn them into paintings. These pictures can range from slightly erotic to full on sexual, whatever you two are comfortable with.
Cooking together
By this I mean actually cooking together, not the kind when one of you does all the work while the other one sits around and maybe grates some cheese. An at-home date is not the place for this behavior.
Instead, find a recipe together that both of you are interested in and make an effort to actively participate in making it. You can go as simple or as gourmet as you want and add your own twist to the whole thing. In the end you might be left with a recipe that can go in your everyday cooking, something you can enjoy regularly together.
Naked yoga
Yes, naked yoga is a thing – but you don’t need to go out and be in a room full of strangers to experience it. Simply turn on a yoga video which is meant to be done without clothes, or you can also look up yoga poses for couples. This will give both of you a bit of exercise, but it will also bring you together by making you work alongside each other.
Just make sure that you two are already comfortable enough that naked yoga is okay. If it’s early in the relationship, or maybe even throughout the first year, it’s likely that you don’t want to put yourself in front of your partner like that.
Yoga can get you in some weird positions, exposing every little bit of your body and this time around the lights can’t be off. You also have to be okay with the rolls of fat that will be very clearly there once you twist yourself into certain positions, so if you or your partner struggles with self image you might want to take it slow.
Play something cooperative
If you two prefer video games, then there are plenty of options out there for you, although It Takes Two should be very high on the priority list if you want to make a date out of it. If board games seem like a better option for you, then you can find a ton of card games to enjoy. Although The Mind is definitely a good start.
With cooperative games you can work together and solve problems. Not only is this a fun time, but you can also gouge how your partner sees certain problems and how they tend to get to dealing with them. If more conflicts have been arising in your relationship then a game light this can shed a little light as to how you can handle them in the future and how you two might need to communicate.
Build a pillow fort
Yes, it’s childish, but I’m willing to bet that both of you will love it. The building part itself will be a fun experience and you can both explore your architect sides, however just snuggling up in the fort can be fun too.
This will only take up maybe half an hour at best though, so make sure to plan something alongside it.
Spa date
Once again, this is something the ladies love and the men tend to shy away from. Let me tell you, it doesn’t take away any of your masculinity to pamper yourself a little and take care of your skin. You might even start to like it, once you realize how relaxing it can be.
The basics of this date are simple: hair and face masks, skin serums, exfoliators (especially for the feet), massages and maybe a bath. You don’t need to do much, just sit around with random creams on your face and skin while they work their magic. You don’t even need to talk. As long as you are together and having this experience it still counts as a date.
Not to mention, once you get to the massage part of your date, things might get hot and heavy, which is the best way to end a date.
Build your future home
You can do this in the Sims (the 4th one is free on Steam, there’s nothing holding you back) or you can draw it on paper. The idea is that both of you can talk about what’s important for them in a home. It can showcase a person’s priorities, needs and wants, and since you two are doing it together you can see how much your ideas collide or how similar they are.
Try to be as specific as possible. Sentences like “I’d want to have a garden” should only be in the first part of the conversation. What do you want in the garden? Do you want a smart fridge? Maybe a roomba? How big a bathtub do you want? Anything that comes to mind is a great way to keep the conversation going.
We hope you enjoyed these fun ideas for stay at home dates. Got home based date night ideas of your own? Share them in the comments 🙂