Why is it so important to date?
It is so easy to fall in to a routine as a couple, especially as parents. I know for Rob and I, by the time the children have gone to bed of an evening, it really only leaves us a few hours of adult time if that.
We also get very few weekends or evenings free to be able to go out and do something together minus the children, without the cost of a babysitter.
We wouldn’t have it any other way. How I see it is they are small for such a short amount of time and we have many many years ahead of us to spend time alone.
But isn’t it lovely to do something out of the ordinary together. Break up the routine and remember why you fell in love with each other.
I have put together our go to list of date night ideas. I have tried to find some free ones, low cost and slightly more indulgent ones.
Date night ideas
Night time picnic
You could either do this at home if you’re unable to go out but I’d suggest turning the TV off and all other electronics. Or you could go out and find somewhere that you can watch the sunset.
Recreate your first date
This is a perfect way to remind yourself of how wonderful those early days were. We often go back to the place where we had our first date and I always come away feeling more in Love with Rob than ever. In fact he proposed to me there, so it is really special to us.
A games night
This is a great way to switch off for the evening and perfect if the children are in bed. It can even become a double or triple date if you invite some friends over to compete against!
Spa day
How lovely would it be to swan off for a day at an expensive spa for some real luxury time with your partner? In reality you can easily achieve the spa effect at home. Turn those lights down, light the candles and you could do facials for each other, use face masks, massage each other, even a manicure or pedicure if you’re confident in your partners skills!
Of course, if you can manage a spa day… Go for it!!
Beer Garden
You can’t beat a beer garden in the sunshine. A quick pint even with children in tow if you can find somewhere with a play area. Even better if you can tie it in to a nice walk before ending up in the pub. Can’t get out? Why not recreate in your own back garden?
An overnight city break
OK so this might not be so easy to make happen but I do think that at least once a year you should take the opportunity to visit somewhere, maybe a place that the children would not enjoy as much. Book a cheap air Bnb or hotel and just enjoy some much needed adult time.
A music night
If, like me, you’re a big music fan and love going to concerts, it can be a big deal getting out to a concert. So why not share your music choices at home with each other. Rob and I have hugely different musical tastes but we have had a lot of fun sharing some of our big loves and some really nostalgic moments. We’ve also indulged in a good dance together. Very romantic!
A romantic meal
I do the bulk of the cooking in our house so it is lovely when Rob cooks for me. Take it in turns to make something special and get those candles going and enjoy a romantic meal at home. If you want an easy affair, why not head to the supermarket and pick up a meal deal, very indulgent but fairly low cost and minimal effort.
Get to know you quiz
You can pick up some great ideas for this on Pinterest or in the run up to Christmas, they have some great little stocking filler quizzes. We’ve had a lot of fun but also learnt a lot about each other thanks to these.
Binge a series
We are so organised that we have an unwritten schedule for our TV viewing, in that each night we watch one episode of a series we are Watching. Downton on a Sunday, mindhunter on a Monday, Made in Chelsea on a Tuesday etc. This means we don’t often binge watch anything. This makes for a great date night idea.
A coffee date
A spare half an hour could make this a reality. Rob and I have only done it once in our time together but it really felt like the epitome of adulthood!
Read old love notes
A few years ago I made Rob 365 notes to work through each day. I love nothing more than going back through them. If you’ve not got any love notes, maybe it’s time to write some to each other.
Create your Bucket list
We all have things we want to do and see but what about spending an evening creating a list of things that you’d love to do together as a couple? You might be surprised just how many wonderful things you could fill your future together with.
Workout
Seriously, I know it sounds like hard work but it can actually be quite fun. Rob out fits me massively so it really spurred me on to keep up with him and we just laughed so much.
Make Sushi
This is something that maybe you wouldn’t do on a normal evening which makes it all the more special. Sushi is great because you can both get involved and make your own variations and have fun along the way.
Invite another couple for Dinner
Sometimes inviting someone to join you on your date night can make for a lot of fun, We have done this with friends on a few occasions. We’ve fed the children and left them to entertain themselves or watch a film while we relax over dinner.
Go on a childhood tour
This could be done with children I guess, but it would be fun to do it alone. Drive or walk depending on the distance around all your childhood haunts. Old homes, your old schools, where you used to play, significant places to you. You’d be amazed how much conversation will come from this, it’s a great way to get to know the person you love from a time before you.
Simply spend the whole day together
This one can be difficult but for example, I am on half term currently and F is still in school. Rob has booked a day off so we can spend the whole day together. We are off to buy curtains… Super sexy! But we will fit in a coffee date and some lunch. Perfect.
Watch the stars
We live pretty close to a City but we are still very lucky to have a wonderful view of the stars most nights without much light pollution. I love sitting outside watching the stars. Just imagine a glass of wine or hot chocolate and snuggled up under a blanket hoping to see a shooting star. The ultimate in romance.
Go for a walk
This is such a simple way to spend time together, but away from the daily stresses and completely switched off in nature. It’s a great chance to dust off those cobwebs and enjoy a conversation without distraction.
And there you go, my go to date ideas for those evenings we get to be alone and for the ones where we have to get the children in to bed first.
I honestly think that every time you make a conscious decision to have a proper date night, you come away feeling refreshed and more connected to your partner and maybe you’ll fall a little harder in love.
(Maybe that’s just the soppy old romantic in me!)
Do you get the chance to date your partner often? Is it important to you to make that time?
What is your favourite date activity?
This is such a good blog post, and is also useful for couples who are very busy! I like the idea of doing a workout together, its a good way to raise energy and once done is the perfect excuse to be lazy 🙂
Oh this makes me want to organise a date with my husband asap! I love the idea of recreating our first date 🙂
Such great ideas, we don’t go out as a couple nearly often enough, I would love to do an overnight city break!!
Great list. I really like the couple bucket list and even a family bucket list when the kids are a bit older to participate. You are so right grab the time where and when you can get it. What about babysitting friends kids for free and do a trade off? Friend just had first sleep over and they had a date night.
These are great ideas. Similar to you, me and my partner have very different choices in music. He’s also not from the UK so our nostalgic music evenings are often really sweet and very different 🤣. I prefer the music he grew up with to what he listens to now 🙉
Oh that’s so lovely! Does he make bad music choices? Rob does and it is making picking wedding music almost impossible!
He likes a lot of what I think it referred to as ‘grime’ and rap 😂 I like Dancehall / reggae music or something with an Arabian twang. I think our common ground seems to be music with a Latin spirit! I like his traditional Asian/Middle Eastern ‘nostalgic’ choices better than his modern day!
Oh man, Grime is not my bag at all. Rob hates it thankfully but he is full on obsessed with Kanye west and he drives me nuts but does make some great music… much to my annoyance!
This list is great, love it. A reminder that we need time together as adulation and as a couple without kids to maintain that connection as husband and wife. This may sound funny, but every weekend, at least one of the weekend days, we go grab coffee and go grocery shopping without kids. We love it and try not to miss it. Our kids are old enough to stay by themselves for a little while. But, my favorite is a steak dinner with wine 🍷!
These are lovely ideas for couples but also for friends – I’m single and love coffee chats!
Love the ideas here – especially recreating your first date and a childhood tour which I think I’m going to suggest to Mr C!
These are wonderful ideas — I need to add them to our repertoire! My hubby and I like to binge TV shows. We just finished Vikings and the Americans are up next!
I’ve not watched those so I might have to add those to our list x
John and I have only had 1 meal together alone since Erin was born 4 years ago. We don’t have childcare for dates.
I know that feeling. It is so hard but you can do so much from home. I hope you manage to try these out sometime x x
A great idea, a couple needs that regular time to connect, you have some excellent recommendations. Good read thank you.
Thank you so much for reading. Couple time is so important x
Love this list and it’s great that you still like each other enough to want to do these things lol. I find family life can be tough particularly as the kids get older and learn how to pitch to against one another so date nights are so important to keep the connection!!
Exactly, if you don’t keep that connection going, by the time the children leave home, they’ll be nothing left x x
These tips should be used even if you’re not a parent, help keep the fun and romance in any relationship. We often forget to keep putting in the effort when we’ve been in the same relationship a long time
It is so easy to forget how important our relationships are x
We rarely get date nights either as we have three kids no childcare and my husband works shifts. Like you I don’t mind though as kids are only small for a short time and we will have time when they are big, when we do get the odd night off parent duty we always make the most of it though x
It is just about finding balance, Shift work must make that really difficult. So important to make the most of the time you do get x x
I like going out for a meal every week. When you are a busy parent it’s so important to spend time together without kids
Completely agree, children are amazing and life would not be the same without them but I think having the adult connection and time will help protect your future with your partner, especially when the kids pack up and leave home! Nurture it now for sure x x
It’s not just busy parents that have to do this. Plenty of couples have competing work demands and even different working hours. You need to keep the connection going somehow. And making time and being in the moment are very important!
Completely agree, life is so busy but making time for those we love is the most important thing x
These are such lovely ideas I like the watch the stars and go for a walk ones as that is our favourite thing to do together and it’s free!
I am always up for free activities! Glad I am not alone x
What fantastic ideas! You can’t go wrong with a city break I always feel. They are cheap, loads around and it’s like a mini holiday!
Most definitely, I always get a cheap booking on air Bnb, We have found some amazing places x
Lovely ideas 💖 We have been working so much that we forgot to even think about a date night. A few days ago we got an invitation to a party and we really need to go!
I hope you have a lovely and well deserved night off x
These are great ideas for dates! 🙂
My favourite ‘date’ is a quiet walk in the woods away from everyone and everything! 😀
I do like the sound of that one!
So many great ideas here!! I especially love the spa, city get away, and bucket list ideas. They’re so cute!
Thank you! I can’t wait to make our next city break a reality x x
Dates are so important especially when you are parents. Love the ideas here.
Thank you x x
It’s always great to date after marriage and kids. My partner and I, although not married, still date after 10 years of being together. But we don’t get to do it that often.
It is so hard to find the time x x
Absolutely love all of these ideas. The ‘gastro pub’ where we had our first date has since closed and we both got quite sad and sentimental about it!!
One of our favourite things to do used to be listening to music and drinking wine whilst we cook a (usually overambitious) meal. It’s hard to do it so much now with kids though.
Oh that’s such a shame that it’s closed down.
I can’t trust Rob in the kitchen, he can just about grate cheese but you should the mess!!
There are some fab ideas here. an evening picnic, going for a walk and a spa day all sound lovely xx
Thank you x
An evening picnic I have done before on the beach and it’s so lovely! I love the idea of reading old love notes, such a romantic and sentimental idea! Thank you for sharing these great ideas! 🖤xxx
Thank you! Beach evening picnic sounds perfect x
They really are, so pretty and relaxing x
Love picnics….
Some amazing ideas here. Just a simple thing like a coffee date makes such a difference. Love the tips
This is so true! Everybody’s busy but we all have to make time for our partner. There should be no excuse for it. These are good date ideas.
Thank you x x
We rarely find time for a date night. However, we occasionally sneak in a quick Starbucks between the school drop off and start of the working day. A date night suggestion – that would be us if ever we could arrange it – would simply be a drive to the coast and a bag of chips while gazing out to sea!
These are such great ideas, we often love going out for dinner and picnics plus the movies.
You have one of the greatest webpages.|
Thank you x
Agreed!! This is so important to be able to connect/re connect
It really is so important x x
Such awesome tips. I have book marked this for future use.
Thank you, enjoy your future dates x
A fab list. Date nights are rare for us, but we do have nights in like you suggested. Some fun games playing just dance on the switch is hillarious. Sitting in the garden on a nice night sharing a drink together and just talking. Movie nights with treats in bed, I’m sure as the kids get older we may get some time to go out.
I have got to the point now where I just like being at home, but it will be nice to get out properly again x
Auwww…….what a sweet and lovely post. I liked all ideas you listed. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you x