What makes a date night more memorable? Sharing a new experience and being able to relax and put everyday cares behind you! Here are 15 fresh ideas to help you and your sweetheart with Valentine plans.
Themed Date
Immerse yourself in a culture or theme for your date, and don’t overlook the fact that dressing the part is half the fun! Some ideas: enjoy Chinese cuisine, visit your local Asian market, and listen to a playlist of traditional Chinese music en route. Or go formal and dress up in a glitzy gown, heels and shimmering gold jewelry before heading out to the nicest steakhouse in town. Afterwards, you can window shop the local jewelry stores and play “what if.”
Take a Class
Learning something new together is a great way to make memories! Check with local art galleries, cooking schools and craft cooperatives for opportunities to learn everything from oil painting to the art of the souffle. Make sure it’s not too technical for less pressure and more fun.
Go Antiquing
Browse local antique shops, thrift stores and flea markets. While you’re there, buy something unusual as a memento of your date. An old vase, an art print or figurine, perhaps? It will make a great conversation piece next time you have company over.
Be Bookish
Settle in to the cozy atmosphere of a book store. Browse to your heart’s content in one of the most relaxing (and best-smelling!) locales in town. Pick out a book to take home and then enjoy some coffee and dessert at a cafe.
Miniature Golf
This is fun to do alone or with other couples. It’s very low pressure and will take you back to your adolescent years. Unless it’s raining or snowing, you can golf almost year-round; just dress accordingly. Grabbing some pizza or hot dogs afterwards is a perfect finish.
Valentine Specials
Check the newspapers and online for Valentine-themed activities in your local area. In my search, I found special menus, a romantic wine tour, a Valentine art exhibit, a “Singing Valentine” performance and a Sweetheart Dance sponsored by the local VFW chapter.
Man Shopping Made Easy!
If you struggle each year to find a romantic gift for your sweetheart, then check out the Manly Man Co. They’ve done some really cool things like creating a bouquet out of beef jerky and tucking it inside a collectible beer glass. You can also send personalized greetings on a meat card. I guarantee your husband will be just as impressed as mine was! Everything from Manly Man Co. is packaged fresh with oxygen absorbers and arrives assembled for instant gift-giving!
Still need some inspiration? Here are a few more quick ideas!
- Make it a “stay-cation” by renting a movie to watch together at home; top it off with carryout or delivery for an even more relaxing experience.
- Take a drive…through a historic part of town or scenic byway. Listen to a romantic audio book (Jane Austen, anyone?) in the car.
- Attend and support a local charity event (they usually include a meal)
- Try an escape room with some other couples
- Visit the weirdest museum you can find in your area
- Take in a new city that you’ve never visited before
- Enjoy a local sports game and root for your home team!
- Test drive a bunch of cars (and try to look rich)
- One dollar date: the challenge is to eat (and buy) only what costs a dollar or less!
Please share your Valentine date night ideas in a comment!
This post is a partnership with Nakturnal.
These are some good ideas for a date with my hubby. Another date night that we like is heading to the gym hot tub.
What a great way to unwind at the end of the day!
I’ve been REALLY wanting to take a cooking class with my husband. I think that would be so fun!!
The one dollar date sounds really funny! I think we would end up with chips and candy with that budget.
There’s always the value menu at a fast food joint. LOL
I love the idea of taking a class together! They just opened a market near our house that offers cooking classes – I’ll ask hubby if he’d be up for that for this V-Day!
I think my husband would love to take a cooking class with me. We always try to cook dinner together for our family, if we’re home together (barring work commitments).
I love these ideas! We haven’t done anything special on Valentine’s Day since we had kids (14+ years ago).
These are great! A themed date and a class would be ideal for us.
I love these ideas! We always pick a night a week or 2 before Valentines’s Day to go out so we don’t have to deal with a crowd.
That’s really smart thinking!
I love all these date ideas!! Thank you so much for sharing!
These are lovely ideas! I will share this with my sisters so they can plan a date with their husbands.
These are great ideas. My husband and I have been kicking around the idea of taking class together but we can’t decide which one we want to do first, lol!
It wasn’t a pre-planned date, but one year my husband and I were in WalMart one evening close to Valentines Day. We stood in the greeting card aisle reading cards and passing any good ones we found to one another! And laughing, because mostly they were the funny ones.
Yes! One of my favorite things to do, and not just at Valentine’s Day!
I used to love going on drives with my husband before we had small children. We would drive down to the shore late at night and look at the stars and the moon over the ocean.
Great ideas! We love cheering on local sports teams.
You have great ideas for date night! I always enjoy cooking when we have those nights. No problem with still wanting to glam up though! 🙂