31 Date Night Ideas at Home That Feel Like a Date

Staying in is the easiest date there is, and also the easiest to waste. Without a plan, a "date night at home" turns into the same couch, the same show and two people half-watching their phones. Nothing wrong with that night. It's just not a date.

The ideas below all take a little intention: a start time, one thing you wouldn't do on a normal Tuesday, and attention on each other. Most cost almost nothing. Pick one for this week, save the rest, and come back when you're stuck in a rut.

Make it feel like a date

Before the ideas, three small moves that do most of the work, no matter which one you pick:

• Phones go in another room. Not face down on the coffee table. Another room. If you need music, pick a playlist before you start and leave it running.
• Set a start time. Treat it like a reservation. "Date starts at 7:30" means dinner dishes are done, kids are down and nobody's still answering work email.
• Change one thing about the room. Turn off the overhead light and use lamps or candles. Move the table. Eat on the floor. A room that looks different makes the night feel different.

Bonus points for changing out of whatever you wore all day, even if it's into a nicer pair of sweatpants. And decide who's planning. Taking turns works well: one of you owns this week's date, start to finish, and the other just shows up. Knowing someone put thought into the night is half of what makes it feel special.

Cheap and easy at home date ideas

1. Living room picnic. Move the coffee table, spread a blanket on the floor and lay out whatever's in the fridge as if it's a spread: cheese, crackers, fruit, leftover roast chicken. Plating it on one big board makes it feel like an occasion instead of a snack.

2. Blind snack taste test. Each of you buys four snacks or drinks under $10 total, ideally store brand versus name brand of the same thing. Take turns blindfolded and guess which is which. Keep score.

3. Old photo night. Scroll back to the camera roll from the month you met, or ask your parents to send a few childhood photos ahead of time. Each of you picks ten and tells the story behind them.

4. Two-person film festival. Each of you picks a movie the other hasn't seen and pitches it in 60 seconds. Write "tickets" on index cards, make popcorn and do a short review between films. Thumbs up or down, and one line on what the other person got wrong.

5. Stargazing from the yard or balcony. Download a free stargazing app, bring out blankets and something warm to drink, and try to find three constellations. No yard? Do it from a window with the lights off.

Food and drink date nights

6. Recreate your first date meal. Same food, same drinks, as close as you can get at home. Talk about what you each remember from that night and what you were actually thinking.

7. Mystery ingredient cook-off. Each of you picks three ingredients the other has to use. Set a 45-minute timer, cook separately (or in shifts if your kitchen is tiny), then judge each other's dish with very serious scorecards.

8. Homemade pasta or dumplings. Flour, eggs and a rolling pin (or a wine bottle) are all you need for pasta. Dumplings take longer, which is the point: an hour of folding side by side is a good conversation.

9. Blind tasting night. Three or four bottles of wine, beer, cider or even tea, bagged so you can't see labels. Rate each one, guess the price, then reveal. The cheap one winning is half the fun.

10. Build each other's pizza. Buy dough and a pile of toppings. Each of you builds the pizza you think the other would order. Swap and see how close you got.

11. A cuisine you've never tried. Order takeout from a cuisine neither of you has had, eat it at the table with real plates and candles, and rank every dish.

Games and quiz night ideas

12. This-or-that, pass the phone. Our this-or-that questions for couples page has a pass-the-phone game built in. Take turns picking, then guess the other person's answer before they reveal it. Expect at least one argument about pineapple.

13. Would you rather, with stakes. Go through would you rather questions for couples and predict each other's answers. Every wrong guess earns a point, and whoever has more points at the end does the dishes.

14. Your own newlywed game. Grab two notepads and a handful of newlywed game questions. Write your answers separately, count to three and reveal together. It works just as well for couples who've been together ten years as for actual newlyweds.

15. Make a quiz about each other. Each of you makes a quiz about yourself on Couples Quizzes, then sends the link across the couch. The other person guesses, the site scores it, and you compare who knows who better. Loser picks the next date.

16. Couples trivia night. Pull a set of couples quiz questions, make it best of 20, and award a ridiculous trophy (a mug, a stuffed animal, whatever's nearby) that the winner keeps on display until the rematch.

17. Two-player tournament. Pick a board game or card game that works with two, like gin rummy, Jenga or a two-player strategy game. Best of five. Keep a running scoreboard on the fridge for the month.

Creative date ideas at home

18. Paint each other's portraits. Cheap canvases or printer paper, a $10 paint set and a 20-minute timer. No peeking until the end. The worse they are, the better the night.

19. Your relationship playlist. Each of you adds ten songs that mattered at different points in your relationship, in order. Play it start to finish and explain each pick.

20. A big puzzle. A 1,000-piece puzzle, a cleared table and a good playlist. You won't finish in one night, which gives you an easy reason for a second date.

21. Letters for later. Write each other a letter to open in five years: what life looks like right now, what you hope for, a few inside jokes. Seal them and put them somewhere safe.

Cozy date nights

22. Blanket fort movie night. Chairs, sheets, every pillow in the house and string lights if you have them. Watch a movie from inside the fort. It feels silly for about two minutes, then it's great.

23. Read to each other. Pick a short story collection or a novel and alternate chapters. It's slower than a show, and you end up talking about it.

24. At-home spa night. Face masks, a foot soak, a little massage oil and robes or soft clothes. Take turns giving 15-minute shoulder rubs. Put on quiet music and dim the lights.

25. Bake and hot chocolate bar. Bake cookies together, then set out mugs with toppings: marshmallows, whipped cream, cinnamon, a splash of something stronger. Best on a cold or rainy night.

A little fancy

26. Restaurant night at home. Dress up like you're going out. Write a short menu on a card, set the table properly and serve courses. One of you can play waiter for the first course, then switch.

27. Home cocktail class. Pick two classic cocktails each, look up the recipes and make them for each other. Mocktails work just as well. Rate the presentation as much as the taste.

28. Fondue night. Cheese fondue first, chocolate second. You can use a fondue pot or a slow cooker. It's interactive, a little messy and impossible to eat while scrolling.

29. Living room dance lesson. Follow a beginner salsa, swing or ballroom tutorial online. Push the furniture back. You'll be bad at it together, which is more fun than being good at it alone.

For long distance couples over video

30. Cook the same recipe on video. Agree on a recipe, shop separately and cook together on a call with your phones propped up in the kitchen. Eat "together" at the end and compare results.

31. Watch party plus a quiz. Start the same movie at the same moment (count down on the call) and keep the video on. Afterward, swap quizzes: make one about yourself, send the link and see how well the other person really knows you from a distance. Our questions for couples guide also has a long distance section if you want conversation for the rest of the call.

A few more long distance touches that work with any of the above: mail each other a small "date in a box" (snacks, a candle, a card) to open on the call, or take a virtual tour of a city you want to visit together and plan the trip as you go.

Your next night in

You don't need all 31. Pick one, put a start time on it and leave your phones in the other room. If you want the easiest possible place to start tonight, make a quiz about yourself and send it to your partner. It takes a few minutes, it's free, and you'll find out exactly how well they've been paying attention.