After more than two years of variations of stay-at-home orders, coming up with the perfect at-home date ideas can seem very difficult. I mean, how do you make your home feel new and exciting? What can you do to build that special mood in an everyday locale?
A great at-home date idea is all about perspective. Introducing a few special themes and some fun new items can turn a drab night at home into the ultimate date night. The truth is, your home is one of the most intimate places you’ll ever be! With a new attitude and a few fun ideas, you and your sweetie can be whisked away on a romantic adventure without ever walking out your front door.
1) Movie Night
This one’s a classic at-home date idea for a reason. You’d be surprised how special you’ll feel just getting out of your normal Netflix and chill routine by making a real event out of it. You can host a romantic movie night in a pillow fort, over a nice dinner, or even in the backseat of your car drive-in style.
Upgrading to a new streaming service like Showtime or AMC+ gives you a whole new selection of movies you’ve probably had on your to-watch list for a while. An at-home projector can turn your living room or backyard into a full theatrical experience. And a popcorn machine will ensure that you capture the smell and taste of a theater, too.
2) Board Game Night
For a livelier experience, a healthy bit of competition might be in order. Game night is a great way to build and exercise some healthy tension. Regardless of who wins the game, everyone is a winner with the right game.
Grab some of your favorite drinks and snacks, put a couple of comfy chairs around your best game table, and get ready to heckle the hell out of each other. There are tons of games that help couples cut up or learn more about each other.
Fog of Love is a relationship role playing game! Your hand will have cards that describe your character, occupation, and different qualities. Then, you and your roleplaying partner will attempt to date by facing a series of scenarios in which you try to earn satisfaction points.
In Viticulture, you’ve inherited a small vineyard in Tuscany. Your goal is to turn this small plot of land into a winemaker’s paradise by coordinating workers and visitors to keep the grapes flourishing throughout the year. Obviously, this game pairs well with wine, but it’s also fun and competitive.
If you’re more of a Morticia & Gomez Addams kind of couple, consider a Gloom game night. It’s a story-building game in which you are responsible for the fate of a family of misanthropes. Your goal is to visit as much misery and misfortune on your own family before they die. Meanwhile, you’ll plague your opponent’s characters with blessings… and then kill them.
Codenames: Duet is a doubles’ version of the popular card game. It’s a great game for partners who want to play on the same team. You and your partner are on a top-secret mission to contact your agents and avoid assassins. You each know which agents your partner can contact, so you’ll have to provide them with one-word clues. But hurry– the clock’s ticking.
3) Build a Pillow Fort
Not to brag, but I am a pillow fort aficionado. Constructing the perfect pillow fort has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. Few things make my home feel special more than gathering all the blankets, pillows, sheets, and cushions to create the perfect, magical fort experience.
This is a great at-home date idea if you’re stuck at home with kids or pets who don’t like to be left out. But it’s also very romantic just for couples, too.
And the best part– you already have most of the tools you need to do it! Chairs, blankets, cushions, and pillows will build the walls with a little help from wooden dowels, clothespins, tape, rope, and whatever else you can scrounge up! Don’t forget your chalkboard sign with the name of your sheet-castle written on it.
Take it from a pro: battery-operated string lights are perfect for the best fort. You can use them in your living room or in the backyard, and they usually come with a remote, which makes it easy to turn the lights out without interrupting a moment.
4) Virtual Museum Tour & Wine
Just because you’re stuck at home doesn’t mean you can’t be fancy! After the world went into lockdown, museums across the world pivoted to include digital tours. Since then, these online tours have allowed home-bound culture buffs to experience exhibits from the comfort of their own homes.
Whether it’s art, history, science, or niche, there’s some kind of museum tour that you and your loved ones can enjoy together. Google’s Arts & Culture pages feature hundreds of possibilities, from The Munch Museum in Norway to the Natural Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
Of course, you can’t be fully fancy unless you find a great wine to sip during your tour. If you’re touring an art museum in Italy, why not use Wine.com to order a fine bottle of Sangiovese? The site allows you to search by region, meaning you can have wines-across-the-world in your own living room.
5) Sex Toys & Couples Porn
When is the last time you and your significant other just really went to town on each other? Skip the pretense and go for the goodies with a selection of cinema-quality porn and a new bundle of sex toys!
It’s always nice to have an occasion for some new lingerie or a new dual-purpose sex toy. Just because you see each other every day doesn’t mean you can’t do something spicy and special. If you know you’re really going to let loose, consider trying a sexy wedge pillow for comfort and variety. And don’t forget to stock up on lube for the occasion.
6) Learn Something Together
The act of learning a new skill is a very vulnerable and rewarding experience. Why not share it with the one you love? Make any room in your home a classroom with Masterclass.
Foodie couples looking for the perfect at-home date can take a cooking class together from Thomas Keller or Massimo Bottura. If you’re looking for a good buzz, learn wine-tasting and cocktail craft. Or you can finally plan that home garden you’ve both dreamed of by taking a gardening class.
Of course, you can learn simple fun things, too! Decide which of you will be the magician’s assistant with Penn & Tellers magic class. Whatever you and your person want to learn, Masterclass has an expert who can teach you how.
7) A Fancy Tasting Party
There are so many amazing foods and drinks for you to share with your loved ones. Themed tasting is an at-home date idea for couples who love a good sensory experience. Obsessed with cheese? Chocolate? Craft beer? Get a variety of different kinds and give them all a taste!
Of course, if sticking with one schtick sounds boring, try a subscription box from Vices? This luxury box delivers upscale goodies to your door every month. Each box has a theme, like the “Fireside: S’mores & Spice” box. Each box has the makings for a memorable night spent savoring food, drink, and each other’s company.
8) At-home spa day
Pampering yourself and your partner is never a bad way to spend an at-home date. Slice up some cucumber for your eyes and water, chill a bottle of champagne, and cut up some fresh fruit, it’s time to relax and unwind with your bae.
Start with an exfoliating body brush to gently remove dead skin. Then, take a luxurious shower together with a scented shower steamer.
Next, cover up that pesky overflow-drain cover so you can make your bath just a little bit extra. Add in some goat-milk bubble bath for a soak that will leave you relaxed and silky-smooth. When you’re out, wrap your hair in an oh-so-soft terrycloth head towel.
Next, set up an oil diffuser and sound machine to fill the room with relaxing scents and sounds. Pamper your face with some of the best Korean sheet masks. Soothe your peepers with a pair of under-eye patches. And don’t forget to take care of your feet with these intensely reparative feet masks.
Finish off your spa day experience by rubbing each other down with massage oil. Connecting over intentional touch and self-care is an excellent way to spend quality time with your partner, particularly for a couple with a hectic lifestyle.
9) Paint-at-home kit
A paint-by-numbers kit is a great way to try something new together. With a guide, even the least artistically inclined person can enjoy the thrill of creating with color. Plus, we all spend so much time avoiding making a mess– painting together can unleash that sense of fun and silliness that grown-ups sometimes lose sight of.
Plus, a painting is a gift that keeps on giving! Hang your masterpiece on the wall so you’ll remember that time your at-home date idea turned into a paint fight between lovers.
10) Karaoke Night
Pick your jams and apologize to your neighbors, because nothing stops you from taking yourselves too seriously like an in-home duet performance of “A Whole New World”. Do you have to be good? No. Do you have to give it your all? Absolutely.
Build bonds of trust with your partner by allowing them to hear you butcher your favorite songs. With a Bluetooth karaoke machine and wireless mic, you’ll also have an on-the-go party favor for future parties. Enjoy the at-home date that pays it forward for future fun.