Date Night Ideas- Tell me yours!

For once I'm going to make a positive post..I feel like all of mine are negative. Anyways lately with my ocd anxiety and depression diagnosis I feel like things in my relationship have gotten a little damp so I want to spice things up. I read an article about how dating your spouse is important even when married.. we're not married yet but we've been together for 7 years, own a house, it just feels like we are. Lately date night ideas have been blank in my mind.

I was just on Facebook and saw a date night event that one of my friends was interested in so it popped up in my feed. It was like a Dinner, Dessert and diggin in the dirt herb class event. It looks like a nice dinner and learning about herbs and actually doing some planting.. ok so it's 44.95$ a person so that's a little steep and I know my love wouldn't want to spend that kind of money despite it being a date night. I was thinking of recreating that event though. Maybe going to Walmart and picking out some herb packets, some planting pots to paint, a bottle of wine, and then finding a recipe on Pinterest to make. I think she'd appreciate the effort...she cooks for me ALL OF THE TIME. Often I just am exhausted or in a funk...on my new medication I feel like I've been reborn so I want to get the ball rolling back in the right direction..she's been so supportive and I want to show her how much I love her and appreciate her.

My main thing for this post is... WHAT ARE SOME DATE NIGHT IDEAS AT HOME OR GOING OUTSIDE YOUR HOUSE that are inexpensive. I'm hoping to do a once a week date night..that's my goal even if it's just grabbing a coffee together. But I'd love to hear some of your ideas. Yay to a positive post and hopefully hearing some really great date night ideas.

Museums. Our art museum is free for residents of local counties. The other museum isn’t free but we have membership which ends being inexpensive in the long run

We go to local symphony orchestra concerts fairly often, it could be pricey but we have deals pop up that are $25 or even $10 a piece. Just watch for their emails/updates

Festivals/art fairs. When it gets warmer. Many are free, or cheap.

Movies. Many theaters are inexpensive, we do prefer to watch it at home but either way is fine

Painting pottery (our favorite), or glass or other crafty things/classes. Those aren’t cheap so maybe not weekly

Walk in a park. That’s free unless going to state/recreation area but it isn’t too expensive if buy annual pass

Go to gym together, then pool and hot tub. Provided that you have gym membership

Walk by the lake/river/ocean depends where you live.

Walking tours of city areas, not that expensive

Explore new or unfamiliar restaurants. If expense is an issue, many ethnic authentic restaurants are very inexpensive

When it gets warmer, picnic in the park

Miniature golf.

We actually find a great deal of free or relatively cheap entertainment. Museums were mentioned above. I'd like to add galleries, festivals, and community events to the list. Many are free of charge or by donation. I say check your local free weekly newspaper as this is the most likely place to learn about coming up events in your locale. Another fabulous source of what's happening in your community is the Eventbrite website. It is gaining popularity and your city might be included.

We make dinner together when we can.
We play cards and board games.
We avoid using phones and other devices when in one another's presence (if it is absolutely important enough the person will phone you).

If you DO have some room in your budget for entertainment, perhaps try an art class together. Paint nights are good fun.

Discover your the community you live in and think outside of your usual 'box'. Pretend you are a tourist.

Oh yeah you are right, Eventbrite where we find walking tours (if you live in the area where that’s the thing to do). I do it when travel too and many are free. You just have to tip

Oh in a summer we have outdoors concerts in parks, they are free. But it’s only in a summer

We are great fans of festivals. It seems there is something nearly every week or two from May onward. Our favourite is the Fringe Festival which we see the shows for free by putting in minimal volunteer time. Same thing with other festivals and events. Volunteering together can even be fun and most organisations reciprocate by the offer of free passes in return. The local Rib Fest is another example. Yes, the food can be expensive but donating 4hrs for a plate of ribs in return is very good - and the entertainment is always free.

I could go on and on. The point is there is always something to do. You don't even have to look very hard. In fact, I just saw a sporting goods store is having a free paddling day this coming weekend. Nice; great to do on your own even better as a couple.

I think what all women would love is an at-home spa night with their spouse; I've heard so many say so and I'd definitely want my partner to do it with me. It's literally the cheapest date and it can be so romantic. First, you need drinks. Champagne, margaritas, whatever you're vibing. Then you need the classic "green stuff"--there's so many face masks out there in all different colors and smells it can be a little confusing. I prefer mud masks. Look for Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque. This is legit "the green stuff" and it's my all-time favorite because it's such a classic...it's green, it's a mud mask, it smells and feels amazing, and it brings back so many memories. This is what it looks like:

Queen Helene Masque [Mint Julep] 6oz - SamsBeauty

So while you have the face masque you might want to listen to music, swap stories or quiz each other with questions from an "If..." book (https://www.amazon.com/Big-Book-If-e.../dp/1400060486), play a fast-paced game like Uno, or paint your nails. I assume you're a guy, but put your pride aside for this one...you already got the masque on, and yes it does wash off and yes you may have face mask stuck in your hair for a day or so, so why not paint your nails? You can always remove it afterwards before work if you're afraid of getting teased. It's up to you the color, but I've always found black nail polish on a guy to be super sexy and the manliest nail polish color.

So once the nail polish is dry and the masque is washed off bake/order/make your own pizza, bake some brownies and/or cookies, play some board games, then settle in with a feel-good movie or comedy. By then you'd be ready for sexy-time. That's my idea of a great cheap date. Yes, this is what women normally do during girl's nights, but at the same time we also wish our man could join in on the fun.

Past dates I've done? Number one date is driving a scenic route on a windy road and conversing. I've also done bars/karaoke/nightclubs, romantic candlelit dinners, Chuck E. Cheese's (yes, we had a great time but couldn't fit in the tubes), Scandia, fairgrounds/festivals/farmer's markets, movies, game nights, and lots of at-home activities.

There used to be a place inside on of those smallish airports called the General's Quarters. Once I blindfolded my husband when we were dating and took him there. We were able to eat while watching the planes take off and land. We also went hiking up to a place in NJ called High Point and its wear he asked me to marry him before he "officially" proposed.

Use Groupon for (basically) 2 for 1 restaurant deals.

Most movie theatres have a "cheap ticket Tuesday."

Watch the music videos for today's top hits. I'm not a fan of pop music, but it's entertaining to make fun of really trashy music. And, occasionally, there will be a good song in there.

Build a fort (my personal fav).

Bake together.

As others have mentioned, Eventbrite is a great resource. Facebook will show you local events, too.

Improv and other theatre shows. I went to a hole-in-the-wall theatre a few weeks ago for a fun, interactive show in Chicago. Ten bucks! And you're supporting local artists.

Drunk painting. Haven't tried this but maybe I'll do it as a solo activity...

Wonderful idea and thread, Dust to Dust! All the wonderful people on this thread have already gave you some wise, wonderful suggestions so I won't add much more, especially since nothing original comes to mind at the moment Perhaps you could try to eat at some nice place, like a Chinese or Japanese restaurant! I've heard that there's good fodd there and that it should be pretty cheap to eat there. Perhaps you could try that! Please do consider it if you can and want! I'm so sorry, I wish I've had more advice to give to you! I completely agree with what all the others have already wisely said better than I ever could! You've been given lots of great, wonderful advice on this thread! I'd suggest to follow it if you can! Let us know how your dates go! I'm sure your wife will REALLY appreciate your efforts and the fact that you're putting all of this effort into making something nice for her! I'm SURE it will be worth it! Please keep us updated as much as you can and let us know how it goes! Please don't feel guilty about making "negative" threads, you have every right to vent and write here just as much as everyone else and it doens't bother us AT ALL! You know we won't judge you! I promise you that! Like I've said, I really appreciate your idea and this thread and I'm sure everyone will appreciate as well! I'm sure it will help many other people as well! I hope it will encourage and inspire many other people to do something similar to what you've suggested! Thank you so much for making this thread! It's truly amazing and wonderful! Thank you so much everyone for taking part in it and sharing so many wonderful advice and suggestions! You're amazing, kind, strong, wonderful people! Remember that we're here for you if you need it! Feel free to PM me anytime! Let me know if I can do something to help you! Wish you good luck! Let us know how it goes! Sending many hugs to you and your wife, Dust to Dust, and to everyone else, especially all of you wonderful people here on CP! You're all awesome, strong warriors! YOU ALL ROCK!

Mm, that reminds that Banh Mi is dirt cheap and so delicious. Find it at Vietnamese restaurants and cafes.

And I love Thai food. I could eat it every day. Phad See Ew, especially. It's lunchtime here if you can't tell...

Happy Hours. We don’t drink but appetizers or some meals are half off. I went with girlfriends yesterday while my husband worked and paid $6 for the entire meal!

Comedy Club. Could be fun, not that pricey

We are both off today and my husband suggested going to kickboxing class tonight. Fun

Independent amateur theaters, those could be hit or miss, but they aren’t pricey. I went to one few weeks ago, it wasn’t too bad

We also used to get water ice and people watch. We had a lot of laughs that way.

Scratch kickboxing. Lol we went tonight. It kicked our butts. It’s a good calorie burn for sure and we are totally dead now lol So it might qualify for great work out, date night not so much... lol

I love the at home spa idea! I think that is genius! I'm actually a female. My partner is a female as well and she's more into masculine things but I do find that she occasionally slips on a face mask and enjoys it lol! My main motive for this post was to get some general ideas..dates I could DIY. We live in a rural upstate ny area so our town does not have many things to do, places to really go to and so forth. There are things every now and then like the county fair or wine or beer festivals in the summer but we're limited!

Do you like parks? I've never been to the East Coast but I'm a big national parks fan.

Love the face mask idea, too. Actually, I should treat myself to those when I'm alone. Self-care, y'all...

I'm single now so I'm extra-open to any date night ideas! Haha.

OOooh, another good one would be farmers markets! Support local and sustainable foods and try new things! Our local farmers market just opened up for the season. I miss the Seattle area where they had them all year round, though.

Try to find some restaurants with weekly deals! There's happy hours, deals, etc...

In the summer time, I love picnics. They're really sweet and romantic.

Walks are super nice in the summer time and around Christmas! My gf and I like to look at all the houses and pick our favorites.

Going out for just drinks instead of dinner and drinks. This can cut the bill a lot, depending on how much you drink haha.

My city is quite a major player in the craft beer industry. We have been working on adding new beers to our repertoire and are visiting the various brew pubs and breweries in an effort to eventually tasting each and every drink made in our community. So we are out about 2-3 times a month. It is a great excuse to get out the two of us.

We actually don't have a great deal of money to spend so this is actually our only treat. We don't go to movies for instance. So, we are constantly on the look-out for free things to do. A great source of discovering these things are the weekly free papers and magazines - which most communities have. They are usually full of notices and advertisements for what is happening in and around the city. A good example is a free demo day for paddling being put on by the shops that sell kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards. Sounds pretty cool. We have discovered free concerts to attend. There are places and events that are admission by donation - like the big art gallery and museum we have. Sometimes we just pack a lunch and go for a picnic to the free entry conservatory. There are walking trails throughout the city too. What about the farmers' market(s)? You need food anyway so why not make it an outing? Date night need not break your bank.

I love all of these ideas! I've always wanted to go on a picnic date but it rarely happens.

Also, I've often avoided going out for drinks as a date night idea... but now that you mention it, it wouldn't be expensive for me because I'm a lightweight: I felt tipsy after one beer last week! lol

Hrm, well to give you ideas for you I'd really need to know more about you, so these are just things I would super duper enjoy:
1. Make dinner together, then curl up together and watch a movie or binge on a TV series you both like.
2. Game night, whether board or video. Can incorporate dinner making into this too.
3. Check local event schedules out. Not sure what your city has, but my city is poppin' with events (especially in the summer) despite not being a huge city, just touristy, and they're usually not expensive or are free.
4. Go look at antiques or museums or maybe some touristy things in a nearby city (or even in your current city if you never have).
5. Bonfire or some alternative you can manage under the stars, make s'mores or other camping/bonfire foods. Hike or explore wilderness if that's your thing.

I'm boring and simple, I know. But to me these would be awesome dates preferred over expensive "dinner and movie" types. Sorry if someone else said them already, I only skimmed a few posts before posting myself.