15 Most Creative & Cheap Stay-at-Home Date Night Ideas

When I wrote the post on the top 20 stay-at-home date night ideas a couple months ago, I had no idea how popular it would become.

To date, that post has been viewed more than 1.5 million times – making it the most popular on our site. Whoa!

This past weekend, I thought I’d challenge myself to find 15 more creative and cheap stay-at-home date night ideas.

I knew it would be tough because the first time around, I spent quite a while looking for the best and most creative on the web.  

Was I able to find any awesome new ones?  Were there some still out there I missed?  Well, I’ll let you decide for yourself.

This new list doesn’t replace our Top 20 on the Web so if you haven’t seen that one, definitely check it out.

But if you’ve seen that one and are looking for even more options, here are 15 more creative and cheap stay-at-home date nights.

Between these two lists, I’m fairly certain we’ve found the Top 35 stay-at-home date nights on the web.  And if we missed any super creative ones, please drop those off in the comments section below. Inquiring minds want to know!

1. Become Cook-Off Champions! Have you ever been to a restaurant proudly displaying a plaque that read, “Winner of the (So and So) Cook-Off” and thought, “I could make this better!” Well, here’s your chance!

   Scour the web for award-winning recipes for chili, cheesecake, carrot cake and anything else you think you and your spouse could make well, and spend the night perfecting that award-winning recipes (think Bobby Flay’s Throwdown).

   And if you’re feeling really good about your dish by the end of the night, enter a local contest (like this) to show off your goods.

2. At Home County Fair. When was the last time you attended the country fair? My favorite part: candy apples! So while you might not cover the ground of your backyard with peanut shells or sit on haystacks, you can do almost everything else (use this at-home county fair date night checklist idea list) – including make homemade caramel apples!

3. ‘Color Me Mine’ at Home (Create a Personalized Mug). My hubby would love this one! Coffee runs through his veins for sure. Purchase inexpensive white mugs, pick a sharpie, draw on it, bake it, and enjoy “the best part of waking up is (fill in brand) in your cup.”

4. Create Your Own National Holiday. Did you know there is a Married to a Scorpio Support Day? Yep, it’s November 18th. What about No Socks Day. Uh huh…May 8th.  Last night, we were at a Pan-Asian restaurant and they were promoting the upcoming National Noodle Day (October 6th for all you noodle lovers).  So why not create your own national holiday, mark it on your calendar and celebrate it each and every year?  It’s not too late to declare tomorrow National Lazy Day?

5. Night of Bubbly. How many fun things can you think of that involve bubbles? Bubble bath, champagne, bubble wrap, homemade soda, super-sized bubbles – everything that comes to mind, get it and have a night filled with bubblelicious fun. Because bubbles make everything better!

6. Good Ole’ Fashioned Fish Fry. Bet you never thought about this one! This is especially fun if you don’t live in the south and have only seen a fish fry on television. In the south, when you tell folks you’re having a fish fry, everyone you know shows up! But there’s nothing better than a fish fry for two.  
   Fried catfish, hushpuppies, everything your heart desires.  You can even go all out and purchase one of those red and white checkered table clothes and a “fish fry apron.”  There’s no limit to your fish fry night of fun and if you’re feeling fully southern, try this ‘smack your mamma good’ peach cobbler to cap off your evening of fun. 

7. Spend a Night in Italy. Love this date night idea from AskMen. A night in Italy might include homemade pizzas, a bottle of Chianti, gelato, and an Italian-themed movie such as Life is Beautiful or The Italian Job. You may even want to take it one step further and make it a night in Italy in the 1950s, in which case you should dress and decorate accordingly and watch Roman Holiday or The Talented Mr. Ripley.

8. Dine Al Fresco. This one can be done in your front yard, backyard, or if you’re feeling adventurous, set up dinner in a center medium of a non-busy street. (Technically, dinner on a street median isn’t stay-at-home but I saw this here and thought that sounded like too much fun not to include!)

9. Fill the Bucket (list, that is). Last week, I met a man in his mid-70s who put on his bucket list 40+ years ago to travel to more than 200 non-US cities in his lifetime. He was at #182 and was hitting the road this summer to travel to another 10 more. Talk about inspiration! Grab a couple notebooks and write down all the dreams you hope to accomplish before you ‘kick the bucket’ and decide together which ones you will tackle first.

10. Strip Scrabble. SO happy my Scrabble-loving mother didn’t discover this while we were kids! The rules are simple: The spouse who cannot score higher than the other must remove an article of clothing. If a spouse ‘challenges’ a word and wins, s/he can put an article of clothing back on; if s/he loses, s/he must remove an article of clothing. Winner may make any one request of the losing spouse (make it good ).

11. Trilogy Movie Marathon. Who knew there were so many trilogies out there?! The Lord of the Rings. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Mission Impossible 1, 2, and 3. The Mighty Ducks (not kidding, there really was three). Get out a huge bowl, pop some of your favorite popcorn, make your own movie theater Icees (oh yeah, these can be made at home!) and enjoy the best date night at the movies ever!

12. Dancing with the Stars. YOU be the judge in this season’s Dancing with the Stars! With free printable score cards and a championship bracket from the fabulous ladies over at The Dating Divas – watching the show just got more exciting!

13. Chocolate Tasting Night. Okay, so this is probably more for you than for your hubby but what can’t a ton of chocolate make better? Purchase tons of unique chocolates, use this awesome tasting mat printable and have a blast. But remember what happened to the kid in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory that ate too much candy… Pace yourself, my friend.

14. Fake Vacation. Virtual vacation, anyone? Short on time, short on money, can’t get away? Love this idea HWC contributor Paula Rollo came up with when she and her hubby were in a similar predicament last year.

15. Catch a Sunrise (or sunset). The date doesn’t have to end just because the night did. Wake up super early, pull the blankets off your bed (or out of a closet) and create a makeshift breakfast picnic while watching the sunrise. Check SunriseSunset.com to find out exactly what time to set your alarm for (or you can just pretend you’re still a teenager and stay up through the night).

I’m pretty sure this is it for the Top Stay-At-Home Date Night Ideas list. But if we missed any that you think are better than our Top 35, make sure to include it in the comments below.

Until tomorrow…make it a great day!

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