Tag Archives: stay-at-home date night ideas

Top 20 Stay-At-Home Date Night Ideas

We all know how important frequent date nights are for keeping the fire burning with our spouse.

But when money is tight, or a babysitter is nowhere to be found, keeping a regular date night can be a challenge. We’re here to help!

We’ve scoured the web, looking for the best, cheapest, most creative stay-at-home date night ideas and compiled a list of the top 20 we found online.

So grab your hubby, put the kids down for the night, and get your date night on!

Iron Chef Chocolate: Make a meal with chocolate featured in every course. Who says chocolate can’t be served as a main course? You can either make a meal together or divide up the courses between each of you and surprise the other with your sweet & savory creations.
Strip Trivia: Make it a hot night with this sizzling bedroom game. Tease each other with one steamy question at a time to set one another on fire!
Make It a Theme Night! Choose a theme and center everything you do around it. For example, if you choose an Italian theme, you could eat spaghetti and gelato, then watch a movie like The Italian Job or Life is Beautiful. Some other fun theme ideas: Mexican, Asian, Christmas, Kid’s theme, 1950′s (or any decade), etcetera.
Living Room Camp-Out : Get anything you have that makes you feel like your camping out and set it up in your living room (i.e. camping chairs, turn off the lights and use flashlights, blanket…). Make tin foil dinners in your oven for the dinner.
Crepes in Paris (no ticket required): Spend an evening in Paris right in your very own home enjoying create-your-own-crepes and creative spouse caricatures. So fun!
Create a DIY Photoshoot: When’s the last time the two of you were in the same photo? Using your tripod or Apple photo booth, snap pics together in various rooms of your home for memories you’ll never forget.
Kid-Free Slumber Party: Make a cozy pallet for you and your spouse on the living room floor [with] lots of blankets, pillows, snacks, and movies. We call it a ‘slumber party.‘ It’s a little silly, but super fun and makes us enjoy the little things in life.
All Dressed Up & Nowhere to Go: Pull out your nicest formal dress from your last cruise or even from your high school or college prom (if yours still fits.. good for you! I’m not even close to fitting into mine), light dozens of tea candles, and have a romantic, fancy dinner.
Out of Character: Dress up as an actor from a movie and pick the character for each other (think Tom Cruise in Risky Business).
Dream Date by Design: Design your own Dream Date with an easy survey! Have your sweetheart do one also, to create two amazing dates!
Turn Your Bedroom Into a Love Nest : I purchased a bed canopy years ago. Occasionally I’ll pull it out, dust it off and put it up for the night. Then I fill the room with candlelight and other sundry romantic items and pretend that Mr. Beguiles and I are tucked away in a sumptuous hotel room or cottage somewhere.
Karaoke Night - oh yeah! Find songs with lyrics on YouTube and sing your heart out. This is funniest if you can find some heart-wrenching ballads to belt out.
Dance the night away: It has all the intimacy of a club without the downside of slipping in spilled drinks. Rehash the days of the high school dance. Turn down the lights, turn up the music and be sure to dance two feet apart. Just kidding! Getting close is the point, and what better way to get close to your spouse than dancing in your own private gala?
Vacation Planning Date: Turn planning your next vacation into a fabulous and fun date night with our great printables!
Get a Taste of Another Culture: Plan out a delish meal of Paella and sangria, prepare it together and then dig in. Love Indian? Make your own Chicken Tikka Masala.
Write out the story of how you met (and fell in love): Better yet- video tape it! Your kids and future posterity will be so grateful and it is so fun to go back and read (or watch) years down the road. It’s amazing how much you will forget!
Wine Bar at Home: Buy a few different bottles of wine (get 20 great picks under $20), make a plate of meats and cheeses, light some candles and load up your iPod with your favorite tunes.
Something Old, New, Borrowed & Blue! Celebrate your lifelong commitment to your sweetheart with this “Something Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue” themed date! This date is a true celebration of love.
Play the Newlywed Game! See how well you really know one another. Have prizes for every correct answer. You can check out some fun questions here.
It’s a Love Match! Create some sparks with your sweetheart with this free printable that puts a romantic spin on the classic game of Memory!

Didn’t find something on this list that floats your boat? Find an endless amount of creative and cheap stay-at-home date nights at my absolute favorite date night site: The Dating Divas. These fabulous ladies love their hubbies and have made a career out of sharing their awesome date night ideas with us.

Until Monday…make it a great weekend!

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Do You Really Need a Date Night?

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I recently attended a marriage conference. A woman with grown children talked about how important it is to have a date night, and I nodded my head in agreement.

But then she went on. “It needs to be something good. You need to get out of the house, and going to Walmart together doesn’t count.”

When someone mentioned date night at home, she emphatically shook her head.

I could feel the spirit of defeat in the room.

So, I just want to say, You do not need a “date night.” At least, not in the traditional sense.

Having a date night isn’t about an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant. Don’t get me wrong, that’s fun sometimes. But for some of us, it just isn’t possible. We have no money and/or no babysitter.

If you’re in that season of life where a traditional weekly date night just isn’t possible, take heart! It’s not about the date, it’s about the time spent together.

You don’t need a fancy restaurant. You do need quality time together with your spouse. Here are a few ways that my husband and I connect.

Read the Bible Together. Each night after our boys are tucked in bed, my husband and I read a chapter from our Bible and pray together. Spending time in the word is an excellent way to connect with God and each other, and it also gives us a perfect opportunity to talk about what God is doing in our lives, what He is showing us and where He is leading us.

Talk. This is so simple, yet so important. Make time to spend with your husband, just talking–about something other than disciplining the children and paying bills! In my book, Intentional Marriage, I include a list of 101 conversation questions that you can use to have some fun conversations with your spouse.

Watch a favorite TV show or movie together. Pop some popcorn and snuggle up on the couch. If you’re watching a tv show, mute the commercials and spend that time chatting.

Go to bed at the same time. This has always been important to me. Sometimes, the busyness of the day makes it hard to find time to spend together. Going to bed at the same time is an excellent way to be sure that you have time to connect as a couple.

Do chores together. Now, this might seem like the opposite of spending quality time together, and it can be. Chores can be a drudgery. And if I go into it focusing on that, I might just have a bad attitude. But if I go into it purposing that I’m going to enjoy spending time with my husband, no matter what we’re doing, my entire outlook changes.

In addition to these daily things, there are plenty of “dates” you can have with your husband right at home and on a low budget. Check out the date night section right here at Happy Wives Club.

I also have a free printable with over 50 date night idea cards. Most of these ideas are free and many can be done at home!

What is your favorite way to connect with your husband?

The BEST 2 Player Games for Date Night!

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Since my husband and I have young children, the majority of our date nights are spent at home.

We do try to go out on a date once a month, but we still make an effort to spend time together at least once a week, interacting with one another, without distractions (such as TV or internet).

While we try to spend quality time together more than once a week, we are sticklers about getting at least 1 night in a week, regardless of our busy schedules.

Game night is one of our absolute favorites for weekly fun. It’s been a challenge to find games that translate well to 2-player versions.

Several games that I enjoyed growing up, just don’t work with only 2 people. We’ve finally gotten a good collection of really awesome board games that work with 2 players.

Here are a few of our favorites, so you can start working on your own collection of games for date night!

Best 2 Player Games for Date Night

Dominion – This will always be one of my favorite games! It can be played with up to four players, but works really well with just two! It’s a card game, we’ve played it for several years now and still love it! There are many expansions for the game (intrigue, seaside, hinterlands etc.) and they all add so much to the game! We’ve purchased each expansion as it came out and I have trouble choosing a favorite!

Fluxx - This is a game that must be played with a good sense of humor. The rules are constantly changing, along with the goal of the game! It’s another card game that certainly will keep you laughing and keep you on your toes! We recently bought the “martian fluxx” variant and definitely prefer that version to the original.

Glory to Rome - This is one of the more complicated card games, I’m still trying to wrap my head around playing it well, but it’s definitely fun! You each build your own buildings and try to come out on top! There are multiple ways to score points in this game, so it’s a challenge to choose which strategy to go with. It also makes the game fun though, because you never have to play it the same way twice!

Race for the Galaxy - This has always been one of my husband’s favorite games, but I’ll be honest, it took me awhile to get on board. I love the game now, but there’s definitely a steep learning curve to it, and it may take awhile before you really feel like you can play it well.

Carcassone - This was one of the first games we purchased together (about 4 years ago) and we’re still getting lots of enjoyment out of it! Carcassone is a tile-laying game, and it allows you to build cities, roads, farms and cloisters and connect them to one another to gain points. Very fun game, and it’s always neat to see all the scenery that you’ve built together at the end of the game!

Famiglia - Another card game, this time the cards represent different “mobster” families. Each color card allows you to do a different action, and thereby gain better cards into your “family”. It’s simple to learn, but there’s a surprising amount of strategy involved!

Pandemic - This game is unique because, instead of playing against one another, you are on a team against the game! It’s shockingly difficult and a lot of fun to get to work together in a game instead of having to compete. There’s also nothing quite like trying to save the world from multiple viruses! You really feel like you’ve accomplished something awesome together when you win this game!

Tigris & Euphrates - This game is truly one of our favorites. It has a longer play-time than most, but it’s definitely worth the time! You play on one board and build your own little kingdoms by laying tiles of various colors. You are then able to join kingdoms or invade one another, and gain points. It’s a very interesting game, especially since you don’t know how many points the other player has earned until the end of the game!

Suburbia - This is one of our newer games. It’s also a tile laying game, but instead of building farms or roads you create buildings for your city. The strategy is in which tiles you put where, as well as which tiles you choose to build. We only purchased this one a few weeks ago but it’s already a favorite!

Agricola - Remember that popular Farming game on Facebook awhile back? This is a game that is very similar, but with lots more strategy! You are a farmer, and you must build your hut, farm your land, raise cattle and feed your family! It’s a very interesting game and quite the challenge!

Zertz, Yinsh & Dvonn - These games are more abstract than the others I’ve listed. Instead of having a theme or story to them, they are pure strategy (like chess or checkers, but more fun). These games can be bought separately and played as a single game, or can be combined with a couple other games in the series to form a huge tournament. We currently own two in the series and are working our way up to have the whole collection. They are quicker games and deceptively difficult!

I’ve created a list on amazon with all of the games, so you can find them easily, instead of needing to do multiple searches. This is an affiliate link to my 2 player games list on Amazon.

These are our absolute favorite 2 player games! Have you ever heard of any of them?

We’d love to hear about your favorites!!!

Free Date Night Idea: The Today Show Date

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My personal date-night challenge was this: come up with either a cheap or free date night idea. Preferably something free, fun, and that parents with small children could do easily – no baby sitter needed.

I started thinking about what my favorite things to do with my hubby are. Number one on my list is talking and cuddling. Any variation of talking and cuddling will *always* make me happy.

I had the idea for this blog post and then was thrilled to see a conversation on the Happy Wives Club Facebook page where HWC members repeatedly agreed that “talking and cuddling” is where it’s at as far as our favorite bonding activity with our hubbies.

So here it is, super simple and I discovered it totally by accident. We had recorded the Today Show and when I turned it on the big headline was that the government was monitoring our cell phone usage. Remember the day, when that story broke?

Well as it turns out, my husband had very strong feelings about it, as he is in IT, and understands the nuts and bolts of *how* the monitoring would work. I had very strong opinions too and asked him a ton of questions.

I found out things I didn’t know about him, just by asking him a question from the news story on the Today Show.

Then I realized he is my favorite person. I want to know what he thinks about everything. So I asked him to stay and watch the show with me and if we could pause on different segments and discuss. He is used to my zany suggestions and said yes.

We laughed, we debated, and we watched Martha Stewart using Match.com to find a date. We found that both gripping and hilarious at the same time. We talked about how having cameras following you around is probably not conducive to opening up your soul.

I could not get over how much Natalie Morales and Savannah Guthrie look alike. My hubby laughed, highly amused at my observations.

In the end we fast forwarded through some segments (latest and greatest makeup on sale) and had long, thoughtful discussions about others (what is our expectation of privacy in this digital-shareable world?) and overall had a great time.

This is so easy to do, I had to share.

Record the show. Watch together. Discuss. (If you have little kids, you can totally do this once they are asleep at night.)

Disclaimer: I am not associated with the Today Show in any way, other than watching it. I took the pictures on my camera at home and I hope the team at the Today Show thinks this is a really GREAT idea! – Maggie

The Power of Touch

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I am assuming that almost everyone is aware of the power of touch. Coming from my education background I always find these topics of interest. I read an article recently by Psychology Today that grabbed my attention.

In the article Dr. Herbenick talks about her desire to be touched. She mentions benefits for our husbands sexual satisfaction by the power of touch. To my surprise it was not a sexual touch, but instead cuddling, caressing, and being together.

This article made me think back to my husband and my favorite times together.

Here is the date night that walk down memory lane conjured up. It’s a date my husband and I did without any planning involved. At that moment we had no children at home, so for those with kids this may require some planning.

We did this when we were feeling disconnected because of schedules and such. When we do not have quality time together, it generally shows in our communication.

To start off the date night, the first thing we do is to get comfortable. For me I’m usually in a tank and shorts. And ladies… no bra! I have not met one women who is comfortable in those blasted things.

This date can take place on your porch, couch, wherever you are comfortable, yet can be touching… but my favorite place is our bed.

(I’m blushing… geeze)

There are a couple of reasons.

1. CUDDLE TIME! – It is so much easier to cuddle and have skin-on-skin contact.

2. It’s a presence and environment of rest.

We start by talking about things we have miscommunicated over the last day-week-month. We talk things out while holding hands, hugging, and caressing. Even when we discuss things that may have upset us, because we are cuddling and touching our defenses are down. It becomes much easier to get out what we are feeling and solve any conflicts.

We talk about our dreams and plans. I think this is important. We get so busy with life we forget all those dreams and plans we have. Reconnect through those.

We also talk about funny stories, or things we have been through, that we can now laugh about.

There are a few rules to this:

#1. NO electronics… put them away. Your spouse needs to feel you are listening to him.

#2. No Sex – I know that could possibly (or probably) will lead to this… but hold off. Trust me after having a connection and talking things out you will feel incredibly close.

#3. No time limit- If you have children this might be a challenge, or if you are really busy. But set a couple hours aside for just you and your spouse.

I love the benefits of this date! Communication, touch, and quality time with the one you love. Try it and let me know if it helped you connect! I know it has for my hubby and I!

Staying Hopeful, Aunt LaLa