20 At Home Date Night Ideas | Fun & FREE – Fun Cheap or Free

Date nights are so. dang. important. in a marriage! These at home date night ideas will help you connect with your sweetheart, even if you can’t get out of the house! Oh and p.s. they’re super cheap or even FREE!

We all need a little F.U.N. in our lives and date night is the perfect way to schedule in some weekly entertainment. It helps us relax, focus on each other, and let go of our daily responsibilities for a moment as we reconnect. We love going out on the town for date night, but sometimes it’s nice to stay home.

Going out isn’t always realistic if you have some cute little munchkins in your home. Especially if your budget is tight… Weekly or even monthly babysitters can be pretty darn expensive! There are also times when you just don’t want to go out. Or maybe you have a short amount of time to devote to date night, so you need something quick and easy at home.

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You can always cuddle up on the couch and watch your favorite show after the kids go to bed, but it’s exciting to spice date night up every once in a while! We’ve brainstormed a few of our favorite at home date night ideas to add a little variety to your date night routine.

The best part? You probably have everything you would need for most of these date night ideas! Try ’em out and see just how fun staying home can be. The hardest part will be figuring out which one you want to try first, seriously! Just put those kids to bed and get ready to have the best date night at home.

FREE AT HOME DATE NIGHT IDEAS

These ideas are all so simple to put together… You probably won’t have to go too much out of the way to have fun at home with your sweetie! All you need to do is think out of the box a little bit and you’ll be on your way to having fun and dating your spouse at home in no time!

DATE NIGHT IDEAS IN THE KITCHEN

We’ve all got to eat, right? Why not make that part of the fun for your at home date night? Even if your kids are home, you can still have fun doing this! Have everything ready to go so as soon as they go to bed, you can get to cooking!

• Cook Dinner Together – Grab our printable get-to-know-you questions and spend time together in the kitchen! You get bonus points if you can make a new meal completely out of leftovers! Wanna give it a little extra somethin’ somethin’? Have a picnic or light candles when you eat to make it more romantic!
• Chopped Competition – Have you ever watched the show Chopped? Contestants are given random ingredients they have to include in their meal. You can do the same thing at home! Find food you already have in your pantry, fridge, and freezer and have a competition! See who can create the tastiest meal out of random ingredients chosen by the other person. If your kids are at home and are old enough, include them in it as well! Our family night post has some great ideas for this. It’s such a fun way to have that special bonding time not only with your spouse, but as a whole family!
• Make Your Favorite Dessert – Dessert is the theme of this great at home date night idea! Eat dinner with your family like you normally would. Then when the kids are in bed, whip up your favorite dessert! You could make a cake, brownies, cookies, milkshakes, ice cream sundaes, or even banana bread. Turn it into a competition by seeing who can decorate a cake the best, or who can scoop out the ice cream and make the perfect ice cream sundae the quickest. It doesn’t matter who wins as long as you’re having fun!
• Breakfast in Bed – Love to eat breakfast for dinner? Cook up a delicious breakfast and eat it together in bed! Make it extra special by using a bed tray with a pretty flower for decoration. If you’re lucky enough and the kids are with the grandparents for the weekend, then do this on Saturday morning (after you sleep in, of course)!
• Weenie and Marshmallow Roast – If you have a fireplace or fire pit, then put that baby to use! Grab some hot dogs and marshmallows, along with an old wire hanger. Have fun watching the fire and talking about your day while cooking your hot dogs and marshmallows. Kick it up a notch by turning those marshmallows into s’mores!

Hanging out in your kitchen has never been so fun, or so delicious!

DATE NIGHT GAME NIGHT

For all of our gamers out there, these are for you! These are some of the best game-related at home date night ideas and they can be suited to whatever types of games you like best.

• Video Game Night – For those who love video games, have an epic battle of skill with your favorite video game. Either play teams or play against each other and see who can win. Make it fun and pick out something that the winner gets… This could be anything from a back rub to not having to cook dinner the next night. You choose whatever would be fun for you and your sweetie!
• Typical Game Night – What jumps to mind when you think of game night? If you’re thinking card or board games, then you’re going to love this! Get your favorite snacks and drinks and have a game night at home. Make it an extra fun group date by inviting friends over and hosting game night at your house! Check out our favorite game ideas on Amazon!
• The Bowl Game – If you’re hosting friends over for a group date, then you HAVE to try out the bowl game! It’s basically broken the internet. Seriously, it’s that fun! Hop on over to our bowl game post and see what we’re talking about!

So fun, right?! It really doesn’t take a lot of effort to have fun with your sweetie!

ONLINE DATE NIGHT IDEAS

Let’s get real, we pretty much always have a phone or a computer close by. Why not put those to good use (instead of letting them get in the way) and have fun with some of these at home date night ideas?!

• YouTube Date Night – Spend a night watching some funny YouTube videos together! There’s nothing better than laughing together with your spouse. It really is the best medicine, and it’s a great way to unwind after a stressful or challenging day. If you have a favorite funny show, search for “Best of ________” and a video with the funniest clips from your show will pop up. You can also search for bloopers from your favorite movies. Those are always so funny and it’s a great way to get some inside jokes that will bring you closer together!
• Karaoke Night – If you love to sing, then try your hand at karaoke! Even if you don’t have a karaoke machine, you can still have fun. YouTube has tons of free karaoke videos. Get creative with what you use for a microphone (hairbrush, anyone?) and make it fun!
• Make Your Own Mixtape – Remember the days of making your sweetie a mixtape (or mixed CD, for those 90’s babies)? Take it old school and make them a playlist of all your favorite love songs! Then you can listen to it together and feel the love tonight, just like Elton. 😉
• Movie Night – There are a few fun ideas for this at home date night. Pop some corn and set up a fort in front of the TV for a date night that will take you right back to childhood! You could also grab a blanket and head outside to watch a movie on your tablet. It doesn’t matter how you do it, just make it a little extra special and you both will love it!

We don’t usually suggest to use technology during a date night, but those at home date night ideas are a surefire way to have fun and connect!

NOSTALGIE DATE NIGHT IDEAS: CHILDHOOD GAMES

There are some things that just take you back to your childhood and they’re so fun to do with your spouse! Try some of these at home date night ideas out and see which are your favorites.

• Arts and Crafts Date Night – Who loved to make arts and crafts as a kid?! If you have kids, then chances are you have plenty of arts and crafts supplies in your house. Raid the kids’ paint, crayons, and art supplies and go to town! Have a competition to see who can make the best animal mask out of paper plates. If you love painting, then make it extra funny by painting along with Bob Ross and see who can make the best landscape portrait. Whatever it is, make sure you have fun!
• Nerf Gun War – Grab your kids’ Nerf Guns (or yours…we won’t judge) and have a Nerf Gun fight! Make it more fun with war-painted faces. If you have war paint, use it. Otherwise, raid your makeup to create the perfect battle face!
• Flashlight Hide and Seek – In case you didn’t know, kids LOVE to play hide and seek. Even when they’re hiding in the same five places over and over (and over…). Take this fun game up a notch by playing it in the dark! Make the ENTIRE house dark and play hide and seek only using flash lights. The seeker has to find you by shining their light on you. Get creative! There are so many good places to hide in the dark.

All the fun of a kid + getting to stay up late = one fun date night!

OTHER AT HOME DATE NIGHT IDEAS

These last few ideas are sure to knock your socks off. They’re a little more chill and relaxing, but still a fun way to bond together. And let’s be honest, sometimes after a long day, all you really want is to chill and relax!

• Put a Puzzle Together – Okay, so this one may not spark a lot of excitement when you first read it, but hear us out! Puzzles can be challenging, especially if you get the kind that has a kajillion pieces. (Okay, okay, that’s going a little overboard. But seriously, that’s what it feels like when you open the box!) Make the challenge fun by timing how quickly you can get the puzzle done! Just make sure you have plenty of snacks. 😉
• Would You Rather – Find some fun “would you rather” questions on the internet and ask each other! They can be funny, serious, or a mixture of the two. Answer honestly and you’ll probably learn something about each other you didn’t know!
• Star Gazing – Lay a blanket out in your backyard and enjoy a night under the stars! You can use your phones to name the different constellations. And don’t forget, favorite snacks are a bonus!
• Spa Night – Watch a YouTube video on how to give massages and pamper each other. Grab your favorite lotion, and don’t forget the cucumber water!
• Bubble Bath for Two – So, ummmm, does this one really need an explanation?!? Light a few candles, pour some epson salts or bubble bath in the tub, and you’ve got the perfect setting to relax and enjoy some one-on-one time with your sweetie.

Don’t those all sound so fun?!

Alright, there you have it! Those are our top 20 at home date night ideas that are sure to save you some money, with a bonus of having fun and growing closer together! Let us know what your favorite date night is in the comments!

Looking for more fun ideas?

• Learn how to do you makeup for date night with this great tutorial!
• We’ve got some great advice on how to hold a finance date night and talk about money while still having fun!
• If you’re wanting to work a monthly date night into the budget, then check out the 70% rule! You’ll see how you can afford the things that you want on any budget.

Enjoy your at home date night!