73 Cute Date Ideas That Won’t Break the Bank

Whether it’s summer or winter , chances are your town or area has a bunch of free or inexpensive events that you can enjoy with your crush. Check out a food festival, head to a museum, or be one with nature on a hike or bike ride. If you don’t feel like heading out or the temps are too low, there’s a lot you can do together at home, too. Making s’mores while binge-watching that new Netflix show people cannot stop talking about is never a bad idea. If you need a little help planning the perfect date and don’t want to spend a ton of cash doing it, keep scrolling for the best cheap date ideas for teens.

Looking to impress your crush and create a night (or day!) they simply won’t forget? No, you don’t have to go out on a super fancy dinner date or pay $$$ to see their favorite musician in concert. If you’re on a budget and are willing to get a little creative, there are a ton of cute date ideas that won’t break the bank, but are still extra special. These date ideas not only help you get to know your crush better, or up the romance with your S.O., they give you the opportunity to save up for even more memorable dates together in the future.

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Plan an Ice Cream Date

Dessert is never a bad idea. Go out and grab some ice cream together. It’s way cheaper than opting for a dinner date, but just as satisfying.

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Find a DIY YouTube Tutorial to Try

Whether it’s step-by-step instructions for a painting or how to create your own key chain, find a project on YouTube you both enjoy and flex your arts & crafts skills with each other.

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Go to a Food Festival

Food festivals are the best. You can pick up a ton of little bites for relatively cheap prices and they happen year-round. Research if there’s any food events in your area and go ahead and plan your next date.

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Play a Sport

Head outside and see if you can get a two-person game going. Some sports that might work are frisbee, volleyball or one some one-on-one basketball.

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Make S’mores

Spend a cozy night by the fire or over a stove making some chocolatey treats. The ingredient list is pretty simple so don’t worry about being strapped for cash.

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Go Fruit-Picking

Not only is fruit-picking fun, but it also provides the perfect backdrop for cute selfies. Plus, you can use all the fruit you gather as an excuse to meet up again and bake something.

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Go See a Play

You don’t have to make it to broadway to see some live action. Just get some tickets to a local production. They’re typically inexpensive so you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank.

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Karaoke Night

If you’re not afraid to get silly, prepare a list of you and bae’s favorite songs and set up a microphone. You can turn it into a group date by inviting some of your other friends over.

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Play in the Snow

If it’s wintertime, bundle up and go outside for some fun in the snow! Have a snowball fight or go sledding. Who doesn’t love a snow day?

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Go Ice Skating

See if your town has a local ice skating rink open in the winter. You can usually rent skates for pretty cheap and then they let you hop on the ice for free. Plus, if you’re scared of falling, just hold on to bae a little tighter!

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Make a Time Capsule

Freeze your relationship in the moment with a time capsule! It will be super fun to go through pictures and memories when you’re making it, and even more fun when you open it up in the future!

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Go Bowling

It sounds super cheesy, but bowling is a classic date for a reason. It’s not too expensive, you can show off your competitive side, and then you can celebrate a win with some fries and chicken fingers. Yum!

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Go Fishing

Get down and dirty and go fishing at a local river. Plus, you can try to cook your catch for dinner, if you’re really feeling ambitious.

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Have a Two Person Bookclub

Do you both love to read? Read the same book and then get together and discuss it. Grab some snacks and meet at a coffee shop or in the park and make a date out of it! It’s so much more fun reading a book when you can bond with bae at the same time!

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Go Canoeing

Taking a canoe on the water is actually super relaxing. Plus, you’ll be able to enjoy the wilderness while getting to know bae better.

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Go Thrifting

Get some great deals and have some fun trying on vintage clothes with your date! Either check out local thrift stores, or hit up a fair in the neighborhood. Your guaranteed a day of fun.

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Paint Together

Grab some paints and get creative! Even if you’re not artistic, you’ll have so much fun painting together.

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Go to an Animal Shelter

Play with puppies for free! Seriously, have you ever heard of a better date?

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Do a Puzzle

It sounds super cheesy, but puzzles are actually super fun and they’re a great bonding activity! Get to know each other better as you solve the puzzle.

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Go to a Museum

Take in some culture at your local museum. Many museums are pay as you wish, so they just expect a small donation, and others will let students in for free!

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Go to an Arcade

Have some fun at an arcade with bae! Play video games and foosball all night long.

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Have an At-Home Spa Day

Grab some cucumbers and your favorite face mask and relax with your S.O. There’s nothing like some face mask selfies to really solidify a relationship.

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Go to the Carnival

Have some fun at the carnival with your date! Share a funnel cake, or jump on the ferris wheel. There’s nothing more romantic than kissing at the top!

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Go Mini Golfing

Another cheesy one, but you’ll have so much fun with your date playing mini gold on a nice night.

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Do a Photo Scavenger Hunt

Come up with a list of photo subjects, like:

– Snap a pic of something that inspires you
– Take a picture of an animal
– Capture a color you really love
– Take a food photo

Then, set out with your date and try to snap as many pics as possible off the list. At the end of the date, sit down at a cafe and go through your photos.

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Go Indoor Rock Climbing

Do you and your date want to do something physical but the weather is less than ideal? Then move indoors for an awesome rock climbing session.

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Seed Bomb a Special Spot

Do you both love nature? Well, claim your own special piece of soil and seed bomb it. Just grab some seeds from a local plant or hardware store. Then, pick a special spot (maybe it’s along a hike you’ve taken) and plant some seeds there. Then, you can have future dates to check up the seedlings and watch them grow.

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Explore

Pick a nearby town or city and go explore. Window shopping doesn’t cost a cent and you’re bound to stumble across cool local gems.

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Grab Bubble Tea

It’s a yummy twist on your classic coffee date.

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Skateboard

If your bae has a skateboard (or rollerblades, or even a pogo stick) lying around, you won’t be bored. It doesn’t matter if you’ve ever skated before — learning from each other can be half the fun.