These 20 cheap date night ideas will help you have loads of fun without blowing your budget! They’re all $20 or less and many of the date ideas are totally free. Yay!
For years, we struggle to have dates, especially once we had children. Between our busy schedules, tight budget and lack of babysitters, it was just incredibly hard to do with any sort of consistency. Often it would go months between dates and we were doing good if we got 3 or 4 in each year. And it was a big source of frustration for both of us!
When we moved a year ago, we finally decided to get serious about making date nights more of a regular thing! So we put our heads together and came up with a plan. And I’m happy to say that for the last 9 months or so, we’ve been enjoying a date night at least once a month. It’s been SO good and so fun!
One thing that really helped us was to swap babysitting with two other couples. Once a month, we babysit for the other couple and once a month they babysit for us. This means that we don’t have to pay for sitters or go looking for someone reliable and trustworthy. And that alone has been huge in making consistent date nights a success!
The one thing that we were still struggling with though, was coming up with fun date ideas that didn’t cost a lot of money. We’d get our date scheduled but then would often drop the ball on actually planning what we were going to do until the last minute. And then our minds would go blank and we’d struggle to think of anything to do other than go out to eat!
Well, I finally got smart! We had a date scheduled for this week and I decided to sit down and come up with big list of cheap date ideas that would be easy for us to do. That way whenever we were planning a date, all we would need to do would be to look at our list and take our pick!
And of course, I had to share them with you! Because I know that we aren’t alone in struggling to come up with fun date ideas that don’t break that bank. The great thing about these date night ideas is that they should all be able to be done for $20 or less…and many of them are totally free! And you can’t beat fun date nights for free, right? At any rate, I hope that they help you enjoy some quality date nights together too!
Cheap Date Night Ideas
1. Go on a Picnic
This is such a simple, but fun way to enjoy just hanging out together! Sometimes, to change things up we’ll grab a Domino’s pizza or some subs instead of packing all of our food. Then I just need to throw together a salad or some fruits|veggies and we’ve got a quick, delicious meal! Since I mostly cook all of our meals from scratch, this is a real treat for us!
2. Go Hiking
Even if you’re like us, and aren’t super outdoorsy, hiking or walking trails can be a fun way to spend time together! Several of my best date memories actually involve times when we did this.
3. Hang out at a Coffee Shop
Grab a coffee (or smoothie or chai!) and hang out talking with the one you love. This is especially perfect for those dates when you feel like you have lots of catching up to do or have specific things that you want to discuss together!
4. Free Museum Night
Many museums and attractions have free days|nights when they allow anyone to visit for free. Check to see when the tourist spots in your area have their free days and go and enjoy some local culture!
5. Go Through Old Photos
Taking a walk down memory lane is always fun! Pull out old pictures from before you were together and share their stories with each other. Or reminisce of your early years together as you look at photos capturing life then.
6. Head to the Bookstore
Most Barnes and Noble stores have spots where you can sit and read and they typically also have a Starbucks inside too. We love to browse for books, grab a dessert or drink to share and then sit and enjoy our books together. We’re both book lovers, so this is a favorite, easy-to-do date of ours.
7. Put Together a Puzzle
Turn on your favorite music, grab a puzzle and see how fast you can work together to complete your it! If you need some inexpensive puzzles, this cat one or this beach one look fun to do!
10. Explore your City | Go on a Walk
Take a stroll around your neighborhood. Head to a new area of your city and have fun exploring! The only rule, of course, is that you have to hold hands! 😉 Want to make it more interesting? Try doing an alphabet nature scavenger hunt while you’re at it.
11. Go Out for Dessert
I love going out to eat, but it can get pricey so quickly! So sometimes, we’ll just go out for dessert instead. It keeps thing inexpensive, but lets us still have the fun of eating out.
12. Get in the Kitchen
Have fun making a favorite recipe, or peruse Pinterest together and choose a new one to try!
13. Take a Drive
Hop in the car and go explore somewhere new. Or just enjoy the scenery in a local rural area. If you don’t feel like talking much, pop in your favorite CD or listen to a book on tape together.
14. Game Night
Pull out some good old fashioned board games like Scrabble or Monopoly and play away! Just don’t let competitiveness get the best of you! If you’re like us, that might end up being a bit of a challenge! 🙂
15. Movie Night at Home
Want to keep things low key? Go for the classic movie night at home date and make it special with a fun snack that you wouldn’t normally splurge on!
16. Geocaching
Love treasure hunts? Geocaching together is the perfect thing! Don’t know what I’m talking about? Learn how geocaching works here.
17. Let the Deals Rule
Watch for restaurant, event and activity deals on Groupon and Living Social and plan your date around that! I also recommend signing up for restaurant email lists|savings clubs and you’ll occasionally get good coupons like buy one, get one free offers as well. And if it’s close to your birthday, a number of restaurants like Red Robin and Ruby Tuesday offer a free meal around your birthday, which is another inexpensive way to eat out and have a date.
18. Go for a bike ride
Grab your bikes and go for a ride! Don’t own bikes? Lots of cities offer cheap and easy bike rentals anymore, making it a fun way to explore your city. And of course, you can always borrow from friends too!
19. Bowling | Mini Golf ($20)
It’s usually fairly easy to find bowling and mini golf for pretty cheap. Go play and see who has the most skills!
20. Read Together
Choose a book together, then snuggle up and take turns reading it out loud to each other. For extra fun, make some Warm Vanilla Custard or a homemade caramel frappe or peppermint mocha frappuccino to sip on while you relax.
Looking for more date night ideas? Check out this list of 52 completely free date ideas!
What are your favorite cheap date ideas? I’d love if you’d share them in the comments!
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