101 cheap date night ideas

Remember date night before kids? It used to be so easy, and now it all seems like a distant memory. The good news is that you can always bring date nights back into your routine, whether it’s Valentine’s Day or just a regular Friday night.

The key is to establish a particular day for your date night — whether it’s on a weekly or monthly basis — book a sitter, and stick to it. Your dates don’t have to be expensive either. Need proof? We put together 101 unique and cheap date nights and activities to get you started.

You can even plan some of these affordable date night ideas at home while your kids are sleeping or during the day while they’re in school or child care.

Cheap date night ideas that are active and sporty

1. Ride bicycles.
2. Stroll through a college campus.
3. Head to the basketball court and play a game of HORSE or 1-on-1.
4. Bowl a game or two.
5. Cheer on the high school sports team.
6. Find some discount coupons or online offers to try out free martial arts or exercise classes.
7. Get in a round or two of mini golf.
8. Hit some balls at a local driving range or batting cage.
9. Have an alphabet scavenger hunt. Challenge yourselves to kiss in front of an item that starts with each letter of the alphabet.
10. Play racquetball or tennis.
11. Swim a few laps together at your local community pool.
12. Take a dance class. Chances are good that there are a few low-cost lesson options in your area.
13. Throw the Frisbee around in a nearby park.
14. Try out a yoga class at a local studio. Sometimes, yoga studios give discounted rates for classes taught by instructors-in-training.

Cheap date ideas that are arts and culture-related

15. See a movie at a drive-in theater.
16. Browse the stacks at the bookstore or library.
17. Check out free or low-cost museums. Small-town museums often have low admission rates while larger city institutions often have free or pay-what-you-wish hours. Some museums even have “free nights” that just ask for donations!
18. Enroll in a class together. Usually, you can find reasonably priced programs through your community college, parks and recreation department or community center.
19. Find a poetry reading in your area, whether it’s at a coffee shop or community center. Maybe consider reading one of your own compositions, too!
20. Go to a local record or music store and browse the shelves for new genres or musicians you haven’t heard before. If they allow you to listen to some of the music, have at it!
21. Listen to a concert by your community band or orchestra.
22. Sing in a karaoke bar.
23. Take in a play or musical performance at your local high school or college.
24. Test your smarts at a trivia night. 
25. Visit a historic site in your area. Admission is usually inexpensive.

Inexpensive food and drink date night ideas

26. Browse the farmer’s market — and don’t be shy about trying the samples they put out.
27. Conduct a taste test with goodies from a few local bakeries.
28. Get a scoop of ice cream at a nearby scoop shop.
29. Set up an indoor picnic with your favorite takeout or meal delivery.  
30. Go out for breakfast or brunch at a restaurant you’ve been meaning to try.
31. Grab coffee at your favorite coffee shop.
32. Grill a pizza in your backyard.
33. Head out to happy hour for a drink, and maybe even make a meal of appetizers while you’re at it. 
34. Bake each other’s favorite types of baked goods.
35. Look up lunch-hour specials at restaurants in your area and pick a spot to have a lunch date.
36. Pick up your favorite pizza and eat it in the park.
37. Roast marshmallows around a backyard fire pit.
38. Take advantage of buy-one-get-one-free meal coupons for local restaurants. Keep an eye out for deals like these on social media and online deals sites.
39. Make a fancy popcorn recipe and eat it while you watch a movie.
40. Participate in wine or beer tastings at a local winery or brewery.

Cheap date ideas for home improvement and shopping

41. Browse a home-improvement store and brainstorm some renovations you’d like to do in the next year or two.
42. Drop by any local estate sales in your area.
43. Scope out new home furnishing possibilities at different furniture and home goods stores.
44. Hit up a used book sale.
45. Stop by the mall for some window shopping. Treat yourselves to a soft pretzel or a giant cookie as you stroll through.
46. Stroll through your local flea market, and keep your eyes peeled for great deals!
47. Walk through your downtown area and browse the boutiques.
48. Get some inspiration for your home improvement projects by checking out houses in upscale parts of town.
49. Browse a secondhand store for new-to-you treasures.
50. Take a peek inside homes in your community during real estate open houses.
51. Walk through a garden center or arboretum to get ideas for your own landscaping or garden.

Cheap date ideas that are nature-related

52. Attend any “free days/nights” that are offered by your local zoo or aquarium.
53. Buy or make cheap kites and go fly them in the park.
54. Camp at a state park, which often has lower fees than a privately owned facility.
55. Check out the wildlife at a park or wildlife refuge in your area.
56. Collect shells at the beach.
57. Feed ducks at the pond.
58. Go fishing, whether it’s at a lake or in the ocean.
59. Go for a scenic drive.
60. Hike the trails at a nature preserve.
61. Participate in a local astronomy club’s stargazing event.
62. Pick your own apples or berries at a nearby orchard or berry farm.
63. Play with the puppies and kittens at your local animal shelter.
64. Rent a canoe and paddle around for the day.
65. Take a walk in the local park or botanical gardens. 
66. Try your hand at geocaching.
67. Watch the sunset. This can be done from the beach, the top of a parking garage or your own front porch.

Cheap stay-at-home date night ideas

68. Challenge each other to a video game competition.
69. Cook a special dinner together after the kids go to bed. Dress up and maybe even bring out the china.
70. Make chocolate fondue — dip strawberries, marshmallows and pretzels.
71. Do crosswords or other types of brain puzzles.
72. Draw pictures of each other. Stick figures allowed!
73. Eat takeout by candlelight.
74. Ever play the game Name 5? Take turns calling out categories and seeing if the person can name five things that fit (five Tom Hanks movies, five pizzas toppings, etc.)
75. Go camping in your own backyard.
76. Have your own little spa night, complete with bubble bath, foot massages and whatever else your ideal spa treatment would include.
77. Hunker down for an epic movie marathon.
78. Listen to a new podcast together.
79. Look through travel brochures and plan your next vacation.
80. Invite friends over for a game night.
81. Play a favorite card or board game, or maybe try a new one!
82. Put together a time capsule that you can bury in your backyard.
83. Read aloud to each other from a book or magazine.
84. Binge-watch as many episodes of a new TV show as you can in one night.
85. Snuggle in a backyard hammock.
86. Take a trip down memory lane together by looking through your old yearbooks.
87. Try your hand at Google Roulette and pick an activity from the results. 
88. Visit a hobby store to pick out supplies for a project you can work on together, like a vacation scrapbook or a model car.

Free date night ideas

89. Roller skate around your neighborhood or in a local park.
90. Watch your wedding video.
91. Go for a run together.
92. Get in touch with your inner kids and play on a playground. They’re not just for kids!
93. Watch planes take off and land at the airport.
94. Do some people-watching at a local outdoor venue.
95. Volunteer for a good cause together.
96. Attend a free concert in the park.
97. Sit in on a presentation or lecture at your local library.
98. Stroll through a local art fair or show.
99. Go fantasy car shopping. Browse the lots and dream about which ones you’d like to own. Maybe even take one for a test drive!
100. Wander through an antique store and come up with backstories for some of the more interesting treasures you find.
101. Research birds in your area and go bird-watching.

Don’t let a lack of funds hamper your dating creativity! No matter your budget, you and your partner can enjoy fun, romantic, relationship-building date nights together.