1) Game night - Cards, board games, video games, whatever you both like. Make it competitive and have a prize for the winner. We did winner gets a massage from the other.
2) Find the nights/days with free admission to your local museum. Most museums offer either free admission all the time, or specific times with free admission.
In Los Angeles, California Science Center has free admission daily and is open from 10AM to 5PM (parking $8); LACMA has free admission after 5PM (Parking in the 6th street parking garage is free after 7PM); Getty and Getty Villa are free admission (reservations required for Getty Villa, but just go to their website the day before and reserve a spot)
3) Take 2 digital cameras (if you don't have, borrow from a friend) and go anywhere in the city (i.e. mall, park, farmer's market, downtown street, etc.). Then take turns taking "artsy" photos of each other using different props or scenes from wherever you're at. Then, upload to a computer together, and go through the artsy shots together.
In Los Angeles, some ideas of where to go are Olvera Street in Downtown LA, 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Balboa Park, Melrose, Rodeo Drive, and Watts Towers.
4) Dinner and a movie is the typical date night. So to save money, we rent from Redbox ($1 movie rentals), and buy frozen lasagna from the grocery store (around $5-$7 for Stouffers Lasagna). Add some candlelight and it's a romantic date night at home.
5) Go hiking. Being together in nature without distractions is a great way to connect. It's also a way to show support as you encourage each other to make it up a mountain.
6) Have an indoor picnic. Yeah, outdoor picnics are cool because of the beauty of being in nature, but indoor picnics are great for rainy days or if the bugs from the park bother you. Lay out a blanket, a picnic spread in your living room, and enjoy.
7) Take #6 a step further and go camping at home. Set up a tent with sleeping bags in your home. If you want to add a campfire feeling and don't have a fireplace, set up some candles outside of the tent around your house. It's a more intimate sleeping experience and pretty romantic too.
8) Want to eat out still? Use coupons! Look in your mailers or newspapers for restaurant coupons. You get to try new places around town for a lower price with new coupons. Or if you know which restaurant you want to go to, look on their website for a coupon before you go (sometimes you may need to sign up for their email list a day before, so they can send you a coupon just for signing up).
9) Play a game of basketball or tennis. Competition is fun and can be flirty, if it doesn't get you into a fight.
10) Take a class together. Check your local community adult school for listings of free/low-cost classes, including cooking, martial arts, dancing, arts, etc. My husband and I took Capoeira classes for a while and really bonded over it.
11) Go to your local farmer's market. Free samples of yummy fruit, nuts, bread, and more. Free samples! Must I say more?
12) Take a walk. Walk around the neighborhood, in the mall, down the street, in the rain, anywhere. Walking is an intimate time to just talk and be hand in hand. It's great for an after dinner or after work activity.
13) Drive in movie theatres. There's not too many of these left, but if you can find one near you, it's cheap and fun! Usually, it's around $5 - $10 to watch two movies. Get some drive-thru fast food before you go, and the night becomes dinner and a movie in your car! Check out www.driveinmovie.com to find if there's a drive-in theatre close to you.
14) Cook together. Pick a few new recipes to try together, or you can make sushi or dumplings. It's easy prep work, and fun to just sit down to roll the sushi or wrap the dumplings.
15) Go bowling for cheap. Call your local bowling alley to find which nights have special deals. The alley close to us has unlimited bowling for $10 on some nights, and other alleys offer $2 per game on certain nights.
16) Do a puzzle together. Stay at home, and work on a jigsaw puzzle. It's fun and great for conversation.
17) Go stargazing. This is difficult for those of us who live in big cities, but you can still find some higher locations where you can enjoy some stars. Also, meteor showers occur every once in a while, so try to make this a date night whenever they happen.
18) Watch the sunset or take a walk on the beach (if you live by a beach). This sounds cheesy, but when you do it, it's really nice.
19) Volunteer. This is a great way to share what you care about with each other by working together for a cause. It's great if you can volunteer consistently because many organizations are in need, but there are also one-day volunteer projects that could use your man(woman)power. Try Volunteer Match or your local volunteer center to find opportunities in your area.
20) Go to the arcade. Normally, this would be really expensive because it adds up, but many arcades (like Gameworks, Mulligan's, or your local one) offer special deals on certain nights of the week.
In the Los Angeles area, Gameworks in Long Beach offers $10 of unlimited play on Thursday nights.
If you try one of these dates, comment below and let me know what you think!
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