Before we had a child, an at home date night was not a regular thing for my husband and me. If we wanted to go on a date we went out somewhere.
We would go out to eat or to the bar whenever we wanted, see a movie, go to the mall.
We didn’t have to plan little things or day trips ahead of time. And we certainly didn’t have to plan date nights, especially at-home date nights; they just happened!
But now that we have a child, we are learning that we have to plan our date nights…specifically our at home date nights!
It’s so important to take some time and connect.
Do something special, just you and your partner, and take some time to enjoy each other.
So that’s what my husband and I are trying to be more mindful of now.
When family comes to visit, we will steal away for an hour and grab some food somewhere (or maybe coffee!).
Anything that gets us out of the house together. We’ve even gone grocery shopping before, just us.
That might sound lame but, if you have kids, you know that wandering the grocery store without them is truly a luxury!
And date night has become more of a regular thing for us now too, specifically at-home date nights.
Because babysitters can be expensive and we don’t have family or friends nearby to watch our little one, we have become gurus in the at home date night category.
So, I’m going to help you become an at home date night guru too with these simple and easy at home date night ideas for parents, plus a free activity you can download to do with your partner.
At Home Date Night Ideas for Parents #1 – Have a Wine Tasting Night
I love a good glass of wine. I prefer white and my husband (if he drinks wine) prefers red.
So, we typically have different pallets when it comes to wine and that always makes for some interesting tasting experiences.
We have collected a few bottles of wine over the years, mainly from our pre-toddler days when we were dating or engaged, and saved bottles of our favorites for special occasions.
We have a few wines from our wedding still and it’s fun to open them on an anniversary or holiday and reminisce.
But, generally, whenever we’ve done a wine tasting night at home, we just head to our local grocery store to pick up a few bottles.
I think sticking to four different wines is a good number. Enough to give you variety, but nothing too overwhelming.
And, it’s fun if you pick two and your partner picks out the other two.
You can even set some guidelines if you want to make it more interesting or unique. Like all bottles have to be under $15 or you can only choose wines from South America. Or, only reds/whites.
Anything you want to make it more interesting or different.
And, that’s what makes an at home wine tasting a great date night idea for parents.
You can do the same date over and over again, and (as long as you get different wines every time) you are going to have a different experience every time.
If wine isn’t your thing you can always do this same approach with beer. A lot of grocery stores even have the make-your-own 6-pack option.
So you pick three beers and your partner picks three beers!
Or, if you don’t drink alcohol at all (because you have children that wake you up at 5:00 AM), consider doing something like a coffee or tea tasting.
Even soda could be used!
Turn it into a game: blindfold each other and take turns guessing what soda you are drinking.
I promise you will have so much fun even with soda. Maybe stump your partner by mixing two sodas together and see what they come up with!
Try a Shaker & Spoon Subscription
Along the same lines as a wine or beer tasting, you can also try a subscription to Shaker & Spoon.
One of my best friends gifted my husband and me a subscription a few years ago for an at-home date night. And, we had so much fun.
The way a box from Shaker & Spoon works is you get a recipe card and all the ingredients (aside from the alcohol) to make 3 different kinds of drinks.
Then you follow the steps and make your own fancy, unique cocktails right from the comfort of your own home!
Shaker & Spoon even has playlists on Spotify that you can listen to that are based on different boxes.
You can purchase a 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, or 1-year subscription and you can cancel at any time.
Of all the at-home date night ideas for parents on this list, Shaker & Spoon is probably the most expensive because you also have to buy the alcohol on top of the cocktail box.
But, you do get a lot of ingredients and you can make up to 12 drinks in each box (4 of each kind). So, it can last you a few different date nights pretty easily. My husband and I certainly didn’t drink all 12 cocktails in one evening!
Another great at home date night idea for parents is a couple’s conversation starter workbook.
After you’ve been with someone for a while, thinking of things you’ve never talked about before can be a challenge.
But it’s important to keep things exciting and talk about new topics or things you’ve never discussed.
That’s where conversation starter books for couples come in!
My husband and I have been using them, not specifically for date nights, but just as a way to do something together that is just for us.
I guess it just turns into a date night whenever we do it, lol, we just aren’t always deliberate about making it an actual date.
But, you could be intentional with something like this and turn it into an at home date night-specific occasion.
#Staymarried: A Couples Devotional is a bit more serious and obviously for those that are religious, specifically Christians. But, if faith is important to you this is such a great, guided way to explore that with your partner.
A Year of Us: A Couple’s Journal is much more lighthearted and something that anyone can use (religion aside). We are really enjoying this one because it is easy and sparks conversation between us.
I won’t say we do it every day (we are parents of a toddler…), but it is truly set up that way and you can answer one question a day for a whole year!
Personally, I think answering a few questions at the same time is better. Doing that would also allow you to turn it into an actual at-home date night too, which is why I’ve put it on this list.
Have some cheese and crackers, light some candles, open a bottle of wine. Whatever you and your partner like to eat or drink.
Then just sit and discuss the various topics or questions provided. You will be surprised by how much fun you have reconnecting!
Idea #4 – Download this Date Night Questionnaire Freebie!
If buying a book and committing to a year’s worth of questions or discussion topics isn’t your thing, then this freebie I have for you is perfect!
It’s essentially a mini-date night questionnaire designed for both you and your partner to pause, reflect, and then come together and discuss yourselves and your relationship.
The questions are for anyone at any stage, whether you’ve been married for 10+ years or you’ve only been dating for a few months.
It’s a great resource that you can use to have a special, simple, and fun at-home date night for free!
Sign up below to receive your free printable copy via email!
Have a Simple At Home Date with a Game Night
An oldie, but a goodie. You really can’t go wrong with a classic at home date night game night.
My husband and I are both pretty competitive when it comes to games and neither of us likes to lose.
We also don’t like to put a lot of thought into our board games anymore, lol.
It’s probably tied to having a toddler, but the thought of complex or long games like Risk or Monopoly just don’t really suit us right now.
But, we have found a love for Yahtzee.
Yahtzee is the perfect at home date night game for parents because we can sit at the table, on the couch, or on our back patio and just play a very basic, simple game and enjoy each other’s company.
A few weeks ago, my husband went to Walmart while I handled bedtime with our daughter.
He just told me he was going to the store to get some things that we needed and he’d be back soon.
I came downstairs as he was walking in the door and he had the makings of a date night with him!
Some food to snack on, some drinks. Nothing fancy.
But he said, let’s sit outside on the patio, turn on our patio lights, listen to music, and play Yahtzee.
And, that’s exactly what we did.
It was such a sweet and spontaneous at home date night that we both thoroughly enjoyed.
And, honestly that’s one of the best tips when it comes to at home date night ideas for parents: go with the flow!
Don’t feel like you have to pick a day of the week or it’s something you have to do.
Just letting an at home date night happen naturally is sometimes the best.
My husband and I typically play three rounds of Yahtzee and it takes us around an hour or so depending on how much we are talking or laughing in between turns.
Yahtzee is the perfect type of game for a simple date night in my opinion.
But, if you are looking for something more interesting and challenging I absolutely love these games below:
Of the three, Ticket to Ride is probably the simplest, but all are equally fun strategy-based games. Ticket to Ride and Catan are board games and Dominion is a card deck-building game.
If you’ve never played any of these games I highly encourage you to check one out for your next at-home date night ideas for parents!
Purchase an At Home Date Night Box
There are so many date night boxes nowadays. But, I typically turn to Amazon when looking for one.
Although you can certainly look into the various subscription boxes out there, I just like being able to buy a box whenever and have it show up a few days later thanks to Amazon Prime.
That’s where Crated with Love comes in.
Crated with Love offers a variety of different date night boxes that you can order right from Amazon (they do have a monthly subscription option through their direct website too!).
The first box my husband and I did was called Stranded in Love – Jungle Survival-Themed Date Night Box. If I’m being perfectly honest it was totally cheesy.
That said, I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard with my husband.
We both committed to the cheesiness of the box and that’s what made it fun. And, in general, that’s kinda what you have to do with these date night boxes.
They aren’t always going to be exactly what your taste or style is because they are geared towards a wide audience.
But, as long as you and your partner are open-minded you will have a great time even if it’s not quite what you were expecting.
After we completed that first box, I purchased another box from Crated with Love (Our Ancient Odyssey) a few months ago while it was on sale.
We haven’t had a chance to complete that box yet, but I’m excited about it as it has even better reviews than the other variation I purchased before.
Crated with Love often has coupons or deals running through Amazon, so be sure to keep an eye out for those as well.
There are so many creative at home date night ideas for parents to try.
From board games to wine or coffee tastings, these easy ideas work for any couple at any stage in their relationship.
And, if you are just a movie or TV date night lover, check out this list of must-watch shows and movies on Netflix.
Just remember, no matter what you decide to do for a date night, the important thing is to have one.
Even if it’s just a simple at home date night where you sit outside on the patio and play some Yahtzee.
23 thoughts on “6 Simple and Fun At Home Date Night Ideas for Parents”
Yay this is exactly what I needed. Since having 2 kids its almost impossible to have time for both of us to really have a date outside. Will definitely try this out, sounds so much fun. Thanks for sharing!
So glad you found it helpful Katrina! I agree, at-home date nights are where it’s at when you have kids! Thanks for commenting!
Been looking for some new date night ideas! I gotta try that date night box.
A date night box is such a fun and easy thing to do with your partner! I hope you enjoy it!
Great ideas, I will try some of them, thank you for such a great info!
So glad you found this useful Veronica! Hope you enjoy many at-home date nights in the future!
These are all really good ideas! It’s so important to make time for each other. I’ll be trying some of your ideas!
Great ideas! We love playing games, generally pretty basic ones as we’re both exhausted by the end of the day and that’s all I can stay awake for. Lol I love all of these ideas though, I’ll have to pin this to refer back to often!
LOL. We are the same way. That’s why Yahtzee has become a favorite for my husband and me. I hope you have many enjoyable date nights in the future with these ideas!
These are great ideas!
Thank you! 🙂
I love these ideas. They are simple, yet makes date night possible at home! My husband and I usually have movie nights at home. We will have to try out the shaker and spoon subscription – it sounds lovely!
Yes, it was really unique and fun! I’d highly recommend it for a date night, especially one where you watch a movie too! Sounds like a perfect evening!
This list is awesomeness! Thanks for the freebie too 😉
I plan dates monthly for my husband and I. The majority are at home, because like you said… Kids… Haha I’ll be adding these to the calendar for sure!
Hi Courtney! I’m so glad you found this useful and I hope you enjoy the freebie! Happy at home date night!
These are all great ideas! I can’t wait to try some of them.
Thanks so much for commenting!
I love these simple and fun at-home date night ideas for couples! This is the same story for my husband and me! We used to go out all the time before having our daughter. She was born, and we stayed home; then the pandemic happened when she turned 18 months old, and we continued to stay home. We don’t want to deal with the hassle of a babysitter, so we’ve just been watching shows together at night. I love all of your ideas for games! We have to try them!
Hi Dana! Thanks so much for commenting! We had our daughter during the pandemic so I totally get it! The games I’ve listed are so fun! My husband and I watch a lot of TV shows too! We are excited that a new season of Stranger Things is finally out because we’ve been waiting for that one! 🙂
Lots of good ideas! Definitely trying the at home wine tasting idea haha
So glad you liked them! I love a good at-home wine tasting! Have fun!
Awesome ideas! It’s important to set aside time with your partner – as hard and busy life can be!
Hi Michelle! Yes, it is so important to set some time aside. Even just an hour or two every few weeks can be so great for quality time!