Making Valentine's Day Special at Home

Valentine’s Day usually entails an expensive dinner at a fancy restaurant — but dropping a hundred dollars (or more) really isn’t necessary to enjoy a romantic meal with your significant other. You may want to consider spending date night at home, which could be cheaper and more intimate than a crowded restaurant. Read on below so you can plan the perfect evening — without even having to leave the comfort of your own house.  

5 Date Night Activities 

Dinner Cooking Competition 

Who is the better chef, you or your S.O.? If it’s unclear, you may need to compete against each other in a cooking contest. One of you will prepare an appetizer and the other will cook the main dish, but you will bake the dessert together. Whoever makes the best dish wins! Splitting up the responsibilities will give you a chance to be creative and make the task of cooking a three-course meal much less daunting.  

Spa Night 

There’s nothing better than changing into a comfortable pair of pajamas, turning on a great movie, and pampering yourself. Give each other back massages, do a foot soak, and put on a clay face mask. Don’t forget to lather on some lotion and put on some cozy socks!  

Portrait Painting 

Even if you’re both terrible artists, there’s something entertaining about painting bad portraits of each other. Grab a couple canvases, paint brushes, and tubes of paint, then channel your inner Vincent Van Gogh. If they turn out well enough, you can display them in your home which will serve as a sweet reminder of your romantic stay-at-home date.  

Board Game Night 

When was the last time you played a board game like Monopoly, Settlers of Catan, or Scrabble? A quiet night at home is the perfect time to dust off those games and play a couple friendly (or wildly competitive) rounds. Want to make things a little more interesting? The loser has to buy the winner dinner, so you can already have another date planned in the future. 

Smoothies and Couples Yoga 

Trying to stay on track with your New Year’s health resolutions? Find a beginner’s yoga class on YouTube, change into your leggings, and get stretching! Yoga is a relaxing way to end the day, so you will both feel refreshed and will fall asleep easier. After your workout, make a few smoothies with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in your fridge. Now is the perfect time to try out a couple combinations and decided what you like best!  

What Do We Eat?  

Cooking together can be more fun than eating out because you can pick the ingredients, music, and you don't even have to leave a tip. Whether you choose to make French toast with berries or an Italian-style dinner, the meal will be even more special because you worked on it together. Bonus points if you wear matching aprons and dance to your favorite music together!  

Brunch:  

Waffles/French Toast/ Crepes with Fresh Fruit, Whipped Cream, and Nutella 

Veggie Omelets 

Blueberry Muffins with a Side of Eggs and Sausage 

Breakfast Tacos 

Yogurt and Fresh Fruit Parfaits 

Dinner:  

Personal Pizzas 

Alfredo Pasta and Breadsticks 

Soup, Bread, and Salad 

Seafood (Salmon or Shrimp) and Roasted Vegetables 

Takeout from your Favorite Restaurant 

 Desserts:  

Ice Cream Sundae Bar 

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries 

Angel’s Food Cake with Strawberries and Whipped Cream 

Brownies and Ice Cream 

Chocolate Lava Cake 

What Should I Get My S.O.?  

Even with a homemade dinner and fun activity planned, you may still need help deciding on a gift. Luckily, we wrote a couple gift guides that can spark some inspiration, so you’ll find a present that is the perfect combination between “thoughtful” and “much-needed.”  

Gifts for Her:  

Barefoot Dreams Blanket 

Herbivore Skincare Set  

Daily Harvest Subscription 

Find more gift ideas here. 

Gifts for Him:  

AirPods

Meat Box Subscription

Kindle

Find more gift ideas here. 

Virtual Date Night  

In a long-distance relationship? Staying home alone because of the pandemic? While you may not have a concert or movie theater date planned, you can still have an enjoyable evening at home. Call your S.O. or a family member and have a Zoom dinner date over some takeout. Or, have a contest over the phone and see who can bake a dessert the fastest! To end the evening, get the browser extension Teleparty, where you can watch the same, synced up Netflix or Hulu movie together. You can hear each other laugh at the funny jokes and cry during the sad moments — it's just like they are there in real life!