Best date ideas for couples to do at home in lockdown

Relationships


Best date ideas for couples to do at home in lockdown

By Megan Murray

Updated 5 years ago

Reached peak boredom in lockdown? Try our date ideas that you can do at home to help you enjoy quarantine with your partner. 

Lockdown with a partner can be difficult. Although it’s comforting to have someone to share quarantine with, after a month of staying inside with no distractions, you might find even Netflix has nothing to offer you.

Well, it’s time to get the magic back. We know you can’t get dressed up and go out on date night, but you can bring date night to you – at home.

There are loads of ways to have fun and make an evening feel special if you get creative. From playing retro board games to recreating your first date, we’ve come up with a list of ideas to keep you and your partner entertained at home. 

Create a restaurant

Take on the task of creating a whole restaurant experience for your other half. Create a three course menu yourself and get crafty creating actual menus to sit on each placemat on the evening. 

Go to the supermarket and buy the ingredients in secret, locking yourself in the kitchen to keep it a surprise for your partner. 

Both of you could make an effort to dress up, and at the allotted time meet wherever you usually eat dinner and put on as good as experience as you can muster. Pick the music, put some roses in a vase, light some candles and greet them with a drink – be the waiter for the whole evening and make your partner feel special. 


Go to the theatre (virtually)

Going to the theatre would have been high on our date night list before lockdown, but there is still a way you can get your culture on at home.

Loads of UK theatres are currently streaming shows that you can watch from your own living room, either for free or a small price.

Take a look at Hampstead Theatre (Wild by Mark Bartlett), National Theatre (Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare) and Soho Theatre (Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge).


Pub quiz

There are loads of great virtual pub quizzes online at the moment (we’ve even made a list of them for you). Simply tune in and either battle each other, or become a winning team. All you need is a pen, notebook and a drink!

Find out more

Recreate your first date

Dress in the same clothes you wore on your first date and if you went to a restaurant, recreate the first meal you ate. Then sit down together, enjoy and reminisce.


Buy a conversation starter book

We’re not saying you’ve ran out of things to talk about exactly, but books like 808 Conversation Starters for Couples by Robin Westen will have you quizzing each other on topics like morality, politics and your hopes for the future. Let’s just say you’ll get to know each other even better.

Shop 808 Conversation Starters for Couples by Robin Westen at Amazon, £8.99

Buy now

Themed dinner

Eat your way around the world by picking a different country every Friday night to theme your evening meal to. For French night, for example, you could wear something typically French, put on French music, and cook a dish like coq au vin or moules frites. 


Do a dinner crawl

Have you ever booked a different restaurant for your starter, main and dessert? Well, you can still try a dinner crawl in lock down… kind of. Move from the kitchen, to the living room, to the bedroom and you’ve nailed it.


Cheese and wine night

It’s a classic, but what’s more romantic than lighting some candles (that’s a must), getting in a selection of cheese, chutneys and crackers and cracking open a bottle.


Home picnic

If you’re lucky enough to have a garden or balcony, make yourself a cute picnic to enjoy (right) outside. Try covering strawberries in melted chocolate before chilling them in the fridge, mixing up some homemade guacamole with carrot and cucumber sticks and, of course, a crisp sandwich


Couples spa night

Treat yourselves to some self-care together and try to create a spa-like atmosphere. Put on some relaxing music, dim the lights and light some candles. Run a bath (which you could, if you’re so inclined, take together), put on facemasks, give each other pedicures and pop open a bottle of bubbly.


Game night

We’re all guilty of being on our screens a lot, especially in lockdown (the Stylist team can admit our phone time has practically doubled). So, this is a chance to give your eyes a break. Play some good ol’ fashioned board games like Monopoly and Battleship. 

Find out more

Film club

Pull out all the stops for a film night including classic cinema snacks like hotdogs and popcorn. If you want to invest, get yourself a projector and screen and string up some fairy lights, to make it really special. Take it in turns to pick the film and critique them afterwards.


Yoga class

There are lots of great yoga tutorials online that you can watch together for free. Roll out two yoga mats next to each other, light some tea lights and place them on the floor around the room and play some relaxing music before sharing a class together. 


Play bingo

The team behind Bongo’s Bingo has quarantined together so they can still bring you a thrilling game of bingo, two nights a week. Play together every Tuesday and Saturday at 8pm.

Find out more

Have a bake-fest…

…and then lie back, relax and scoff. These six recipes are unbelievably gooey and delicious, we don’t think they’ll be around for long.

Find out more

Images: Getty / Unsplash 

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