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Stuck in the same old rut of dinner and a movie? Can’t find a sitter? Want to just stay in and get cozy? Try one of these date night at-home ideas! Don’t miss our bonus recipe for Strawberry Bruschetta below!
DATE NIGHT AT HOME
Going OUT for date night is tough to beat, but when you can’t go out for whatever reason (can’t find a babysitter for the kids, money is tight, bad weather, or you simply just don’t want to leave the house) a date night at home is always a fun alternative. Some of my more memorable date nights have been at-home dates. Here we are sharing some fun date night ideas to get the inspiration flowing. Who says a little romance can’t happen right at home?
Here is a compilation of date night at-home ideas with dinner included!
Homemade Pizza Night
Homemade pizza is one of my all-time favorite things. It is cheap, easy and, in my opinion, tastes way better than anything you can get delivered. Turn on some Italian music then get in the kitchen TOGETHER to make some gourmet pizzas. When your pizzas come out of the oven, turn out the lights, turn on the fire and enjoy your Italian cuisine picnic-style in the comfort of your own living room!
Making your own dough is EASY! Click HERE for the recipe. Keep with traditional toppings or switch it up and make fancy pizzas like Thai Peanut Chicken Pizza or BBQ Cilantro Chicken Pizza!
Iron Chef Chocolate Edition
I came up with this date night idea when I was watching Iron Chef (I am addicted to that show). Make a meal where CHOCOLATE is featured in every course. Who says chocolate can’t be served as a main course? My very favorite way to serve ravioli has chocolate sprinkled over the top (click HERE for the recipe)! You can either make a meal together or divide up the courses between each of you and surprise the other with your sweet & savory creations. I am 99% sure that I, personally, will be doing this for Valentines Day this year! For dessert you could try German Chocolate Pie, Homemade Almond Joys, Chocolate Malt Cake, or Chocolate Truffle Balls.
Dine in the Dark
How easy would this be to create this date night experience at home? Close the blinds, cover the windows, and enjoy your dinner in COMPLETE darkness! Charcuterie boards are great for this because there are so many different textures and flavors that can all be combined in a million different ways. Plus it can be eaten with your fingers!
You can also try this with a main course such as Cranberry Chicken, Parmesan Potato Halves or Bowtie and Asparagus Pasta for a side dish and for dessert, Our Version of Nothing Bundt Cakes’ Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake!
Chinese Take Out Stay In
Grab some Chinese Take-out boxes and chopsticks (they are both way cheap on Amazon). Prepare a few Chinese dishes at home (click HERE for a whole bunch of Chinese recipes including Fried Rice, Lo Mein, General Tso’s Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Egg Rolls, and Potstickers).
Watch your favorite RomCom and eat purely out of your to-go boxes. For an added surprise, make custom love notes and slip them in your fortune cookies! (You can do this by wrapping a lightly damp paper towel around your fortune cookie and zapping it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds. It will become pliable for a few seconds so pull out the fortune and stick your own in. Press the cookie back together and allow to harden.) It will be a date night to remember!
Hotel Room Service
Surprise your spouse with a hotel experience in the comfort of your own home. Make up your bed with crisp, white sheets and put a couple mints on the pillows. Have a dinner menu laying on the pillows for “room service”. Have dinner on serving trays in your room and eat on the bed while watching a movie. Maybe your hotel even has a spa. Did someone say massage? Don’t forget the lotion and scented candles.
An example of a good “Room Service” meal would be Potato and Broccoli Cheese Soup with Steak Salad, White Castle Sliders with No Bake Cheesecake for dessert. Serve with your favorite beverages!
Backyard or Indoor Picnic
Pack a picnic basket with some sandwiches or wraps (like Turkey Pesto Croissant Sandwiches, Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce, or Italian Sanwiches with Olive Tapenade), snacks, and sodas. Lay a blanket down in the living room or family room and open up your basket. Take your date night a step further and make indoor s’mores over your stovetop or with tea candles.
If the weather is good, move the picnic to the backyard. Throw down a big blanket and some pillows, build a fort for two, or put up a tent for more privacy. Take out some board games or card games for a fun game night. If you have a projector or laptop, a backyard movie marathon would also be fun.
Formal Night
For this date night idea, pull out your nicest formal dress from your last cruise or even from your high school or college prom, light dozens of tea candles, and have a romantic, candlelight dinner. I highly recommend any of the courses from the picture above. You can also try Filet Mignon with Melted Blue Cheese Sauce, Loaded Mashed Potatoes, and Crescent Rolls with Key Lime Pie for dessert! Or you could try our Pecan Crusted Salmon, Raspberry Spinach Salad, Homemade Rolls and Coconut Cream Cake for dessert.
Themed Movie Night
My personal favorite home date idea is a theme night. Watch YouTube videos or a documentary to learn about a foreign country, maybe one you would like to travel to together someday. You can also pick a movie filmed in a foreign country. Then, make a dinner to go along with it. Don’t forget dessert, and maybe some popcorn, for later. Here are a few different themes and movie ideas to get you started:
French Theme
For a French theme watch French Kiss, Chocolate, Sabrina, Beauty, and the Beast, or even Ratatouille and make French Onion Soup, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Ratatoullie, or even Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast! Take your date night to the next level dress up for the occasion. France is known for its fashion so get dressed up for the full experience!
Italian Theme
Buonanotte! Who doesn’t love a good Italian night? Make your favorite Italian dishes and put on some music to match the mood. Go authentic by getting certified, imported D.O.P. ingredients from Italy (like Parmigiano Reggiano or San Marzano Tomatoes). Enjoy your dinner while watching films such as Romeo and Juliet, The Italian Job, or Angels and Demons. If you want to try something new and go on a culinary journey, watch “Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy”.
Mexican Theme
For a Mexican-themed night, the possibilities are endless. You can make your dinner fancy or street-style. Enjoy your dinner with movies such as The Three Amigos (a personal favorite), Zorro, Nacho Libre, or Disney’s Coco.
Hawaiian Theme
Hawaiian nights are fun to switch things up on those dark, long winter nights. I love closing my eyes and pretending I am on an island far away from the cold. Bring the warm island vibes to you by making some of these flavorful island-inspired dishes. For your luau for two, you can snuggle up and watch Blue Hawaii, 50 First Dates, Blue Crush, or Finding ‘Ohana.
Disney Theme
I don’t know about you, but I love learning about the Disney parks and imagineering. Disney+ has so many great documentaries on all their parks. From behind-the-scenes shows about how rides are created to documentaries on the people behind the magic, there’s something for everyone. Try out some of our favorite Disney park copycats while escaping to the parks from the comfort of your living room.
Fondue Night
There is something about dipping food in cheese and chocolate that is just.. sexy. I love Our Version of the Melting Pot’s Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue and of course some good ol Milk Chocolate Fondue (try dipping with our Peanut Butter Bon Bons). Light some candles, turn on some good music, and enjoy your romantic date night!
20 Questions
Come up with 20 questions for each of you to answer. Each of you answer the questions for yourself, fold up the paper and share your answers over a romantic dinner. Another fun activity is for you both to create a quiz and see how much you really know about each other. Try some Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce for dinner with some Strawberry Bruschetta (below), Homemade Crescent Rolls, Pesto Potatoes and Better than (You Know What) Cake with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.
How to Make Strawberry Bruschetta
We hope you’ve found some home date night ideas that will work for you. We are including a recipe here for our delicious Strawberry Bruschetta. It looks fancy and the flavor is incredible, plus it’s really easy to make.
Strawberry Bruschetta
Video
Ingredients
For the Balsamic Glaze
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
For the Bruschetta
- 1 pound fresh strawberries diced
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 fresh basil leaves chopped
- 1 baguette
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup goat cheese or another soft cheese such as brie or cream cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, bring to a light simmer, and reduce until it reaches about half the original volume and becomes slightly syrupy (about 5 to 10 minutes). Watch it closely, you don't want it to reduce too much and become TOO thick. You just want it to be thick enough to coat a spoon when dipped in.
- Combine strawberries, sugar, and basil in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside.
- Slice the baguette into about 20-24 slices (about ½" thick) and place on a baking sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil and place in the oven for about 5 minutes or until the slices become golden brown, allow to cool for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Spread a little goat cheese on each baguette slice then add a spoonful of strawberry mixture. Drizzle a little balsamic glaze over each piece and serve!
LOVE this list! So many great recipes! And the strawberry bruschetta is incredibly delicious! LOVE this as an appetizer OR dessert! That spam musubi looks fun! Definitely need to try that next time. <3
Love date nights at home! Especially love the idea of a theme….gonna try fondue night next time!
Such a great group of recipes for a romantic night. Pinned a few to treat my husband. I know he will be so happy when I treat him with all this goodness. Thanks for taking the time to curate such goodness.
So many great dinner ideas for the special occasion! This bruschetta is divine!
All such great ideas! I am going to do that movie night for sure!
this post has so many great ideas! ones that im going to take and use are the “dine in the dark”, “movie theme night” and the “disney theme” or italian themed ones! maybe even the iron chef idea. Thank you for sharing this post!
The 20 Questions link does not seem to be linking to the correct page 🙁
Yikes! I will try to find the right page!
Love all the ideas!! I agree sometimes it’s so much better to make something great and just relax at home instead of going out!!
Couldn’t agree more! Life gets so stressful sometimes– it’s nice to take it easy and relax at home!
I spent all night looking for good date night recipes and found exactly what I needed right here. This list is the best! Lovely website, easy to navigate, fabulous organization, good ideas… I’ll definitely be using this one (I’ll come back and let you know how it goes!).
Just wanted you to know that you were featured in our ULTIMATE Date Idea Round-up today! http://www.thedatingdivas.com/romantic-rendezvous/101-date-idea-round-ups-the-ultimate-date-night-list/ Thanks for sharing your date ideas! XOXO, The Dating Divas
Awesome! Thanks for including us on the list!
These ideas are Awesome! Thanks so much for all the great ideas and recipes!! It’s so hard to get out when the budget is tight and my baby won’t let me leave his sight.
Just found your site while searching for the recipe for Rumbi rice. !0 posts later I am starving, so many delicious looking foods! Anyway, I’ll have to try some of these date ideas with my wife.
Oh and thanks for solving my persistent Rumbi craving. 🙂