married couple laughing together at home on a couch

As parents, it’s sometimes hard to find time for the two of you to enjoy each other’s company. Between work schedules, feeding schedules or after school activities, it can be tricky to both be in the same place at the same time.

At-home date nights are the easiest and most convenient way to get back some of your couple time. Try out one of these at-home date night ideas that you can try once the little ones are in bed. Have fun getting to know each other again!


  1. Cook a meal together – Find a new recipe and decide who will cook the main course and who will try their hand at the dessert. Set the table using your best china and wine glasses and enjoy a romantic dinner for two complete with candles and the Romantic Songs Spotify playlist. Don’t forget a nice bottle of wine to complement the meal. Video yourselves cooking your meal and show your kids the next morning your first Youtube video that will air on your new cooking show.
  2. Have a picnic in your garden/lounge – This is a simple one. Shop your favourite nibbles and choice of beverage, lay a blanket down with cushions and enjoy the evening together. Don’t forget the mozzie spray if you’re outside!
  3. Wine tasting – Select a few bottles of wine that you have never tried before. Hide the labels, discuss how it looks, what you smell and what you taste. See if you can put them in order from cheapest to most expensive.
  4. Art date – Get your supplies together, find something for you both to draw such as a plant or a vase of flowers (or each other) and compare both masterpieces at the end.
  5. Games night – Pull out your old board games or head to an op shop to your look for your favorite games as a kid. If board games aren’t your thing, transform the kitchen table into a poker table. You don’t have to bet using cash, you can come up with your own currency (wink, wink). Alternatively you could borrow your kids latest Nintendo game and play the night away.
  6. Recreate your favourite date – Down to the music and the outfits you were both wearing. Was it an intimate Italian restaurant or a picnic on the beach that lit the spark? Have fun reminiscing.
  7. Start an online language course – Pick a language you both want to learn, find the local choice of beverage and local cuisine and go online to find a course. Add a trip to this country to your bucket list.
  8. Turn your kitchen into a cocktail bar – Learn how to mix up some great cocktails together or if you are not into cocktails, try your hand at making your own home brew. Then sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labour.
  9. Write your bucket lists together – Write your bucket lists separately and then take turns reading each other’s out loud. It’s a fun way to start working on a couple’s bucket list.
  10. Book club – Talk about a book you are both reading, discuss the themes, the characters, the content. This is a great way to have deep conversations and get your brain thinking in ways it doesn’t normally.
  11. Stargaze – Go out into the garden, lay down on a blanket and look up! Enjoy the beauty of what’s beyond our world. Look for a shooting star to make a wish on.
  12. Outdoor camping – Combine stargazing with a night out under the stars. Put up the tent in the backyard, get some cushions and some marshmallows. Snuggle up with a torch and just enjoy each other’s company.
  13. Go through old photos – Share your photos on to the TV and flip through – enjoy your trip down memory lane. If you have photo albums and photo boxes, pull these out too. Find a selection you can share with the kids the next day. Or if your kids are into movies, create a slideshow of your best snaps to play on the TV.
  14. Travel themed dinner – Pick a country, and theme your dinner. Italy – try making homemade pasta together or pizza. Japan – learn to make sushi together. France – this one’s easy with French cheese and wine!
  15. Learn your Love Languages – Do you know what your love language is, or your partner’s? This is a great way to improve your relationship when you know what your partner needs to fill their cup. You can buy the book as a point of reference for the future.
  16. Throwback night – Bring up YouTube and search different songs or movies from your childhood/teenage years! Have fun reminiscing and trying some old school dance moves together.
  17. Craft night – Choose a craft or DIY project to do together. Perhaps you’ve been wanting to upcycle a piece of furniture or paint your leather sofa. Tie dye some t-shirts, paint some mugs, explore your creativity and get dirty.
  18. Favourites quiz – Do you know what your partner’s favourite chocolate is? What’s their favourite meal, TV show, country or movie? Create a list of your favourite things and compare each other’s answers. You can find out how well do you know your partner?
  19. Chocolate tasting – Grab a selection of quality chocolate boxes. Sit down to taste and rank them all! Don’t forget a nice beverage to pair the chocolate with.
  20. Learn to foxtrot – Put on your dancing shoes and meet in the living room to “trip the light fantastic”. Find an instructional video online or watch “Just Dance” and learn some new moves together.
  21. Would you rathergame – You will learn a lot about your partner with these questions. The aim of the game is to ask random questions such as “Would you rather go on a sight seeing trip around Europe or a relaxing holiday in the Caribbean?” or “Would you rather be able to fly or read minds?” If you need help with questions, you can try these ones here.


Discover even more At Home Date Night Ideas on our blog.

Melville Mums
Author: Melville Mums