Date Night Ideas

[glitzy07]

Anyone willing to share ideas for date nights that aren't just drinks/dinner at a restaurant?

H and I are trying to be better about finding pockets of time to go out alone together, but it always ends up with us at a bar/grill having a few drinks and some food. We usually never know ahead of time when we'll have the time and a sitter, so it's not usually planned in advance. 

Example, we have no kids sports or activities tonight and my mom is available to hang with our boys. It's a week night and we both work tomorrow, but have a few hours to be out. Where would you go and/or what would you do in this scenario?

[InBetweenDays]

Axe throwing
Trivia night
Pottery studio
Comedy club

[charlive]

Somekind of activity - bowling, escape room, mini golf? Or, depending on where you live, there are often free and low cost concerts at local universities or parks near me. Couples massage? Cooking class.

[turbo]

Yes! I just put out an ask in my city’s Facebook page for more ideas and I got a bunch of great suggestions. We live in a major metro area so these are all ideas suggested here and I realize may not be available elsewhere. They also range in budget / cost but I asked for no budget limitations because I just wanted the best list of ideas.

Attend a story slam at the Moth (look to see if there’s one near you)
Classes - glass blowing, ornament making, wreath making, iron working, pottery, floral arranging, etc. I found a cool wine blending experience at a nearby winery where we could blend our own red wines.
Cooking classes
Axe throwing, escape rooms, bouldering, zip lines, etc.
symphony, lecture series, events at community orgs (ex: our science center has an imax and laser dome)
Hike and picnic
Float plane excursion (maybe unique to our area)
Sporting events
Smaller theaters - also the Broadway traveling series
Sound bath / meditation / yoga classes

[So_Fetch]

My first thought was comedy club.
We recently took up disc golf and it's so much fun. We can get out and do it whenever we have free time.
other ideas:

movie
mini golf
walk around downtown/park/point of interest
bowling

[waverly]

Sometimes we go shopping together if we need something for the house or around the holidays. It's always nice to do that without kids running around. For example, furniture shopping, outdoor stuff, presents.

We finally (yay) have kids old enough that we no longer need a babysitter. A lot of times we do just grab a drink and then pick up take out for the kids and head home.

If you like nature, maybe you could go for a walk around the neighborhood or a trail that you like, then grab food afterwards. Making drinks and food more special like a picnic, outdoor patio, or we got a nice couch for our backyard, so we get drinks out there now. Of course with small children, you probably want to totally leave the premises, but our older kids don't really bother us out there.

If you had more time, you could do a movie, comedy show, sporting event, or even just go to a sports bar to watch an event. Axe throwing, escape room, Dave & Busters type entertainment type stuff. We don't get to do that very often because it is a bit of a drive for us. Even just leaving our town and going to another town is a bit novel.

[maudefindlay]

No time ahead to plan makes it harder. All our dates involve dinner/drinks, but we do try to tack on an activity before/after like going to Topgolf, a concert or place with live music. Mostly though we go for a long walk. Our downtown area allows booze purchased from specific bars/restaurants to be taken outside within a fairly large area of our downtown, so that is nice to do. We walk around and find a pretty place to sit in the shade.

[mofongo]

Check Eventbrite and fever for your area.

[gretchenindisguise]

I keep meaning to do a curling lesson.

[sadie]

Ping pong, pickleball. We did a distillery tour one time. Coffee dates. We play board games. Scout out our favorites at stores. My husband is a whiskey collector and loves the thrill of the hunt for specific things; I collect Lorcana cards and it's fun (particularly when a new set was released recently) to find inventory.

[mcmel]

There’s a very quiet nature trail with a big field that I like to bring my folding lawn chair out to and watch the sun set. Just sitting and listening to the whippoorwills and owls call while the sun goes down is magical. I took a date out there a few weeks ago and it was so lovely.

I also like to go on walks in parks for dates. Maybe grab ice cream on the way.

[hermione]

Find out what exhibits are coming to a museum near you.
Rage Room
Arcade
Bookstore
Check Groupon - they often have ones for things I otherwise would not thought of doing.

[ellipses84]

I follow a lot of tourist / foodie / my city bucket list / local business accounts on IG and when I see posts for things I want to do I save them to a folder. You can create a date night folder. That way when you have a night free, look at the posts and pick one. It never disappoints! Bonus that a lot of these places can be really busy on weekends but generally aren’t on weeknights.

Mine are a lot of cafes and restaurants off the beaten path with scenic views or cool vibes in historic buildings I’ve never been to. Theres some cool bookstore and short hiking spots. There’s some kid friendly day date ideas like a bunny cafe or dip candle making.

[jwright]

We have an indoor pickleball venue that is open until 10. It's better with four people, but two can still have fun and they have a bar and restaurant attached.

[fangoriagurkel]

Darts, batting cages, rage room, mini golf.

[jane6672]

Many museums will have one night a week they’re open in the evening, or one night a month that they’re free admission and have live music etc.
if you make a list somewhere then you could quickly check and find if it’s the 3rd Thursday you can go to x museum.

Our public library system has events and concerts and so on, I check their calendar when I’m trying to find an activity.

Love going to a gallery opening, though checking their calendars can be a PITA.

[eb777888]

Cooking classes!! But find a good one! H bought me a GC for Christmas a couple years ago to try it out and we've been back many times since.

[meanie]

H and I used to have a membership to a local rep theater, it was so much fun. We saw a ton of great plays we would have never seen otherwise and it was usually the same group of regulars seeing the show so we made some friends.

[katfco]

DH and I do pub trivia every week

[HRH Queen Dick I]

Butt sex

[ellipses84]

Our city has the free museum day and it alternates which museums each month but they are all pretty centrally located around a park that is nice to walk around.

There’s tons of speakeasy / hidden entrance type bars I’ve never tried to find.

In my parent’s city there’s a downtown arcade near all the bars that’s open late, still takes quarters, has a lot of retro games and serves canned alcoholic beverages, so it’s more of a fun evening date spot than a typical arcade.

[livinthemiatalife]

I’d do the illusion exhibit that’s making its rounds or we do a lot of mini golf or something active like walk around the lake.

[glitzy07]

Sept 26, 2024 17:18:31 GMT -5 HRH Queen Dick I said:

Butt sex

This made me lol.

We ended up going to a touristy part of town, having a drink at a cute speakeasy and then going to an axe throwing bar that had live music and games. We played cribbage at the bar, listened to the musician, and then went to a local diner for dinner before coming home. Good little date night!

[Tacocat]

We have a local brewery/winery that has events like trivia night, live music, painting classes etc. they also have a really nice outdoor area with bags/cornhole. Maybe you have something like that nearby?

[stmonica2]

Sept 26, 2024 17:18:31 GMT -5 HRH Queen Dick I said:

Butt sex

You are so romantic ❤️