30 Indoor Date Ideas for Couples Who Don't Feel Like Going Outside
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Sometimes you feel like getting glammed up and swept off your feet on a romantic date, and that’s great. You deserve to be swept! Everyone should be swept once in a while! But sometimes, leaving your house is the last possible thing you could ever want to do and the thought of putting on pants makes you want to cry. And that, friends, is also okay! That’s why we put together a master list of indoor date ideas—so that you can spend some quality time with your lover in the comfort of your own cozy home. Because, hi, sometimes it’s cold, or raining, and maybe you have a little headache, or you had a terribly long day. You’re human! But you also want to prioritize your partner and know how important it is to make each other feel special. Dates that you can do at home and indoors are perfect for such occasions, as long as you dedicate intentional time to the activity you want to do. That means: Put your phone away, give your partner your attention, and make it all about the two of you. Cute!
Plus, whoever said dates have to be fancy and extravagant to be romantic clearly never lit a yummy candle and shared a bottle of wine while cooking dinner with the love of their life. Contrary to popular belief, you also don’t need to spend money, either. Some of the most intimate activities (ahem, literally *the* most intimate activities 👀) are free and only require your time and attention. So consider this your sign to make your next date night an indoor one, cozy up with your person, and indulge in one of the activities below.
1.Movie Marathon Night In
A classic for a reason, you can't go wrong with a movie night in. Make it special by ordering your favorite delivery, splurging on a nice bottle of wine, and lighting your favorite candle. You and your partner can each pick one movie to watch (if you've never seen it, all the better!), or, if TV shows are more your jam, start a new one together. Feel like leaning into the familiar? Watch the first episode of every season of your favorite show.
2. Take an At-Home Salsa Class
For date nights in, YouTube is your secret weapon—trust. Everything you could possibly want is on there! If you're feeling like moving your body and learning a new skill, look for a beginner-level salsa-dancing tutorial. Really, any kind of dancing is fair game. Ballroom, tango, hip-hop—pick a genre and commit to it. If you love it, look for an in-person class with an instructor for your next date night.
3. Play a Question Game
There are so many question games designed specifically for couples out there. Some are sweet, like Let's Get Closer by Intelligent Change. Others are hot, like Serena Kerrigan's Let's Fucking Fuck, and some, like Esther Perel's Where Should We Begin, can feel like a couples therapy session in a box. Either way, card games for couples are designed to bring you closer and teach you more about each other. They're especially fun to play if you've been together for awhile and feel like spicing things up!
4. Play a Board Game
Ready to get nostalgic? Buy your favorite childhood board game on Amazon and play it with your partner. Indulge in all your favorite sugary snacks and reminisce on your favorite memories. Wanna spice it up? Play Twister and bend to your favorite positions. 😈. Or up the stakes and play the "strip" version of whatever game you pick.
5. Or Play a Video Game!
Even if you've never touched a video game console in your life, playing a new game with your partner can be a seriously fun date night. It's a great way to bond and lean into each other's interests! If neither you nor your partner are big gamers, look for something simple (and preferably, free!) online. This also means, yes, this is the perfect excuse to dig up your old Guitar Hero equipment from your parents' basement.
6. Try a Brand New Sex Position
If you're looking for a date night of the 🔥spicy🔥 variety, look no further. Unlimited time at home = the perfect excuse to experiment in the bedroom. You have nowhere to be, after all! So take your time, browse through our collection of sex positions (shameless plug), and try something you've never tried before. (Or somewhere you've never done it before! You'd be amazed at what changing locations—even in your own home—can do!) Remember to set boundaries around experimentation beforehand and come to a mutual decision for whatever hot new thing you want to test out. Relax, use lots of lube, turn on your sex playlist, and don't forget the aftercare! Finish off your hot night in with a warm bubble bath for two.
7. Shop for a New Sex Toy
On that same spicy note, date night in is *the* perfect time to online shop for your favorite new sex toy. Check out some of our favorite sex toy retailers and splurge on something new! Some sex toys are specifically designed for couples to enjoy together (see: vibrating cock rings and couples toys), and others are a little more specific to sexes (see: clitoral suction vibes and regular cock rings). Make sure you're buying something that feels high-quality, is *actually* waterproof if you're planning on getting it wet, and is compatible with whatever lube you like to use! (Pro tip: Silicone toys should never be paired with silicone lubes, for example.)
8. Put Together an At-Home Wine Tasting
Some wine companies will actually mail you a sample kit of their favorite selections, giving you an at-home wine tasting that's low cost and low effort—you love to see it! But if you want to just head to your nearest liquor store and pick your own, that works too. Opt for canned or boxed wines if you don't want to spend a gazillion dollars on several different bottles. And if you want to kick it up a notch, spend some time Googling what types of charcuterie pairs best with your selections.
9. Get Crafty
There are so many cute craft projects you can do at home. Plan a low-key paint-and-sip night with your own canvases and paint (paint each other!), buy some air-dry clay and create a cute new vase or jewelry tray, buy some yarn and crochet needles and teach yourself to crochet (again, YouTube is your best friend here!)...the possibilities are endless! Put some old towels on the floor and don't be afraid to get messy and creative!
10. Re-Create the Spa at Home
Sure, nothing beats a professional masseuse's nice oils and incomparable arm strength. But when you want to keep date night at home, re-create the feeling of a fancy spa by diffusing your favorite essential oils, lighting candles, playing a relaxing spa playlist, dimming the lights, and pretending like you're really there. Do face masks with your partner, take turns giving each other massages, and end the night in a relaxing bubble bath.
11. Do the Target Challenge
You know that game that went viral on TikTok where couples or best friends would go to Target and buy each other things that reminded them of each other? Plan ahead and do it with your partner! Go your separate ways and buy each other one thing in each of your favorite colors, their favorite snack, their favorite drink, one new activity you'd like to do together, and whatever other category you want to explore. Present each other with your gifts on your date night in!
12. Make Flower Bouquets
Unleash your inner florist! Before your date night, head to Trader Joe's and pick up a couple of bouquets you love and think will go well together. Then, practice arranging them in beautiful bundles with your SO! To make it extra fun, go separately and each of you picks three varieties. Then, exchange your selections and either challenge yourselves to combine each other's, or make a few bigger bouquets with a blend of all the picks.
13. Take an Online Class
We really weren't kidding when we said YouTube has everything. From cheese-making to different types of arts and crafts, you can find a YouTube tutorial for anything under the sun. If you're in the mood to spend a little more, though, join Masterclass. For $10 a month, you get access to a huge pool of online classes taught by experts in ever field, from Kris Jenner's "The Power of Personal Branding" to Gordon Ramsay's "Cooking 1". Learn from the pros = become one yourself!
14. Watch a Concert Documentary
Want to dance all night to your favorite band or artist, but don't feel like spending tons of cash on a concert ticket? You're in luck. There are plenty of concert movies and documentaries available to stream on the platforms you already pay for! Check out T.Swift's Miss Americana on Netflix, Beyoncé's Homecoming on Netflix, or Shakira's El Dorado World Tour on Max.
15. Make Mood Boards for Your Dream Home
Still sitting on the futon you had in college and feeling 100 percent over it? Pretend you're in an interior designer and take to Pinterest to create individual mood boards of what your dream apartments would look like. Then, come together and share your ideas. If you live together, pick out a few pieces from each of your mood boards to splurge on so you can bring your visions to life!
16. Have a PowerPoint Party for Two
If you've been looking for any excuse to make your partner listen to you talk about all your favorite things, this is it. Make separate slideshow presentations about a specific topic you're passionate about, whether it's the history of your favorite football team or a season-by-season breakdown of The Kardashians. You can also make these super personal by making them all about your family histories, a year-by-year timeline of your lives, or something cute like fun facts you didn't know about each other.
17. Have a Mini Fashion Show...for a Good Cause!
Quit putting off your closet clean-out and make it fun by turning it into a fashion show with your partner! Go through every item you own, take out anything you haven't worn in a year, and put on a mini, two-person fashion show, working together to select the things you want to donate, and pick three (seriously, just three!) items you want to keep and re-style. Romantic and practical!
18. Go "Camping" Indoors (Or In Your Yard)
So you want all the coziness of camping with none of the ~going outside~ part. We hear you! Set up a tent in your living room, put on a "nature sounds" video, and pretend like you're camping in the woods. Bonus points if you light a forest-y candle and stick some s'mores in the microwave. If you have a backyard, even better—you can actually build your set-up outside, buy a tiny fire pit on Amazon, and spend the night under the stars.
19. Bake for Each Other
Order in dinner from your favorite restaurants, but get creative when it comes to dessert by surprising each other with baked goods. Decide what each of you will make before hand and take turns in the kitchen actually baking your recipes, have your main dinner together, and end the night with the big dessert reveal. To avoid duplicating recipes, give your partner a hint. Are you baking something chocolatey, or fruity? Is it inspired by the seasons? Is it something they already know they love, or something brand new?
20. Do Living Room Karaoke
Queue up three of your favorite songs each and take turns performing for each other! Or team up and serenade each other with your favorite duet. This date night in is perfect for when you have tons of pent up stress or energy and just want to let loose, but maybe the weather isn't cooperating or you're on a tight budget. Nothing feels better than letting it all out into an angsty song!
21. Make a Bucket List
Whether it's a list of fun activities you want to try this season, a list of places you want to visit over the next year, or a longer list of life goals, make a bucket list with your partner for what you want to try, experience, or accomplish. Make smaller, individual lists and share them with each other, or put together one long list of longer-term goals. It'll be fun to get a sense of where the other's head is at and brainstorm ways to get there together.
22. Create ~Fancy~ Cocktails Together
Mix things up by creating a signature cocktail—might we suggest a cosmopolitan?—and using your night to play bartender. Mix it up by creating a cocktail using only ingredients you have in your household (it’s okay to get a lil weird). Need some inspo? Check out Cosmo’s Stir Crazy videos of celebs doing it too.
23. Host a Cooking Class
You: The Michelin-star chef leading a one-on-one session. Your partner: The eager-to-learn patron...who also happens to be super hot. Is there a hotter role play than something involving food?
Plus, while you're at it, why not meal prep for your date? Depending on your skills in the kitchen, choose a dish that both of you find delicious and relatively simple. If you and your S.O. aren’t exactly Top Chef material, skip the grocery store and simplify the experience with a meal kit.
24. Go Vacation Mode
Do you like piña coladas? Or getting caught in the rain? Or using tropical Zoom backgrounds? Then it’s time to crank Jimmy Buffet and dust off that sun hat. Take an indoor trip to this season’s hottest destination: your living room. Set up a limbo stick, grill some shrimp kabobs, or just lie on your beach towel and talk about the best vacation you’ve ever taken.
25. Or Plan Your Dream Vacay
Homemade mojitos not doing it for you? Fair! Use your date night to plan your next big vacation. Chose a location (check a cheap flights website to make sure you're getting the most bang for your buck), make a spreadsheet of all the things you want to do there, browse hotels (indulge in a nice one, at least for one night!), and start making those reservations—even if it's just one! Planning your dream vacay will give you and your partner something to look forward to, and what better way to make it everything you hoped for than to put together an itinerary together?
26. Do a Cute Throwback to Your First Date
Feeling nostalgic? Recreate your first date. Whether you went mini golfing, danced at a concert, or simply grabbed a drink, some easy at-home hacks can bring all the nostalgic feels to a random Thursday night.
Although mini-golf may be a lil hard to recreate indoors, you can grab a ball (preferably a golf ball, but any type of ball works) and try to put—or kick or toss—it into a red solo cup (which we know you have). Take advantage of any outdoor spaces you might have, if you feel like going outside. For a concert, blare the music from your Spotify and listen to the beats together in the dark. And for drinks, why not use your White Claws for a White Claw slushie? (IYKYK).
27. Initiate a Game Night Double Date
Host a game night for you, your partner, and your other coupled up friends. Meet up virtually for a round of Heads Up!, trivia, Chips and Guac, or Quick Draw. If you want to make things a little ~spicier~, head to Playingcards.io for a free version of Cards Against Humanity. Rather run your own games? Never Have I Ever, Would You Rather, and Truth or Dare are considered classics for a reason.
28. Start Up a Book Club
Create your very own book club for you and your love interest. Once you select a book (see some escapist fiction or a true crime thriller options), set your reading schedule. Make it as ambitious or easy as you’d like—it’s your personal book club, so you make the rules. Then meet in your living room (or kitchen or bedroom) with a charcuterie board filled with cheese, meat, and wine, to discuss allllll the things.
29. Host a Fancy Soiree
Wanna recreate the feeling of a date night out, without the "out" part? Throw on your fave LBD, light a candle, and pop some bubbly. Get in the mood for a ~sophisticated~ evening with a Sinatra soundtrack and your sassiest red lipstick.
30. Sweat Out All Your Stress (and Horniness)
If you and your partner are the active types, get your heart rate up at home. There are so many studios and fitness apps that offer free classes, YouTube videos, and discounts to make your exercise even more economical. Consider this workout for achieving an insanely strong core courtesy of Women’s Health and Men’s Health, or check out one of these YouTube videos for full body fitness. Either way, pull out your yoga mat and get those endorphins flowing.
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