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The At-Home Date Night Challenge for Couples (Who’ve Stopped Dating Each Other)

My husband and I stopped dating each other. I created this 3-month at-home date night challenge for couples just like us!

Ya’ll…my husband and I have dropped the ball on dating one another.

couple holding hands with wedding rings on, text overlay "at home date night challenge for couples who have stopped dating each other" 21 date night ideas

Like, by a lot.

You’ve likely read my article about our at-home date nights (and if you haven’t, then I highly suggest you do as it’s a reader favorite. Go ahead, I’ll wait).

It was working so beautifully while our child was an infant, a toddler, and even when he bloomed into a preschooler.

But things have changed.

Parenting struggles. Job changes. A cross-country move.

It started innocently enough – a missed week here, a rescheduling there.

Suddenly, we found ourselves 6 months out from our last date night. Then 9 months out. Then, I believe, a full year went by without us doing even one measly date night together – even an at-home one.

<sigh>.

I knew we needed to do something about it when the only date night we had taken in 10 months was eating fries while watching our little guy play at the McDonald's indoor playground.

couple holding hands at table in front of McDonald's indoor playground

I took the photo above to motivate me to make a change.

Not to fear. Once I figured out where the ship was headed (a direction we both didn’t want), I also figured out a way to pivot and change things.

That’s what you’re reading right now! My 3-month challenge is to get my husband and me to date one another again.

So, if you’re…

  • Strapped for cash?
  • Hungry for moments of meaningful conversation?
  • In need of a good snort-laugh with your husband again?

Keep reading. Lots of at-home date night ideas for your own date challenge coming your way. Also, click to get your free 30-day date night tracker.

pink and purple date night tracker with hearts to color in, plus sheet of date night ideas

At-Home Date Night Challenge for Couples – At-Home Date Night Ideas

You’re going to notice something right away with this list: these are not elaborate date nights.

Dinner out on the town, a horse carriage ride to gaze at city lights, opening night at the opera – these are just not what we can pull off at this season in our lives.

Are you there, too?

No worries. I’m here to tell you – from experience – that you can still have a robust, romantic relationship with your partner.

Use the ideas below for inspiration.

And remember: sometimes, it’s just about creating a moment. Sometimes it’s just about creating an environment for us to talk more together, or see each other in a romantic light.

And sometimes? It’s just about being a bit more spontaneous.

1. The $5 Pub Trivia At-Home Date Night

box filled with Mello Yello can of soda, small red cups, and The Office deck of trivia cards
red paper cups filled with Mello Yello in pyramid shape on table with The Office trivia game deck

My husband loooovvveesssss pub trivia.

And you know what?

We haven’t been to one in probably 9 or more years.

When I saw these decks of The Office, Friends, and Seinfeld trivia cards at our Dollar Tree…I came up with an idea that my husband is still talking about weeks later. 

I filled up the mini-red cups with this Mello Yello (something neither of us would ever choose to drink). And the game was on.

We chose The Office…and I actually won!

All supplies were from Dollar Tree – really cheap date night.

Hint: actually, we both won – look at that sparkle in my husband’s eye. He had a wonderful time! Find even more dollar-store date nights here.

2. 80s-Kid Charcuterie Snacks Board + B-Rated Shark Thriller Night

woman holding two B-rated thriller movies from Dollar Tree
two shirley temples with a charcuterie board filled with 80s and 90s junk food

Needing to fill that Megalodon-sized hole left by the Sharknado franchise ending? I get you.

That’s why I was so excited to find this B-rated shark thriller movie in Dollar Tree’s movie aisle (yes, Dollar Store date nights are a thing). Just $1.25 for some hilarious laughs together.

And I paired it with a junk-food-snack charcuterie board any 80s child can identify with – seriously, it was filled with foods my mother never let me have (I get it, Mom!).

Hint: I know now all of those snacks in the photo were created in the 80s, but they were easily identifiable from our childhoods, which was the point.

Honestly, I thought some of these foods were extinct until I went walking down the snack food aisle at our local Dollar Tree for my article on Dollar Tree Charcuterie Boards.

It was kinda exciting to see.

3. DIY Hot Cocoa Bar from the Dollar Tree

table with blue tablecloth, and various mix-ins for hot cocoa on top
couples hands toasting hot cocoa mugs

Something I know about my husband? Is that he’s a hot cocoa aficionado.

And when the chilly fall nights come around, it borders on a need for him.

I’ve seen so many of those really cute, elaborate, hot cocoa bars out there and thought “I could surprise him with this and do it all from the Dollar Tree.”

I saved this for a Friday night + small occasion for us: the night we were finishing up a big series (Big Love).

Series finale + Friday night + Hot Chocolate Bar = an at-home date night. 

Psst: everything in this photo is from the Dollar Tree, except the mugs, the spoons, and the electric hot water heater.

4. Korean Fried Chicken Takeout + Korean Romance Drama

Have you ever watched one of those Korean romance shows on Netflix?

Wow.

My husband and I got really into Crash Landing On You two years ago. I decided to get us takeout from a new Korean place plus have us watch the first episode…and it turned out so well that we finished the whole thing over a series of months.

This was two years ago when we lived in a desert. Now, we moved to a predominantly Korean area, and have loads of foods to choose from.

SO, I decided to recreate this at-home date night with something I was dying to try: Korean Fried Chicken.

5. Pudding Portraits

photo of pudding portrait of husband with husband looking, smiling, from across the table, candles lit
wife and husband smiling, holding two pudding portraits of each other

Got a Dollar Tree?

Grab yourself two canvases, two canvas or picture frame stands, two brushes, and a pack of chocolate puddings.

That’s what we did – and we had a good ol’ time giving each other flirty eyes while “painting” each other’s portrait in chocolate.

Just look how ridiculous amazing they turned out (haha!)!

6. I Love You More than Pizza Crated with Love Date Night

opened Pizza Crated with Love box on dark table
two decks of cards, one about kisses, one about pizza

If your idea of a good at-home date night is playing silly, pizza-themed relationship games and learning quirky things about each other (hint: this is our idea), then this one is for you!

I think our absolute favorite part was the two decks of cards – one describing pizza, and one describing kissing – and pairing them up together for some hilarious sayings.

Also, I found out my husband is a deep-dish pizza with BBQ sauce, shredded mozzarella, sausage, and anchovies. And I’m a cheesy stuffed crust pizza with olive oil, parmesan, mushrooms, pineapple, and anchovies!

You’ll just have to try it out for yourself to get it.

7. The Radio Broadcast Date Night + Historical Dessert

two plates with strawberry icebox cake helpings on them
cover of original radio broadcast Orson Welles' War of the Worlds

WOW.

I was shocked by how much fun we had in this at-home date night. So was my husband!

Other than me telling him we’d be having an at-home date night, he had no idea what it was about.

After we put our little guy to bed, Paul and I had broccoli and garlic cheese stuffed baked potatoes at the dining room table (yes, the actual dining room table) by ourselves.

Then I had him wait for me downstairs in the den.

I came in with two servings of this 1930s Vanilla Strawberry Icebox cake. And I announced, “Welcome to 1938.”

On my phone, I had the infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast from 1938 ready to play. He knew it instantly and was so excited we’d finally be hearing it!

Hint: Never heard of it? It’s a Halloween episode of a radio drama show about aliens having landed in New Jersey, and it was SO REAL sounding, that some people panicked over it.

Seriously – it sounded SO REAL. We imagined ourselves being a rural couple in the 1930s, with only our radio broadcast at night for news…and could completely understand why some people panicked.

We recommend this at-home date night, 10/10!

8. Read through Epically Hilarious Amazon Comment Sections Together

This date idea sounds weird, I know.

But did you know there exist Amazon product comment sections that are absolutely legendary on the internet?

Like hilarious, could-be-their-own-sitcom, good.

Don’t believe me?

Just go through one of these below, like we did:

And this 571B Banana Slicer one? Oh my gosh. WE woke up in the middle of the night, and started reciting lines from it, laughing until we were crying. Sooooo hilarious.

9. Asian Grocery Store Dinner Surprise

Find the nearest Asian grocery store near you (I literally typed in “Asian grocery store” into Google Maps, and the options popped up.

Now, the two of you meet up there after work (or go together on the weekend), and choose your dinner for the night.

You can choose from the various meats and seafood options available. You can choose from the various prepared foods already made for you.

You might even just choose from the premade snacks section and call it a night.

colorful snack food aisle at an Asian grocery store

The point is to explore this together and have fun with it.

Hint: this is an example of doing THE SECRET to keep the spark alive in a marriage.

Once home, spend some time in the kitchen making your creation dinner and then eat it together at the dining room table (with candlelight).

10. Retro Arcade Competition At Home + Snacks

man with hat backwards holding up retro game box
author with hat on backwards, focusing intently on retro arcade game in lap

I couldn’t believe what I saw while standing in a 30-minute line to pick up my prescription: this retro arcade video game console.

(You can actually pick up the same one, here).

I paired a night of playing silly games from our childhood with junk-food snacks I picked up at our local Dollar Tree (seriously, have you checked out their snack foods aisle lately? You might want to. Or snag these healthy Dollar Tree snacks, instead – your choice).

tray of junk foods from the Dollar Tree and two retro game devices

Hint: this date night would work great with an 80s-themed Charcuterie board from the Dollar Tree.

11. Dentist Appointments + Korean Lunch

hot plate at Korean restaurant with lots of colorful foods around it
wife smiling at husband taking her photo, with Korean food in front of her

Sometimes…you have to get creative when trying to squeeze in a date with one another. Especially with young kids.

And sometimes? It’s just easier to do a weekday date together.

For this one, we planned to have our dentist appointments on Valentine’s Day. That way, Paul could take off enough work to get his teeth cleaned, and then have an actual date with me at a local Korean restaurant.

It was totally lovely!

12. Live TV Event + Poke Bowls

My husband and I almost never watch a live TV event together.

Except for maybe the Superbowl, once a year.

But both of us really wanted to watch the Presidential Debate this year (again, we’ve never actually watched a debate live – so very new to us!).

Paul took the reins and said he was going to plan it.

After I put our little guy to bed, I came downstairs to homemade salmon poke bowls (they were SO GOOD).

We chatted and watched Friends reruns until 9:00 (we couldn’t believe we actually stayed up late enough to watch the whole thing).

And had ourselves a good ol’ time connecting and debating about what we were seeing, all the way to the end.

13. Black Lights Dinner in the Dark

black light on and fluorescent utensils, plates, etc. on table

Wanna change the conversation dynamic in your home?

Apparently, all you have to do is:

  1. Turn off the TV
  2. Turn on a black light bulb
  3. Serve something to eat
  4. Eat with fluorescent stuff (like these plates, forks, and spoons)

Hint: I literally have had these black light bulbs in my everything drawer for over 8 years. I wish I was kidding – 8 years ago when I thought up this idea. Better now than never, right?

14. Ice-Creams on the Back Porch

couple holding up two M&M ice-cream sandwiches outside in the dark

Sometimes, it’s the simple moments of connection that are most surprising.

The Dollar Tree sells individual M&M ice-cream sandwiches in their freezer section, and I grabbed two.

After we went through our son’s bedtime routine, I asked my husband to join me on the back patio.

No TV. Just the two of us. Plus two chairs, and two ice-creams.

Done, and done. $2.50.

15. Hot Yoga Class + Sushi

sweaty couple smiling in hot yoga studio room

Imagine this: we’re headed back from signing our wills and medical directives (I know…not romantic at all).

And my husband blurts out, “Why don’t we do a hot yoga class together tonight for a date?”

<swoooooonnnnnn>.

Our sister and brother-in-law were in town, and they had generously agreed to watch our little guy.

It was a fantastic night out!

16. Black Light + Fluorescent Face Paint…in Bed

black light bulb and fluorescent face paint set on table

I’m just going to leave this photo and move on.

You just need a black light bulb(s), and fluorescent face paint.

That’s about all I’ll say about this one…

Hint: To elaborate just a teensy bit more, WOW was my husband surprised:)).

17. Grocery Store Sushi + Conversation Starters

hands holding chopsticks and grocery store sushi box
stack of 5 different conversation starter decks on white table

Pick up a pack of grocery store sushi on the way home from work one night.

Surprise your spouse with them, plus some conversation starters to go through together.

Instant, and low-prep date night at home!

18. Online Chocolate Tasting Class + Kit

Taza Chocolate Tasting kit box opened up to show lots of chocolate bars/nibs for tasting, tasting wheel, and tasting notes page
author and husband on different computers FaceTiming and accessing the chocolate tasting webinar together

This one took some thought and prep time on my part.

You see what I haven’t mentioned yet is that my husband took a new, exciting career-turning job last year – and this year? He’s traveled to foreign countries for roughly three months (a week here, 3 weeks there, type-of-thing).

It’s made regular date nights even trickier.

But I’m a pretty determined person and I don’t give up that easily!

Instead, I found virtual chocolate-tasting kits.

I chose the Taza one from below.

While he was packing, tearfully, I was prepping this long-distance date night by breaking him off a piece of each type of chocolate in the tasting and labeling them in these small plastic bags.

I also photocopied the tasting wheel and notes. I put the whole thing in a bigger plastic bag and stashed it in his clothes.

He was really surprised!

Two weeks into a really long, 3-week work trip, I told him to get ready for date night. 

I fired up my laptop, FaceTimed him from there, then started the recording.

What a lovely connection for the two of us.

19. Gordon Ramsay Appetizers + Reruns of His Show

Paul and I are Gordon Ramsey aficionados from wayyyy back in the British Kitchen Nightmares days.

So when I saw that Gordon now has a line of frozen appetizers at Walmart? Well, you know my mind got to thinking.

I snagged several and made them one night for our dinner. We sampled each while watching past reruns of his show.

Hint: Gordon’s got the whole playlist of the British Season 1 on YouTube here.

20. Stovetop Cast Iron Cookies + No Electronics

square cast iron mini pan filled with stovetop chocolate chip cookie

I have these really cute mini cast iron pans (like these) and decided to make stovetop cookies in them for a cookie + no-electronics date night at home.

Simple, but effective (and oh so delicious!).

21. 5 Days of Herrs Chips Lead Up to Chips Factory Tour Date

We're about a 3-hour car ride from Herr's factory where they give tours (and samples) of how they make potato chips.

And lucky for us, it's on the way to my parents' house.

In the very near future, I'm going to surprise my husband with a tour of the factory for a day date. Leading up to it, I'm including one bag of Herr's potato chips in his lunch or as a snack.

I wonder if he'll guess what we'll be doing?

What can I say? I set this at-home date night challenge for us earlier in this year. And after three months of intentionally dating one another again, we both feel that magic again. We're more flirty, we're having fun together again – and life is not just an endless stream of bills, rides to kid activities, and talking about the latest hike in grocery prices.

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Amanda L Grossman

Personal Finance Writer and CEO at Frugal Confessions, LLC
Amanda L. Grossman is a writer and Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), Plutus Foundation Grant Recipient, and founder of Frugal Confessions. Over the last 13 years, her money work has helped people with how to save money and how to manage money. She's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Business Insider, LifeHacker, Real Simple Magazine, Woman's World, Woman's Day, ABC 13 Houston, Keybank, and more. Read more here or on LinkedIn.