5 Safer-at-Home Date Night Ideas
LOVE IN THE TIME OF CORONA
Whether you have just started dating and looking for ways to connect or if you’re living with and in a long-term relationship with your partner, connecting in the ways you used to aren’t as available as they used to be. Here are five creative ways to connect with your partner during the time of ‘safer-at-home’.
BOOKWORMS
Start a two person book club! Take turns reading book chapters to each other. This is something you can do in lieu of another night of Netflix. Research books in genres you’re both interested in or share one of your childhood books with your partner that they haven’t read yet. The best books to read aloud are generally easy to read and it’s a real bonus if there are a variety of characters to be able to act out! Some of my favorites for this are Holes, Matilda…
BREATHE + RELAX
The stress we’re feeling is real lately and we carry this stress around with us in our bodies. Physically relaxing with your partner can take the pressure out of verbalizing after a day of Zoom meetings and can allow you to embrace sweet silence together. Taking time to care for your bodies together can be soothing and feel connecting. Take turns drawing each other foot baths. Do face masks together. Explore giving each other massages.
BAKE-OFF
Find a recipe to bake or cook together. This can be something as simple as chocolate chip cookies or a more challenging recipe you’ve wanted to try. If you’re feeling playful you can have a ‘bake-off’ and try baking/cooking different recipes with a taste testing afterwards. Bonus if you play music from the Great British Bake Off to add to the excitement.
OLD SCHOOL JAM OUT
Create a shared playlist of your favorite songs growing up. Think back to the first album you ever purchased or those crucial artists you were devoted to in your adolescence. You may be surprised about the various stories these songs may invoke. Spontaneous dance parties encouraged.
THEME NIGHT
Themed date nights can really get your creative juices flowing. Think of a theme for your date night and center one or two activities around the theme. Here are a few ideas:
Italian night with pasta dinner and watching a film based in Italy or try listening to Italian Opera.
Adventure night with smores dessert, a long walk in the neighborhood, and card game with a lit candle. It’s almost like camping, right?
Flight night! Create flights of 3-5 of any drink, snack, dessert food (chocolate!!), etc that you enjoy. Compare notes as you test them out. Example: If you both love Kombucha, choose 3-5 different types and create a mini-flight to taste test and discuss!
ABOUT
Lauren Lottino (MA,MFTC) is a Marriage and Family Therapist in Denver, CO. Lauren provides compassion based family therapy, LGBTQ+ couples therapy, and works with adult women experiencing anxiety. In Bloom Therapy is located in the Park Hill Neighborhood in Denver, Colorado. Currently offering online therapy due to practices recommended by the CDC to address the COVID-19 pandemic.