Stay At Home Date Ideas
I don’t know about you ladies, but my relationship with my husband has changed a bit over the years. Our dating life especially. No longer do we have any resemblance of disposable income and nights free of responsibility. We don’t always get to go out, but that doesn’t mean dating each other is no longer an important priority! So, I have compiled this list of spicy Stay at Home Date Ideas that can be done once the kids are in bed.
10 Stay At Home Date Ideas To Do Once the Kids Are In Bed
This post contains affiliate links, for more information visit my full disclosure here.
1. Make a Fancy Dinner Together
Eating dinner together as a family is a high priority for our family.
Even while our son is little, we make dinner time family time.
But, every once-in-awhile it is okay to make your kiddos a box of mac and cheese to have a special stay at home date with the hubby.
Personally, Andrew and I like to wait until our son goes to bed before we even start dinner on our date nights.
We both love to cook.
So, we make the dinner prep part of our date.
But, I know not everyone’s kids have a 7:00 bedtime.
And no one wants to be hangry during their stay at home date sesh!
Do what works best for you, just make sure effort is being made.
2. Indoor “Camping”
I hate to admit it, but I am not an outdoorsy kind of girl.
I want to be, I really do!
But, between being allergic to everything that grows and my overall disgust for bugs…
It was never in the cards for me.
I do love how intimate and cozy camping can be though!
And why should my marriage miss out on that opportunity just because pollen hates me?
This stay at home date is a must, even if you do like real camping.
Grab a blanket, turn on a campfire loop YouTube video, and get to talking.
Camping is not complete without s’mores though!
You can make an easy s’mores dip with your traditional ingredients with a cast iron skillet and oven, or you can venture out from normal s’mores by trying this Cookies and Cream S’mores Dip!
3. An Evening All About Sex
I hope I didn’t give anyone a heart attack with that heading.
I would like to preface this section with the following information:
1. I am a married woman.
2. Sex was created to be enjoyed within marriage, and not to be shameful.
3. If reading about physical intimacy makes you uncomfortable you can absolutely skip down to #4.
So, physical intimacy. 
As one of the largest problems marriages face, intimacy is kind of a big deal.
I vote to abolish this marriage problem!
Sex in marriage can be full of good and not so good seasons, this is totally normal.
I have found that in my own marriage, the more time we make for our intimacy the more our relationship grows stronger.
So make a night of it!
Take time to just take time with each other.
Explore, try to learn something new even.
And possibly most importantly- invest in a good lock.
4. Have a Double-Date Game Night
Playing games with my husband was a big part of our dating life long before we were married.
Because we were high school sweethearts, many of our dates included playing cards with his siblings.
We still love to play card and board games, but you can only play Uno with 2 players so many times before it gets pretty dull.
Which is exactly why we love to have Double Date Game Nights!
A game night is a perfect stay at home date.
It is super fun, not high maintenance, and you have a clear activity so there won’t be the awkward, “well what should we do now.”
Find a couple or two, bring out the snacks, and maybe put on a movie for the kiddos.
Let the conversation and competition flow.
You do not have to be limited to card games and board games either! Play charades, or even video games.
Is Dance Dance Revolution still a thing?
You can do that too.
5. Luxurious Spa Night
We can all use a little bit of pampering in our lives.
Having a spa night with your hubby is the perfect way to wind down and have some quality time.
Make some DIY face masks, drink cucumber water, and my personal favorite- give each other massages.
Stay at home dates are really only limited by your imagination.
Light some candles, turn down the lights, and get your pampering on!
You can find great recipes and resources for DIY face masks, body scrubs, and other stay-at-home spa ideas here at One Good Thing By Jillee.
6. A Not-So-Typical Movie Night.
Sometimes, life is busy. Sometimes, you really just want to curl up on the couch, eat some popcorn, and watch something.
That is totally okay!
Andrew and I make sure to have a date night at least once a week, but we don’t always have the energy to plan something spectacular. We need downtime too.
Movie night does not have to be the lame one in this list though!
There are plenty of ways to have a fun at-home movie date.
For one, we like to play a game on our movie nights.
So we pick a movie neither of us has seen– the less we have heard of it, the better.
Then we get some movie watching snacks and watch the first 20 minutes.
Then we write down everything we think will happen from here to the end of the movie.
Write with as much detail as possible, even if you are 100% making it up because the first 20 minutes didn’t give you much.
For each thing you get correct you get a point. The one with the most points wins!
I told you we are competitive.
You can make some things worth more points than others, but that is really up to you.
7. Thrift Store Puzzle
If you and your husband are problem solvers, this is the date for you.
Before your date starts, go to your local thrift store and find a puzzle.
Ideally, you want between 500 and 1000 pieces for this date.
Clear off a large table or floor space and see how far you can get on it.
Thrift store puzzles almost always have pieces missing, and/or have other puzzle pieces mixed in.
If you finish the puzzle rather quickly you can try to draw “replacement pieces” for added silliness and fun!
8. Nerf/Water fight.
This one is probably best done outdoors, or otherwise far enough that you won’t wake your sleeping children and where you won’t make a mess
A common problem with many couples is simply lack of fun. They forget how it was to be carefree in the honeymoon stage of 
their relationship.
With this stay at home date, you can let go and bring back some old fashioned fun!
Stock up on Nerf guns and ammo, water guns, water balloons, wet rags and buckets, or any combination of these.
Establish your ground rules, ours is that there are no rules, find starting places and game on.
I would not recommend trying to hash out any real problems on this date, it will inevitably end with running mascara and more unresolved problems.
Just keep your head no matter how intense your competitive nature may get, and this can be a great, lighthearted date!
9. Paint or Color Together
Adult coloring books have become all the rage recently.
Grab some colored pencils, crayons, or even some watercolor paints to enjoy this relaxing stay-at-home date activity.
Having something for your hands to work on makes great opportunities for good conversation.
Adult coloring books are perfect for all ranges of art ability, but if you prefer to go free-hand hats off to you!
I was not blessed with my mother’s artistic ability, so I will just focus on staying in the lines.
You can find some great adult coloring books down below.
10. “Go” Dancing
I love love love this stay at home date.
Dancing with the person you love, whether that be slow dancing snuggled tight, or just making a complete fool of yourselves, seems to just be made better in the privacy of your own living room.
Make a dance playlist before your evening begins with a little bit of everything, put on something snazzy, and get jiggy with it!
BONUS LEVEL DATE: RECREATE PROM
I was lucky enough to marry my high school sweetheart, so I have plenty of cringy prom and homecoming memories with him, but if you don’t have that luxury, you can always try to recreate that school dance feel.
Find era-appropriate dress clothes at the thrift store, do your makeup the way you wish your mom had let you in high school, and ask your husband if he would “go steady with you” now.
Dating should be an important part of every relationship, married or not. Going out at least once a week isn’t always feasible though. I hope now with these 10 stay at home date ideas you are ready to tackle each and every date night!
