Cozy At-Home Date Ideas to Keep You Warm
By Amberly Lambertsen
A Prioritized Marriage
My husband and I both prefer warm weather. I enjoy the occasional cold and stormy day, but winter is not my favorite. It gets dark way too early and the gorgeous and sunny days are usually the most frigid. When my husband and I first started dating, he had just gotten home from his mission in Cancun, where low 70-degree temperatures are considered cold. So, coming back home to Utah, where we get down into the single digits some winters was rough on him.
We don’t spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter. It is just not our thing! For those of you who are in the same boat as us when it comes to winter and cold temperatures, I hope you will have fun and enjoy winter together with these at home winter date night ideas!
Power outage date
I love the idea of simulating a power outage for extra fun as a couple! Unpluck your electronics so there’s no temptation to turn them on. And don’t forget to turn off all of the lights! Grab glow sticks from the store and wear them as necklaces so you can locate each other! Make dinner together without using any electricity. Use flashlights to create shadow puppets and tell stories with them. Build a fort and pull out your board games to play inside your fort by the glow of your flashlights. Focus on connecting with each other, electronics free, and enjoying your time together
Hot chocolate tasting
Grab a few different flavors of your favorite brand of hot chocolate from the store. Or get a can of milk chocolate and a few different syrups to flavor your drinks. Get flavors that you know you’ll love, as well as a few flavors that you’ve never tried before. You could also taste and compare the same flavor of hot chocolate from a variety of brands.
With this date, it can be easy to get burnt out on hot chocolate. Or you might find yourselves drifting off to sleep after you’ve consumed too many cups. To keep your hot chocolate consumption to a minimum and still enjoy this date, only make half a serving of each flavor and split that in two. At the end of the night, each of you will only have had one or two cups total.
Play board games, card games or build a puzzle
Nothing is better than a game night! If you’re feeling really confident, break out Monopoly and play for who has to do a household task that both of you dreads doing. We love playing games that allow us to connect or still focus on having conversation together. Pass the Pigs is a fun one that’s simple and can even be taken with you to play on the table at a restaurant while you’re waiting for your food. We also love a fun card game called Play Nine. Ask for suggestions of great two-player date night games on social media and see what other people love!
For a fun twist on building puzzles together, turn it into a competition! Pick out two puzzles with different pictures, but a similar number of pieces and degree of difficulty. Then see who can complete their puzzle first and earn a foot massage at the end of the date! You could also try completing the puzzle together, but without the picture on the box as a guide. Look at it quickly, then hide it away so you aren’t able to refer to it while you work together to complete the puzzle.
Have an indoor campout
A few years ago, we set up our tent in the family room and camped out together for the night. You don’t have to go all out with the tent and everything, but at least try for the air mattress and sleeping bags! Eat food that you would cook if it weren’t so cold outside and you were up in the mountains together. Roast s’mores using a small clay pot and charcoal briquettes. Play card games and truth or dare and take turns telling ghost stories. When your date is over, snuggle up together in your tent and enjoy a change of scenery for bedtime!
Popcorn and a movie date night
Sometimes we just love a relaxed movie night. Cuddling up under a blanket, sharing a snack and watching something that we each love is perfect! Some of our favorite date night movies include Red and Red 2, anything Harry Potter (make it a marathon), or The Princess Bride. You could take turns watching each other’s favorite movie, one on Friday and the other on Saturday. Or ask your friends and family on social media for suggestions of great movies they’ve watched recently.
If you’re looking for something different than your regular bag of butter popcorn, search Pinterest for air popped popcorn recipes and pick your favorite to try. You’ll even find tutorials for popping your popcorn in a pan on the stove or a paper bag in the microwave, so you don’t need a fancy machine for it!
Plan a fondue night
Search for fondue recipes on Pinterest. Make them together and enjoy a romantic evening dipping your favorite foods in cheese and chocolate. For an extra special night, set the table with your best dishes and serve sparkling cider in your nicest glasses.
Have a dance/music listening party
Grab both of your music libraries or turn on your favorite music streaming service. Listen to each of your current favorites, the songs that were your favorites in junior high and high school, your wedding song, or set your playlist on shuffle and listen to whatever ends up in the queue. Songs have a way of bringing back memories. This date would give you a great opportunity to reminisce together and get to know each other better by sharing stories that your spouse may not already know about you.
Have a video game competition
Order pizza and sit on the couch together for a night of friendly competition. Keep track of who wins each game. At the end of the night, give a prize to whoever won the most or pass out a consequence to the loser (ie has to do the dishes for the week).
Start a snowball fight
Spend the afternoon outside in the snow. Pick a home base and build your snowball stockpile. Then have fun feeling young and tossing snowballs at each other. Don’t keep score, just have fun! After you’re done, cuddle up with a cup of hot chocolate to help you get warm.
Watch old family videos
Organize the video clips you’ve saved on your hard drive together. Spend a few hours watching each video together and remembering those moments in your marriage and your family. You could also grab old family movies from your parents and make a movie night out of sharing those moments from your childhood with each other.
Maybe one day we’ll discover some outdoor winter hobbies that we love. But until then, we’ll stay inside where it’s warm and enjoy these activities together for date night! I hope you’re able to enjoy some cozy nights in together and connect as a couple this season!