Date Nights at Home

I miss date nights. I miss dining in a dimly lit, slightly loud restaurant while drinking a glass of wine and splitting a charcuterie platter with my husband.

Our last dine-in experience pre-pandemic was McDonald’s. Sam had the day off from work and we met up for a quick lunch at the closest fast-food restaurant to my office, which was McDonald’s. I am not above a McDonald’s meal, but if I knew that was the last time I would eat a meal inside a restaurant I would have picked somewhere else.

Even though we managed to eat at two restaurants outdoors in the fall, but it’s been much too cold for that lately. 

Now, almost one year later from that final restaurant date, I find myself longing for a night out. I was always one of those people who didn’t understand the concept of a date night at home after marriage since that’s just being at home. But contagions and restrictions made me reframe that thinking.

I considered what I enjoy most about a night out. It usually involves food and conversation with Sam. Talking at home is a no-brainer and I can hold my own in the kitchen, so a date night at home seemed doable. I then went to Google to find new recipes and we planned our first date night. A few weeks later, it’s become a weekly staple that we both look forward to. 

Here’s what we do:

• Put the toddler to bed. This is probably obvious, but if she’s not asleep then this doesn’t happen.
• Dress up like we’re leaving the house. For me, that means I’ll style my hair, put on some make up, and wear an outfit that makes me feel pretty.
• Cook a small batch dessert to share. Our first dessert was a chocolate lava cake, which was the most datey dessert we could think of. Most recently I adapted my family’s fruit cobbler into a two serving cherry cobbler, which was my first foray into developing a recipe. Once I perfect it, I’ll share it with you.

• Clean up the living room and set a candle. All the toddler toys are put away. This is key since it helps set the tone of the room and reminds me that adults do indeed live in our house.
• No screens. Yes, I’ll often post a story of our dessert, but beyond that the phone stays away. We also don’t watch anything during our date night. We simply sit together on the couch and talk, just like we would do if we were out for dinner.

And that’s it. The evening is cozy and romantic. 

Our date nights at home are now a special time for us to connect. Between our being limited in our outings and having a toddler, I thought our dating days were confined to times when family came to town. However, our date nights at home reminded me that spending time together has less to do with going out and spending money. It’s really about taking the time and focusing on us. 

Regardless of pandemics, we’ll still have a toddler and childcare will still be expensive, so date nights outside the home will remain a challenge. This little experiment has been fun, but it’s also very low-cost. I feel like we cracked the code to having some quarantine fun, which only took a year to figure out.

Have you ever done a date night at home? Please comment below. I would love to hear about yours!