I may only have 3 years of marriage under my belt, but I have one core belief that I think applies to every successful relationship. Keep dating each other! 

When you and your partner make an effort to spend quality time together on a regular basis, it opens up more opportunities for communication and allows you to make lasting memories together. 

If you want to have more fun, creative dates with your partner but you guys have trouble coming up with new ideas, this is the blog for you! Here are 52 cute date ideas brainstormed by me and my husband, giving you one new date idea per week for a year. We tried to keep these as Covid-safe and budget-friendly as possible.

52 Cute Date Ideas for a Year of Fun

1. Have a movie night – with a full blown concessions stand!

Pick a movie you’ve both never seen, and queue it up on Netflix or rent it online for a couple bucks. Gather up popcorn, a variety of candy, soft pretzels, nachos, or any of your other favorite theatre snacks. Turn off all the lights in your house, crank up the movie volume, and scoot up nice and close to your TV with comfy chairs or floor pillows. Imagine you’re at the movie theatre!

2. Have a picnic at a local park.

Pack up some wine and cheese or just simple sandwiches and take them to-go. Stroll around your favorite local park and then pick out a nice spot to lay down an old blanket. Snack under the sun.

3. Cook something new together.

Pick out a new recipe for something fun and unique, like enchiladas, ravioli, sushi, or falafel. Go shopping together for all the ingredients you need. Bring them home and cook your meal together. If you really want to go all out, make several courses: a salad or appetizer, the main dish, and a dessert. Feast on your creations.

4. Pick out a book for each other.

If you like to read as much as we do, you’ll love this date. Go to your local used bookstore or library. (Personally, we recommend Half Price Books here in Dallas.) Spend some time picking out a new book for each other. Bring your selections home and read together on the couch while you eat snacks. It’s literary paradise! If you guys aren’t readers, try the same idea with vinyl records, CDs, or movies.

5. Go mural hunting.

One of our favorite ways to spend an afternoon exploring the city is to go looking for cool murals. I use Instagram and Pinterest to find murals in our area, write down the addresses in a note on my phone, and then plug them into the GPS. When we get there, we quickly try to take the coolest pictures we can and then move on to the next mural. It’s a perfect activity for social-distancing, because you don’t have to stand close to anybody or touch anything. But you still get to enjoy some urban exploration! 

6. Go backyard camping.

Pitch a tent in your backyard and spend a night under the stars! Roast marshmallows and make s’mores. If you live in an apartment like us, make a blanket fort instead and roast your marshmallows on a grill.

7. Be art critics for a day.

Strolling through an art museum can be a super fun date! Check for rotating limited time exhibits. (We really enjoyed For a Dreamer of Houses at the Dallas Museum of Art.) Even if you know absolutely nothing about art, you can still make it fun. Give each other “guided tours” where you make up your own goofy interpretations for each piece. You’ll be cracking up in no time.

8. Make a time capsule.

Commemorate a special date in your relationship by selecting some items for a time capsule. Write each other letters and drop in some tokens of your affection. Seal them up in an airtight container and write the date you plan to open it on the outside. Add the date to your calendar on your phone. Bury the capsule in your backyard. If you live in an apartment, maybe just tuck the time capsule away in a drawer instead. 

9. Create your own breakfast bar.

Make waffles or toast in bulk. Set out lots of different toppings like syrup, peanut butter, nutella, jams, avocado, fruit, coconut flakes, and whatever else you can imagine. Spend breakfast time together trying out different flavor combinations. (For an example of how to do this, check out my recent brunch blog.)

10. Go to the zoo.

The zoo definitely isn’t just for little kids! It’s one of our favorite date spots. Make it extra fun by turning your zoo trip into a photo scavenger hunt for specific animals. If you’re nervous about the crowds at the zoo failing to social distance properly, try a drive thru safari like Fossil Rim!

11. Go for a bike ride.

Bike around your favorite park in the late afternoon. Then, sit down on a bench and watch the sunset.

12. Have a board game tournament. 

Play all of your old favorites, like Scrabble, Clue, and Twister. Or try out a totally new strategy board game and spend your date figuring out the rules! If it’s a keeper, you’ll have the coolest new game for future parties.

13. Go to a drive-in movie.

While we have dearly missed going to movie theatres for the past year, we are loving the renewed interest in drive-in movies! The Dallas area has several locations to choose from.

14. Go to a botanical garden.

The Dallas Arboretum and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden are our two favorites in this area.

15. Sing some karaoke. Virtually, or IRL.

I love to sing, but I’m not so big on having an audience. My mind was blown this year when I discovered there are private karaoke rooms! Punch Bowl Social has really cool ones you can rent for $35 per hour. You can also sing your lungs off in quarantine by setting up a karaoke night on your TV at home.

16. Play some pub trivia. Virtually, or IRL.

Pre-Covid, one of our favorite Trivia spots of all time was Trinity Cider in Deep Ellum. Now that we stay home more than we go out, it’s fun to find virtual trivia events online and host our own happy hour! Our friend Spencer hosted a Harry Potter Virtual Trivia Event on his blog recently. You can get the deets here.

17. Spend a night at the theatre. Virtually, or IRL.

Post-Covid, support your local community theatre by grabbing tickets to the next show! For now, you can watch lots of live productions virtually. Make a night of it by dressing up, cooking something fun for dinner, and dimming the lights for the virtual show.

18. Try axe throwing.

Did you know there are businesses where you can pay to fling axes at wooden targets? It’s a lot of fun, and it would be pretty easy to social distance while doing it. (But if you aren’t comfortable leaving quarantine yet, I definitely wouldn’t recommend trying this one at home LOL!)

19. Go ice skating.

Whether you and your partner are athletic enough to glide gracefully across the ice or you stumble along gripping the edge of the rink, you’ll definitely have a blast trying this activity together.

20. Go bowling. 

A classic date activity for a reason! Have a tournament and let the winner choose what to eat for dinner. If you aren’t up for a trip to the bowling alley while Covid is still on the loose, you can get a plastic bowling kit for less than $10 at Walmart and play at home. 

21. Go mini golfing.

Like bowling, it’s another classic date idea. And like bowling, you can buy your own inexpensive kit and play at home! Bonus points for every time you guys put your arms around each other to assist with hitting the golf ball.

22. Assemble a charcuterie board.

Shopping for fancy cheeses, spreads, and prosciutto and assembling them into a charcuterie board makes such a fun date night! If wine and cheese isn’t your thing, try making a candy, ice cream, or breakfast grazing bar instead.

23. Have a paint night.

Pick up some inexpensive canvases and acrylic paint and go get creative! Try to recreate a scene with Bob Ross or paint portraits of each other. Even if neither of you are artistic, you can have a laugh trying your best.

24. Go for a hike.

Grab your sneakers or hiking boots and drive to your nearest nature trail for a hike.

25. Try out geocaching.

Use an app on your phone to hunt for tiny hidden treasures all over your town! People in the geocaching community hide trinkets for others to find and then share the coordinates with instructions on where to look for them. It’s like a modern day treasure hunt!

26. Go horseback riding.

Horseback riding is fun, romantic, and even therapeutic. Spend some time outdoors with beautiful animals together.

27. Try a new dessert.

Even if you aren’t dining indoors yet, you can still support local businesses and enjoy delicious food adventures as a couple! One of our favorite ways to treat ourselves on the weekends is to go out for a special dessert. Some of our favorite places to pick up sweet treats are SomiSomi Ice Cream, Fat Straws Bubble Tea, Emporium Pies,  Chelles Macarons, and Sweet Daze Dessert Bar.

28. Fly a drone.

Order a cheap drone and attempt to pilot it around your backyard or down your street. The beauty of an inexpensive drone is that you can laugh a lot instead of worrying if it crashes, but if you want to invest in a nice drone with a camera, that would make a really fun date idea too!

29. Sign up for a woodshop class.

Make your own home decor at a local woodshop. There are lots of cool crafting classes where you can choose a design, sand and stain pre-cut wood, and stencil words onto the surface. I really enjoyed making a project at Board and Brush in Plano last year.

30. Try yoga together.

Try to find your zen, or just goof around. You can use online videos and strike your yoga poses from the comfort of your own home.

31. Play a movie drinking game. (Or snacking game!)

Look up a drinking game for one of your favorite movies or series. Sip your drink every time a character says “Harry Potter” or every time a light saber is used. For those who don’t drink, lay out a spread of snacks and grab a bite of something delicious each time instead.

32. Have a water gun and water balloon fight.

Arm yourselves with the coolest super soaker water guns you can find and an arsenal of water balloon ammo. Head outside to the backyard and have a water fight!

33. Celebrate an unbirthday party.

Instead of waiting for one of your birthdays to roll around to have cake and presents, plan an UN-birthday party for each other on a random date of your choosing. Order a nice, frosted, full-size cake and get each other small gifts. Throw yourselves a celebration complete with party games.

34. Make up ghost stories.

Turn off all the lights in your home. Light up your faces with flashlights. Come prepared with spooky ghost stories you looked up beforehand, or make up the spookiest stories you can think of. Blanket fort and horror movies are optional, but recommended.

35. Build something with legos.

Buy a lego set and build it together. It will bring out your inner child and give you an opportunity to just relax and talk while you get creative.

36. Go on a photo scavenger hunt.

Pick out a list of 10 things to find and photograph in your area, or use a template from the internet. Set a time limit and compete to see who can collect the most photos the fastest! This would also make an excellent social-distanced double date with friends, because each couple could play as a team.

37. Have a video game night.

If one of you plays video games and the other doesn’t, start with a tutorial on how to play the game and then let the less experienced member of your couple take the reigns! It can be a lot of fun to stumble through a new video game while your partner shows you the ropes. If you both already play video games, try playing the same online game together as different characters and meet up for a “date” inside the game. If neither of you regularly plays video games, try downloading a new fun and easy game on your phones and playing it together. 

38. Plan a themed dinner and movie night.

Order Greek take out and watch Hercules, or make some pasta and watch Lady and the Tramp! You get the idea.

39. Try an escape room.

Sign up for an escape room and try to solve all the puzzles together in less than an hour! If you’re still in quarantine, you can order your own escape room kits and play at home instead.

40. Go to a murder mystery dinner. Or plan your own!

Grab some tickets and dress up fancy for a murder mystery dinner theatre event. You can also plan your own small mystery dinner party with friends, either in person or over Zoom.

41. Go for a boat ride.

Climb aboard a sailboat or river cruise for a romantic evening on the water and watch the sunset.

42. Go for a carriage ride.

Book a carriage ride around your city at night time and watch the skyline twinkle in the dark. We did this date last year for our 3rd wedding anniversary, and it was so much fun!

43. Hang out with live butterflies.

Take a trip to the Texas Discovery Garden and see live butterflies flutter and float around you in the trees. Sometimes they will even land on your hand.

44. Take a day trip to a small town or a state park.

Go on a road trip to a new place you’ve never been and explore it together.

45. Make vision boards or bucket lists.

This is a great chance to grow closer as you visualize what you want your life to look like in the future. You can make digital pinterest boards, or physically cut out photos and decorate an actual vision board notebook or poster.

46. Go treasure hunting in antique stores, flea markets, or yard sales.

Look for something specific, or just browse and see how much cool stuff you can find at a low cost.

47. Go stargazing.

Bring a blanket or some lawn chairs to a local park or out in the country. Gaze up at the stars and listen to music or talk about life.

48. Check out local wildflowers.

When spring blooms, visit flower farms like Texas Tulips or check out the Ennis Bluebonnet Trails.

49. Go berry picking.

In the summer, pick some berries together at a local farm. Lots of farms will let you fill up huge baskets of fresh fruit for the low cost of a ticket. It’s a fun activity to do together, and you’ll end up with a whole bunch of fresh produce to eat too.

50. Go to the State Fair.

My all-time favorite thing to do in Dallas every year is go to the State Fair of Texas! Even though Covid canceled the fair last year, you could still participate in a drive-thru fair experience to eat corndogs and get photos with Big Tex. Hopefully, the fair will be back to its former glory in 2021. Here are a few tips for visiting if you’ve enver been before.

51. Go to the pumpkin patch.

Pick out the perfect pumpkin and take lots of cute photos. Here are a few of our favorite local pumpkin patches.

52. Go look at Christmas lights.

Brew a cup of hot cocoa and check out the lights in your neighborhood, or drive to see more elaborate light displays like Deerfield in Plano, Vitruvian Park in Addison, or Mainstreet in Grapevine. Here are our top 10 favorite places to celebrate the Christmas season.

May Your Love Life Be Creative This Year

I hope these 52 date ideas inspire other couples to go on creative dates together this year! Do you have a cool date idea I didn’t think to include on my list? Share suggestions with me on Instagram!