Valentine's Date Ideas

Valentine's Day is around the corner and the common question is what to do to celebrate?

If you are looking to do more than a typical date of a super fancy restaurant, roses, and chocolate you are in the right place. Whether this is your first time celebrating with a partner or have decades of Valentine’s dates under your belt this is a great time to spice things up a bit. Use this date (and other dates throughout the year) to get to know your partner better and most importantly to have fun. The following tips help answer the question: How do I make a date special? 

Generate Date Ideas

What are some fun ideas for a date? This varies by couple. Take some time to think of activities you and your partner enjoy. Prioritize those activities that both partners really enjoy doing together. Maybe you or your spouse has an idea but hasn't quite communicated this. If so, set aside an hour total (or more if you all really get to talking❤️) for a quick and easy activity to figure this out.  Grab a jar and cut 2 pages of paper into small strips of paper about 2 inches tall- big enough to write a date idea on. No jar- no worries, use a cup that you don't use often. Take five minutes to write one date idea per strip of paper and put it in the jar. Shake it up and pick an idea. This can be your valentine date. You can use the rest of the ideas throughout the year. A couple of tips for this jar: Make sure you pull an idea in advance. In advance would be at least 2 weeks in advance so that arrangements can be made (i.e. reservations, babysitters, etc.) and most importantly to make sure each person is in agreement with the date idea. Do not add vacation ideas and/or date ideas that would need more than 2 weeks to execute. For example skydiving or a trip to Jamaica would take more than 2 weeks to do the logistics of scheduling and financing. Instead I would suggest using another jar for bigger ideas and instead of drawing weekly maybe draw monthly or every other month so that you are consistently planning for the larger trips/ideas while still doing ordinary date nights. This may determine your date nights. If you know you want to take a trip to Jamaica, maybe you are doing smaller, less expensive dates on a weekly basis in order to put more money towards your larger trip.

Use Groupon

Y’all- Its still open! I know you may wonder if they are still in business since they are not receiving the hype they used to in the past. After all, their counterpart went under. I 'm here to tell you it's still open and a great way to get a quality date on the low. If you are struggling with an idea for a date or already drew a date idea (using the previous idea) you can find a deal on Groupon.

Go to Groupon dot com and then click on the category tab and select a category that you and your date would be interested in. Some of my personal favorites are his and hers mani/pedi, massages, and sightseeing tours. I would also recommend researching the businesses prior to purchasing a groupon for their services. If they have bad reviews or if you have a bad feeling about the business, it may not be the option for you.  Remember there are other businesses in the same category that you can purchase from. 

Netflix and chill 2.0

For the more cost effective and more intimate option, let's do dinner and a movie at home. This would be for those couples that are already established and have nothing to prove. Read: not a good idea for a first date. You are not just making a basic meal you would eat on any given Tuesday but an elevated plate. Something that would be served at a five star restaurant.  If you want to be even fancier, hire a personal chef. Or if you can do a simpler meal and plan to bake a dessert together.  All of the options include talking during preparation and while eating the meal. 

The most important detail is: Select the movie ahead of time!!! I must say this out loud for the folks in the back. Yall already know you can spend the whole time it takes to watch a movie just to select one. Knock this out in advance by- you guessed it- writing all the movies you want to watch and placing it in a jar. Once you pick a movie out of the jar- the jar has spoken don't back down. If you are truly a “I want to watch what I'm in a mood for” type of person, label jars with different genres-comedy, horror, romance, etc. Then you can pull from a specific genre you are in the mood for. Again, once you pick the jar has spoken.

Bonus Tip:

So for us seasoned couples out there: Go out during the week or after valentine weekend. You can avoid the crowds and you can cash in on better deals or discounts aimed at keeping business flowing on the other days outside of Valentine’s and the connected weekend.

What should I do on a Valentine’s date? If you are still wondering what to do for Valentine’s that is fun, unique and can develop your relationship, read the tips again. There is truly an idea for everyone to try. Even when a date has had the potential to flop, my husband and I have enjoyed the process and each other's company. And better yet we have a funny story to tell. What is most important is the consistent effort to grow together in your relationship-not just on a Valentine date but also on date nights throughout the year.