Date night ideas for new parents at home
You don’t need to leave your house for a date night
After you have kids it is really important to still connect as a couple.
You are a mom and dad now and your life changed completely.
You are a husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend too. It is important not to lose yourself.
Having a date night is the perfect way to reconnect.
But what if you don’t feel like getting a babysitter to go out yet?
Or simply don’t want to go anywhere because you are simply exhausted or don’t have the funds for a babysitter?
Here are Date night ideas for staying at home and still having a great time.
Plus you do not have to spend much money for these ideas and it will be good for your relationship.
If your baby is cranky and won’t sleep you can even have a great date night with your new baby.
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1. Takeout and Candlelight
Most people would consider a real date night to be going out to a great restaurant being dressed all fancy.
But if you are already sleep-deprived and lack of energy that does not sound very appealing.
How about simply having takeout and candlelight at home?
You can order whatever you want and get it delivered to your house thanks to delivery services like grubhub or doordash.
To really set the mood you can light some candles at the dinner table.
Maybe a glass of your favorite wine and some music in the background and you’re all set.
Make sure to stock up on these great smelling candles for the most romantic dinner.
2. Wellness
Who says you have to go anywhere to get a spa day?
It is expensive and if you have bad luck you’ll and up at a place you don’t even really like and therefore don’t enjoy the time there.
All you need to transform your own home into a Spa is some candles that you most likely already have. Maybe one that smells really good.
Some massage oil, bathrobe and taking turns giving each other a relaxing massage can be a very unique and fun date night for you two. And you can just start once your baby goes to sleep.
How about adding some lavender scented massage oil to the mix?
And who knows…the relaxing massage could lead to some adult fun if you are in the mood.
Alternative to a massage you could enjoy a pedicure.
All you need for that is a bucket with warm water, some bubble bath or bath bombs, lotion, and a nail file. Soak your feet and paint the nails nice after.
You can also get a whole pedicure kit to make your feet soft as baby skin.
3. Game night
When was the last time you played a board game?
If you don’t know the answer to that it has definitely been way too long! Board games are very simple and you can just leave everything in case your baby starts crying.
Grab your favorite board game or explore a completely new one together.
Ditch the phones, grab some snacks and simply play a board game together.
That way nobody is just staring at their phones and you can actually have a conversation while playing and reconnect.
We recently bought a classic card game – Phase ten.
It is so much fun to play, competitive and you will definitely have a great time with your significant other. If you are not familiar with the game I highly recommend checking it out.
And if you want to take it a little further there are games like unsolved case files where you can play detective and solve a difficult crime case.
They have different cases with lots of evidence you have to evaluate and find out who the killer is.
These games can take multiple hours to days so be mindful of that if you only have limited time unless you don’t have a problem in pausing the game and picking up where you left off later again.
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4. Cooking
This is something you can turn into a regular thing too.
Cooking together – so simple yet so fun. Make your favorite dish together or explore new flavors. Food services like the popular hello fresh are a great addition to this idea.
You get everything you need to cook a dish delivered right to your door and instructions on how to make it.
It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, a simple spaghetti with meat sauce cooked from scratch is fast and easy to make and tastes delicious.
Find out how I make spaghetti bolognese from scratch here and other delicious recipes on my recipes page.
“Date nights are an essential part of any healthy relationship”
5. Picnic
Yes, you can have a picnic in the comfort of your own home.
No need to go outside somewhere to find the perfect spot while carrying a picnic basket and your baby.
To make it feel like an authentic picnic grab a blanket and throw it on the floor.
Place dishes and food on the blanket and sit down together.
Food wise you can just make some quick sandwiches and snacks.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are great too maybe with some ranch to dip. Cleaning up after is fast and easy too.
This also makes the perfect family day when it’s raining outside.
6. S’mores and Fireplace
Do you have a fireplace in your home? Yes? Perfect.
Instead of building a bonfire and waiting for the flames to start burning you can gather all the supplies needed for S’mores and enjoy them by the fireplace.
Get cozy by the fire and roast the marshmallows.
If you do not have a fireplace you can use your stove to roast the marshmallows.
This can be transformed in a family night too involving older children.
For less danger of burning your house down I can recommend this adorable S’mores maker.
We got it gifted one year for Christmas and it comes in really handy.
The heat source is flameless and you got enough space around to store all the important ingredients for S’mores making. After using the S’mores maker you can take it apart for easy cleaning.
7. Movie night
This is probably the easiest thing to do.
Get a Redbox DVD with a new movie you both want to watch but couldn’t go to the movie theater for.
Some microwave popcorn will make your whole house smell amazing and is the perfect snack for watching movies.
Some ice cream or other candy can make it even better.
Snuggle up in a blanket together and enjoy the movie.
You can get cute Popcorn bowls at the dollar store if you don’t want to use a regular bowl.
8. Play video games
Get a game that can be played by more people at once.
Remember Mario Kart? Oh, how much fun we had as kids racing each other.
Playing split-screen while getting completely confused on what corner of the TV is your character and bumping each other off the track. So why not make a fun date night out of it?
Relive your childhood memories with the person you love the most.
Even better if you can rent or borrow an old game system with the original game from someone.
This could also be a great family night idea or an actual party with other friends and kids.
9. Stargaze
If you have a backyard or Patio this is a great thing to do too. If it is a colder season make sure to dress warm and cozy.
Grab the baby monitor, a picnic blanket and lay down outside watching the stars at night.
You can add some snacks and drinks to enjoy together.
Try to find different shapes with the stars in the sky or look up the big star constellations and try to find them.
Alternatively you can just sit together by the bonfire and enjoy the quiet and piece of the night combined with the smell of the bonfire.
This is a great idea for colder nights too.
10. Sip and Paint
Do you know of the popular sip and paint events where a group of adults (mostly women) meet to paint the same picture and drink wine while doing so?
You can definitely do that with your spouse at home too.
It can be so much fun and a great way to bond together as a couple.
At home you can use any material you want to do this from simple colored pencils or watercolor to the more advanced oil painting on canvas – however you feel.
If you have a older child you probably already have the supplies and don’t need to buy anything new.
And you can paint any object in your house.
To make it a bit more fun you could both choose a few objects, write them on a piece of paper and then raffle which object you are going to draw.
Of course you shouldn’t overdo it with the wine – after all someone still needs to take care of the baby after.
And if you are breastfeeding there is a variety of delicious virgin cocktails you can use instead too.
11. Puzzle fun
This one is so simple yet so much fun if you like puzzles.
Get one of those giant puzzles with over 1000 pieces and sit together with your favorite snacks or drinks and solve the puzzle together.
If you get a puzzle with a beautiful landscape or city you could even glue it together and frame it to hang on your walls after you are done.
That way you have a new piece if decoration and a nice memory all in one.
12. Do not laugh challenge
I have seen lots of youtubers doing something like this lately and it is definitely hilarious.
The concept is very simple.
You look around on youtube for funny videos that you both watch together.
Whoever laughs first loses.
You can do this until a person lost a number of times or you can spice it up a bit and have the loser take off one piece of clothing every time they lose.
Alternatively you can watch fascinating videos where you are not allowed to say “wow” or any other videos and words you can come up with.
13. Taste test
For a taste test you can literally use whatever you love most from different chocolate, wine or beer to different cheese or even frozen snacks.
Think about Oreo cookies – there are tons of different varieties out there and I am sure you haven’t tried them all unless you are a complete Oreo junkie.
You can buy a few different boxes of Oreos you have never tried and do the taste test together.
You can even do this completely blind folded.
Maybe you’ll even find a new favorite.
14. Learn something new together
Have you been thinking about trying out a new hobby?
Why not try it out together!
There’s a ton of different new things that are just waiting for you to be discovered.
A few great examples of new hobbies to try are the currently popular diamond painting or paint by number sets.
Or maybe you always wanted to try out photography?
Let your spouse be your model and just take fun pictures together with your phone.
15. Video time – TikTok
The relatively new tiktok app is very popular with young kids as well as adults.
You can find pretty much anything on there including video challenges you can do with your spouse.
Or let your creativity flow and make a unique video of you two for the world to see.
You can teach people a new skill or just be funny – the possibilities are endless.
Step out of your comfort zone and give it a try and you might really enjoy it.
How is your date night at home gonna look like?
