Are you skipping date night with your spouse or significant other? If so, you may want to rethink the amount of time you rendezvous with the one you love. Research shows that couples who spend time together every week have higher quality relationships.

What better way to have one-on-one time than date night? No matter what your interests, personality or financial status, there are date night ideas to suit everyone. In recent years, dating has been difficult due to social distancing, closures and even financial concerns. Don’t let the challenges stop you! With a little creativity, couples can still find ways to spend quality time together. Hire a sitter or trade child care with another couple and try one of these 52 plus creative ways to date your mate – more than one for every week of the year!

Cheap Dates
Pretend the electricity is out. Turn out the lights, light candles, build a fire and make a comfy pillow fort. Use a charged device to watch a show or listen to music.
Stargaze. Find a spot away from city lights and look at the Milky Way, Orion’s Belt or possibly a shooting star.
Go to a local wine-tasting or coffee-tasting.
Rent bikes and ride around town. If you feel really adventurous, try a tandem bike.
Visit a local pool hall. Shoot pool and play darts.
Treat each other to an at-home spa night with bubble bath, foot rubs and massages.
Watch a sunrise, sunset or both.

Fancy Dates   
Take a cruise on a dinner yacht.
Dine at a restaurant that has live entertainment like jazz, blues or theater.
Ride on a dinner train. Visit dinnertrains.com to find one near you.
Take a horse-drawn carriage ride around the city at night.
Go out to a progressive dinner. Have drinks at one place, dinner at another and dessert at another.

Outdoor Dates
Canoe, kayak or river raft.
Go spelunking. Find out if where cave camping is allowed. Pack your gear and spend the night in a cave.
Hunt for treasure by geocaching. Using a GPS, treasure seekers enter a specific set of coordinates and then attempt to find a hidden container at the location. Check out geocaching.com to find out more.
Go fishing.
Take a boat tour of a city.
Go glamping. This is perfect if one of you loves camping but the other likes the comforts of home.
Hit golf balls at a driving range.
Visit a farmer’s market. Buy flowers and all the ingredients for dinner and make a delicious meal at home.

Around Town Dates
Visit your local planetarium. There is something romantic about viewing constellations in the night sky, even if it is indoors.
Visit your local aquarium.
Audition for a part in a community theatre production together.
Attend a gallery hop, an event where several art galleries open their doors for free viewings on the same night.
Rent a convertible and explore the town you live in.
Pack a picnic and attend a live concert on your town’s green.

Socially Conscious Dates
Volunteer at a community garden. Grow your relationship along with some vegetables and donate your harvest to a soup kitchen.
Love animals? Volunteer at your local humane society.
Serve together at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter.
Volunteer as a docent, greeter, or server at one of your favorite charity events.
Complete a charity run together. You could also walk it together if running isn’t your thing.
Buy tickets to a charity gala. Dress up in a tuxedo and evening gown, have a glamorous night and help others.

Dates for Hopeless Romantics
Create a playlist together of your favorite love songs, or go retro and make a mixed tape.
Recreate your first date.
Write each other a love letter.
Read romantic poetry by a fire. Some poets to try: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Burns, Christina Rossetti, and of course, the bard himself, William Shakespeare.

Dates that Make You Feel Like a Kid Again
Go to a carnival, fair or festival. Ride the rides, visit booths and eat food on a stick.
Go putt-putting
Visit your local roller rink and skate.
Visit a farm and take a hay ride.
Go to the zoo.

Physically Fit Dates
Take a dance lesson together. Whether you pick a steamy salsa, intimate tango or flirty cha cha, it will be good for your heart both physically and romantically.
Run a marathon. Cross the finish line together.
Take aerobics, yoga or Pilates together.
Lift weights together.
Take karate together.
Hit together at the batting cages.

Virtual Dates
Share your screen on a Zoom call and take turns watching your favorite movies or binge watch favorite shows.
Take a virtual class together. Udemy and Masterclass have an assortment of classes like cooking, drawing, painting, writing and more, or follow a YouTube tutorial.
Paint on canvases while you share a screen. The next time you see each other in person, give each other the paintings.

Janeen Lewis is a freelance journalist and mom to Andrew and Gracie. She has been published in several anthologies and parenting magazines across the country.