10 Unique and Inexpensive Date Night Ideas for Married Couples

Dating while married often is different from dating pre-marriage. (During the first stage of love.) Now that you are used to each other, it can be difficult to come up with unique date night ideas that are suitable for married couples with kids and busy schedules. Money may also be tight, so that puts another obstacle in your path of dating. 

Even though there are more challenges and maybe less motivation to date, it is even more important now than ever that you keep dating. Having fun together is a great way to keep getting to know each other and reignite the spark in your relationship.

To help you out on your married dating journey, here are 10 unique and inexpensive date night ideas for married couples. I almost guarantee that there will be something in this list that you and your spouse will enjoy together. So pick one and try it out!

(Also feel free to add your own ideas in the comments. I might just add your idea to this list!)

Unique and Inexpensive Date Night Ideas

1. Make cookies without a recipe.

Test your cooking skills and have some laughs while attempting to make cookies without a recipe. Perfection is not the goal, just have a good time and get creative! 😊 

2. Create a fake car out of a cardboard box and take it through a drive-thru.

This is definitely one of the more unique inexpensive date night ideas. It will be a lot of fun if you both are willing to take a risk and make yourselves look goofy.

Act as casual as possible when ordering and paying for your food. Maybe the “passenger” (or bystander if your car is pretty small) can be taking a video to record the face of the person behind the window to capture their reaction to the cardboard car.

Most important, after the date is done, make sure to laugh about it together!

You might also like: How Humor Can Make Your Marriage Better

3. Have a restaurant-style dinner date at home.

A nice at-home dinner is a fun thing to do as a couple and may make dating easier for married couples with kids.

Put a nice table cloth on the table, light candles, turn on romantic music and dress up! You could even make the dinner together if you need a less expensive date, or you could have it delivered to your door.

4. Go out to eat and have dessert first. 

This is a fun date night idea to try because you’ll be able to fully enjoy dessert before you are too full. If you aren’t hungry for a full meal after dessert, try some of the appetizers or salads for dinner. Depending on where you go and what you get, it may be a more of an inexpensive date night idea than getting a full meal.

5. Write and hide “dear stranger” notes.

Write uplifting and encouraging notes starting with “Dear stranger,” then hide them in public places where they will be found.

My husband and I did this when we first started dating. We had lots of fun coming up with things to write that would brighten someone’s day. I think we even put scripture verses in a few of them.

After writing the notes, my husband and I had lots of fun placing them in different buildings on the BYU-Idaho college campus. We put one in a hymn book, one in a Harry Potter book in the library, one on an announcement board, etc. You could also put them in a public library, in a public bathroom, or at the grocery store. The options are endless and you can be as adventurous as you want!

6. Go ice blocking.

Want an adventurous date night idea? Try ice blocking! It’s like sledding, but in the summer!

Get a frozen block of ice big enough to sit on  with some sort of handle inside it. You can freeze a piece of rope in a tub of water or drill a hole through the ice block and loop a rope through. Sometimes putting a towel over the ice block to sit on is sufficient enough that you won’t need a handle. Either way, a towel is good to have so you don’t freeze your rear end. 😉

Here’s an example of what ice blocking looks like.

7. Go stargazing.

Stargazing is one of the more romantic inexpensive date night ideas. There are lots of stargazing apps you can get (such as these ones) to help you know what stars you’re looking at. You could also enjoy a treat together while you do this.

8. Go bowling – skittles style!

You may have been bowling, but this spices things up while still having an inexpensive date night.

Grab a bag of skittles and label a different way to throw the bowling ball for each skittle color. Have the colors and their label on a piece of paper ready to look at. Randomly pick a skittle before throwing the ball, and look at the paper to find out how you are supposed to throw it!

Some ideas for ways to throw the ball could be granny style, eyes closed, throw with your non-dominant hand, make the bowling ball roll as slow as possible, only stand on one foot, kneel on the ground, etc. This makes it less about the competition and more about having a good time together. 

Another way to do skittle bowling is by having a get-to-know-you question for each color of skittle. After you draw a color, answer the question that goes with the color and then take your turn bowling. Here’s an example of some questions you could ask each other.

9. Order ice cream for each other.

This is a fun date night idea for married couples who want a unique date that isn’t too out-of-the-box.

Go out to a frozen yogurt or ice cream shop and order for each other. Make it even more fun by waiting outside until your spouse has finished your order, then switch! You can order something you think they would love, something you would like, or just go all out with various toppings and flavors. 

Want to take the creativity to the next level? Eat the ice cream blind-folded and try guessing what your spouse put in it!

10. Flip a coin adventure!

Go on a drive and take a coin with you. Have the passenger flip the coin every time you have a choice of where to turn. If it lands on heads, go right. If it lands on tails, go left. Decide what time you want to stop and then explore the area you end up at! 

Remember the Goal of Going on Dates

As you enjoy your date, don’t forget that the goal is to reconnect with your spouse. You can do this by asking good open-ended questions! They will help you get to know your spouse better and keep your relationship alive. (If you need help thinking of good questions, I got a long list for you in this blogpost under #5!) 

Now Go Have Fun!!

Now let your creative side out and go have an adventurous date night! Let me know which of these unique and inexpensive date night ideas you want to do (or other ideas you have) in the comments below!

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