Rekindle the romance: 52 (plus!) creative date night ideas

Written by Janeen Lewis

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. The last two years have made dating 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!

• 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 whiskey, beer 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.
• Go bowling.
• Book a vintage meal at Heritage Park, like lunch on the River Forth dining train or a Captain’s Cruise on the S.S. Moyie.
• Dine at a restaurant that has live entertainment like jazz, blues or theater.
• Book dinner at a fancy hotel in town. Even better, if you can find babysitting, stay overnight!
• Go out to a progressive dinner. Have drinks at one place, dinner at another and dessert at another.
• Make popcorn and enjoy a romantic movie.
• Play a board game for two like Carcassonne, Fox in the Forest or Patchwork.
• Build a roaring fire in an outdoor fire pit, make s’mores, and snuggle.
• Have trivia night at home. Try a trivia app or 
• Trivial Pursuit!
• Enjoy a fondue night at home. Dip your favorite fruits, veggies, bread, crackers, chocolate and cake in cheese or chocolate.
• Take a hot-air balloon ride.
• Try archery at a range with rental equipment.
• Race go-karts.
• Take a helicopter or airplane ride together.
• Take SCUBA diving certification classes together. Plan a trip to an exotic place to scuba dive.
• Go skydiving (or try iFLY for a safer option!)
• Try your hand at ax throwing.
• Canoe, kayak or river raft.
• Go spelunking.
• 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 hike! 
• Take a sailing lesson on the Glenmore Reservoir. 
• 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 an open night at the Rothney Astrophysical Observatory. There is something romantic about viewing constellations in the night sky.
• Visit a farmer’s market. Buy flowers and all the ingredients for dinner and make a delicious meal at home.
• Visit the Calgary Zoo, no kids in tow.
• Check out some of Calgary’s public art exhibitions. 
• Rent a convertible and drive up and down the Cowboy Trail. 
• Pack a picnic and attend a live outdoor concert.
• 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.
• Create a playlist together of your favorite love songs, or go retro and make a CD or mixtape.
• 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.
• Go to a carnival, fair or festival. Visit the booths, enjoy the music and eat food on a stick.
• Go mini-golfing.
• Visit a farm or petting zoo. 
• Visit Calaway Park. You’re never too old! 
• Learn to swordfight at a local HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) club.
• 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.
• Take aerobics, yoga or Pilates together.
• Lift weights together.
• Take karate together.
• Try indoor climbing or bouldering together.
• 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 is a freelance journalist and mom to Andrew and Gracie. She has been published in several anthologies and parenting magazines across the country.