Having a fun and adventurous date doesn’t have to cost the earth. Some of the best date ideas just require a little imagination and a free afternoon. Here are some of our favourite budget date ideas, perfect for keeping the spark alive at any time of year.
Unleash your competitive side with a night out playing fun arcade games. Buy a set of tokens and work your way around the arcade, challenging each other as you go. With bright lights, music and games, it’s a fun environment that will have the both of you laughing and joking as you try to beat each other.
On a clear and dry night, pack a flask, a blanket and your favourite playlist. Drive somewhere quiet and remote, away from the bright city lights. It’s a good idea to check online and see if you have a designated dark sky area near you, which are areas with very low light pollution but good public access. Get comfy and lie under the stars, looking into the great cosmos above. Bonus points if a meteor shower or other astronomical events are happening! Use apps to track the stars, and try and identify stars and constellations.
Perfect for a quiet weekend afternoon, many museums and art galleries don’t charge admission. Get your cultured hat on, with exhibits from the natural world to ancient history to discover. It’s a relaxed date, allowing you to go at your own pace, with no end of interesting things to talk about together. You’ll get to see a side of your date that you might not usually see, and you can finish off the day with a coffee in your favourite cafe.
If we’re lucky enough to get snow, make the most of it by taking your date out sledging. The fresh air, flushed cheeks and adrenaline rush will make it one to remember, not to mention it’s plenty of fun for everyone involved. It’s a great excuse for a road trip out into the countryside, and you get to hold on tight while you’re racing downhill! It’s also a good excuse for flirty snowball fights and making snow angels.
Cheaper than going out for a meal, cooking together is an intimate and unique way to spend an evening. Learn about each other’s favourite foods and tastes, or just take the night to spend some quality time together. One of you can cook the mains whilst the other cooks dessert, giving you each something to make. Put on your favourite film to watch afterwards, or for a particularly special date, dress up for your own candle lit feast.
