10 Fun and Frugal Date Ideas

Biceps and I love to date each other-and have been for the last twelve and a half years. However, the typical dinner and a movie can get pricey-and monotonous. So, we like to look for inexpensive and spicey ways to still enjoy each other’s company, while staying on a focused budget.

Maybe you and your mate are in the same boat-or would like to be. Here are 10 Fun Frugal Date Ideas for you to build on!

1. Design another world for someone you love!
Pull out old boxes, packing tape and a pair of scissors. Together, design what your new world will be for your wee one (pet or child). Get creative and add hanging strings for kitties to swipe at, a ball for a dog to chase around or use markers to decorate the interior of the box for the humans in your life. It’s a whole new world, baby.

2. Enjoy a sunrise or sunset together.
Depending upon your mate’s aversion or diversion to the time of day, brew a pot of coffee and catch the sun as its rising or setting. Be still together. Soak in the colors and make cloud animals with your brains.

3. Make a tent in your living room.
This. just. happened. For our anniversary, we grabbed all the sheets, safety pins, clothes pins, chip clips and old rope we had and created an indoor tent. It’s a fun way to figure out how to work together, how to design your tent, and most importantly-what snacks will be inside of the tent. Build your tent over your tv and enjoy your favorite show or movie together while perched on pillows and blankets.

4. Hold a contest.
Challenge each other to find the most absurd signs that you can while out on a drive…

(4, Cont)…or in a store. It’s not hard to find human weirdness displayed in sign form. Snap a picture with your phone and let an unbiased third party be the judge.

5. Look through family photos.
Sounds a little boring, but in reality it’s not. Pull out that old bin of family photos and start telling each other stories (real or fanciful) about the people in them. You can make this a double date, of sorts, with other family members who enjoy the art of story telling.

6. Grab a $1 slice or pizza and head to the park.
Pack a few extras from home to round out dinner. Perch on a pretty spot and enjoy your simple picnic. Sunset is the best time of the day to enjoy this date. Uber romantic.

7. Have an indoor picnic.
Still too cold outside to enjoy an outdoor picnic? Pack up fruit, cheese and whatever else you have on hand and hang out in the living room-or some other room you don’t frequent. (Sometimes my favorite spot is the guest bedroom). Throw a blanket on the ground and enjoy your “picnic”.

8. Go camping.
Hate bugs? Hate waking up cold? Hate brewing your coffee in the shower house because that’s the only outlet? Well, too bad. Deal with it. Camping can bring a couple together if you go into it with an adventurous spirit. Take a hike together, see who can toss sticks the furthest, climb a tree, sit on a rock. Just BE together and quit complaining.

9. Dress up and photograph yourselves.
Make a costume out of whatever you have on hand-sheets are great capes, colanders are great hats, wooden spoons are perfect scepters, grannies old dress is hilarious on the manly spouse. You get the idea. Then, set up a tripod and photograph yourselves in various poses. Trust me, this is fun. Why do you think we do it every year with our Christmas Cards?

10. Sit on the back porch together.
Light a fire, snuggle down and be still together. No phones, no computer-just the two of you. Enjoy.

I’d love to hear any date ideas you may have. Comment below, please!