Tired of dinner and a movie? Check out my five favorite Valentine's Date ideas for the perfect holiday, whether you're spending it with your sweetheart, your sister, your best friends, or even your kids or grandkids! The best part is, as long as you have access to some basic supplies, all of these are free to do!
Comment below and let us know which one you tried!
Has anyone else found themselves spending more time looking for something fun to do then actually doing something fun? We've said it before: sometimes Ashley and I feel like an old married couple. We spend so much time together, that we often find ourselves out of ideas. We end up on Google for ages searching for some sort of hidden gem that we usually never find, and by the time we decide on something, we've both usually lost interest.
Even with my friends or my parents, it seems like we're just rotating between the same few pastimes: Do we start up a board game, or play a round of tennis? Watch a movie, or go get ice cream? And usually, that's where the ideas end. I'm pretty sure every employee at the local yogurt shop knows my order by heart; it's our family's exclusive destination for any kind of special occasion. (Not that I'm complaining, though. If you are in Colorado and you haven't tried the watermelon sorbet at Nella's Frozen Yogurt, do it. Now.)
Luckily, I am a planner. I find far too much joy in spending copious hours making detailed activity agendas (it's a lot more fun than it sounds!), so when we seem to have exhausted the list of things to do, it's time to get creative. All of these ideas are simple and easily adaptable for couples, families, friends, and even groups. They're all either things I've done with the people I love or activities I've planned for others that have gotten great feedback, so I can almost guarantee that any one of these will make for a much more memorable night than another fancy dinner or round of bowling. And best of all, they're all free!
Scroll through to see my top Valentine's Day/PALentine's Day Date ideas, and get ready for a night to remember!
Date #1 - Mall Mind Reading
I'm a little embarrassed about this one, because Ashley and I did it together over the summer and we failed miserably. So much for our twin telepathy!
The idea of Mall Mind Reading is for you and your partner to test your mind-reading skills. You'll head to a local mall or shopping center and split up, each visiting your list of stores at different times and trying to take pictures of the same item at every store.
First, decide how long you want the game to last and how many stores you'd like to visit. When we did this one, we planned 45 minutes for five stores and ended up running out of time! I recommend trying five stores in one hour, but of course the amount of time you'll need will vary based on how big your mall is and how indecisive the players are.
Then, make a list of which stores you'll want to visit. Big department stores are pretty challenging, try to choose smaller places with novelty items like toy stores or candy shops. If your mall has any local shops or markets, these are great too! We even stopped at the arcade and tried to take a picture of the same game. To the best of your ability, be strategic about the order of your list: don't choose something for store #2 that's all the way on the opposite side of the mall from store #1, unless you're also hoping to get a workout in!
Once you arrive at the mall with your agreed list of stores, decide who will start where. One of you will begin at the top of the list and go down, while the other will start at the bottom of the list and work backwards. This is generally the best way to avoid both ending up in one place at the same time. Set your timers, split up, and begin!
At each store you visit, you will take a picture of one item. The goal is for you and your partner to take pictures of the same items, so think carefully! If you could read their minds, what would they choose to photograph? Does anything jump out as meaningful to the both of you? As I said, Ashley and I did not do very well at this game, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but my strategy was to look for things we would both find funny or ironic, characters or brands we both liked (pretty much anything Disney!), and anything that seemed especially strange or out of place.
After you have completed your list of stores, it's time for the final challenge: you might recall that I never told you to make a plan for where to meet up once you're done. That's because you'll have to try to read each other's minds again. Your goal is, once the allotted time is up, you want to end up in the same place as your partner! Where do you think they will go? Where do you think they think you will go? It's harder than it seems!
If it's a few minutes past time being up and you don't see your partner, chances are you didn't go to the same place. Now you have permission to talk to each other and reconnect.
Once you've been reunited, compare photos. See how many items you both chose the same. If it's more than one, I'll be super impressed. If it's not, don't feel bad! I told you, this is much harder than it sounds! It's also fun to hear each other's stories of the items they almost picked; which for nearly every store Ashley and I had almost picked the same thing. Feel free to talk about why you chose what you did; it's a great way to get some insight into what your partner thinks about how you think!
So, think you're up for the task? If you try this one, let us know in the comments whether or not you succeeded!
Date #2 - The Love/Hate Dinner Challenge
This challenge arose because, for our whole lives, Ashley has had an extreme hatred for pears, which are among my favorite fruits. I've never been able to understand why she dislikes them so much, so over the past year or so I have been on a mission to get her to try them. I kept telling her, if she ate them in the right context, she'd like them.
Because she continued to refuse to eat a pear, I decided to create a baking competition out of it so that she'd have no choice, and that's how the Love/Hate Dinner Challenge was born.
This challenge is modeled after those cooking shows like Chopped and the various Baking Championships. Your goal is to choose a food item that you love but your partner hates, and try to create a recipe that they will enjoy featuring said ingredient. If one of you succeeds in converting the other to be a fan, you win! Bonus points if you use more than one ingredient that your partner dislikes.
For our challenge, I made Ashley a cinnamon baked pear dish with oat streusel topping. I've made a similar recipe with apples that she loves, so I was pretty confident in this idea. Her verdict was that it was tolerable enough that she could finish the dessert, but she just wished that it didn't have pears in it. Darn!
Ashley had a harder time deciding what to make; she complained that she could think of foods that I wasn't particularly a fan of but nothing that I outright hated. She settled on graham cracker pie crust, something that she and my mom both absolutely love but I will always eat around. She was much more successful than me; she made a banana pudding pie with graham cracker crust, but used vanilla yogurt as a binding agent instead of butter. This made a huge difference, the crust was soft and sweet instead of salty and crumbly, and I have to admit I would eat it again.
Obviously we ended up going the dessert route rather than making a meal with our ingredients, so it's up to you whether you want to do appetizers, entrees, desserts, or all three!
You'll want to set a time limit of how long you each have to make your item, and decide whether you'll work in the kitchen at the same time or switch off. Of course, it's ideal to cook together so that you can spend time together while you work, but if you have a very small kitchen or are planning an especially elaborate dish this may not be feasible.
Once you've set the parameters, it's time to get cooking! In my opinion, the hardest part is deciding what to make, so I highly recommend utilizing Google, Pinterest, cookbooks, or whatever other resources you have at your disposal. If you're feeling brave, though, go without them! You can feature the hated ingredient as much or as little as you'd like, as long as you use it in some capacity, although it is definitely more fun (and difficult!) to make it the center of your dish.
It's up to you how you want to go about scoring your dishes. You can each score each other on the categories of overall taste, presentation, and use of the ingredient, or you can recruit third-party judges.
Now, taste each other's dishes, and see if either of you have succeeded in bringing the other one to the dark side!
If you try this challenge, we'd love to hear your results, so let us know in the comments below! Happy cooking!
Date #3 - Walk Down Memory Lane
There is something so joyful and serene about taking a winter walk, especially in the evenings when you can enjoy the crisp night air and the quietness of your surroundings (of course, I'm speaking for my small suburban town; if you live in a big city you might not be so lucky).
Make a date out of it by bundling up, filling some travel mugs with your favorite warm drink, and taking along my list of questions. If possible, I recommend printing the list rather than having it on your phone to avoid distraction. If you don't have access to a printer or you're going out at night and need to use a phone, consider silencing your notifications for the duration of your date.
As you walk, you'll take turns sharing memories from your past, from funny moments to toughest times. It can be fun to compare what you each remember about your relationship, and you might even learn something new about your partner! If you are playing with a family member or friend some of these questions might not apply, and if any are too personal or uncomfortable, feel free to pick and choose which ones you want to use.
Click here to download the questions!
Date #4 - The Together Bucket List
If talking about the past isn't your thing, why not talk about the future? Take some time to reflect on your hopes and dreams for your relationship by making a Together Bucket List.
To start, find a notebook and a pen, and look for a quiet spot. You can stay at home, or venture out to a favorite destination (coffee shops, libraries, and nature are all great choices!) I recommend dedicating a whole notebook just to your bucket list, that way you can come back and add things later or keep record of the items you've completed.
From here, it's really up to you to go in whatever direction you want! You may want to decide first what kind of bucket list you are making: Is this a bucket list for the year? For five years? For the rest of your life? Remember, this is all for fun, so if you're like me and deadlines stress you out, consider not setting time parameters!
You can add big things to your list, like having kids or living in another country, or tiny things like trying a restaurant you've always wanted to go to or watching each other's favorite movies, or anything in between! As I said, you are free to approach your list making however makes sense for you, but here are some prompts to get you started:
What would be your dream vacation to take together?
What is one travel destination you've both always wanted to visit?
Have you seen where each other grew up? Toured each other's colleges? Would you like to?
What is one must-see place before you die?
Are there any destinations that are meaningful to your relationship that you'd like to go visit?
Who is one person you've both always wanted to meet?
Is there anything you think would be fun to learn to do together?
What is the most exotic food you can think of that you want to try?
What would you like to teach each other how to do?
If you could do any act of kindness for another person, what would you want to do?
What is one thing you would like to own together?
What is something you'd try with your partner that you'd be too afraid to do alone?
Are there any events you've always wanted to attend together?
Describe your dream date with your partner.
What is something you've always wanted to know about your partner?
Can you think of a challenge you'd like to take on together?
What's one thing you always say you're going to do but never get around to?
What do you need more of in your relationship?
In what ways do you both want to see your relationship grow stronger?
Date #5 - Target Date Night
For those who are wondering, yes, I do mean Target as in the big box retailer. My family loves Target. WAY too much. My mom and I can stop in with the intention of picking up one ingredient for dinner, and two hours later we're leaving with arms full of bags of things we're not even sure how we ended up buying (and we've almost inevitably forgotten the one item we came for in the first place)! So when I came across the idea for a Target Date Night, I couldn't imagine anything more perfect!
It should go without saying, but for this activity, you'll first need to go to a Target. Technically a similar store, like Wal-Mart or even the grocery store, will work as well. Ashley and I even did this challenge in a Dollar Tree one time, but it does work better in a larger store.
First, you'll start by splitting up and testing how well you know your partner. You'll need to hunt around the store and collect the following items:
Something your partner couldn’t live without
Something your partner would never eat
A gift your partner would buy for you
Something your partner wants, but would never admit
An item that would make your partner laugh
Something that represents your relationship
Wackiest clearance item you can find
Set a time allotment to find your items, and decide where you'll meet once you've finished. Then, share what you collected. Try your best to bring back something in every category, even if some of your finds require a little creative thinking.
After this, you'll go head to head in five challenges around the store to find out who's the Target champion.
First, each of you will grab three random items off the shelves and have your partner guess their prices. Whoever guesses the closest, wins!
Test your strength by each filling up a shopping basket with cans of food. See who can fit the most cans in their basket and be able to lift it over their head.
Then, each of you chooses an aisle and places an item on the shelf that doesn't belong. See if your partner can find it.
Next, head to the clothing section and put together an outfit for your spouse to try on. If you can, send pictures to friends or family members and have them vote on who's the best fashion designer.
Finally, you're going to play hide and seek! Take turns hiding and counting, and once you find your partner, drop the best pick-up line you can think of.
*Be safe and respectful while completing these challenges. It's A Twin Thing is not responsible for anyone getting banned for life from Target.
If you don't choose this one for Valentine's Night, it is also a great way to make a grocery shopping trip more fun!
Are you ready for the best Valentine's Day ever?
One of my favorite quotes ever is "We didn't know we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun." No matter what you do this Valentine's Day or who you're spending it with, go be in the moment, be grateful for the people you love, and hopefully you'll have some fun and make some memories along the way!
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