You do not have to make fancy arrangements to enjoy a date night. Stay at home date ideas for couples can give you more chances to connect with your partner. No babysitter is required. Dressing up is optional and the options are endless. Finding a stay-at-home date night idea that you love will be a fun way to enjoy your partner after the kids go to bed.

Preparing for an At-Home Date Night

You want your at-home date night to be fun and relaxing. While the actual time together is key, the preparation allows you to really enjoy the time together. Communication, planning, and teamwork are essential.

Communication for an at-home date night

You and your partner want to be on the same page around the expectations of your date night. This helps you to not have misunderstandings about scheduling, being present, and outcomes. For example, having a planned time ensures that no one is staying late to work or run another errand. If you are newly postpartum and you are not ready for sex after baby, be clear about your boundaries around date night. Also, have a plan about what to do if the baby or children wake up and when you will resume date night.

RELATED: Your Love Languages After Baby

Planning Your Stay At Home Date Ideas for Couples

Sometimes the details of a date night will be a surprise and other times they will be something you plan together. Take turns doing the planning around date nights. You may also have things that need to be taken care of before your date night can happen. This might be taking care of bedtime, preparing a meal, cleaning up, etc. Plan together to take care of the things that need to be done in order for the two of you to relax and refresh together.

Teamwork

Teamwork is the most romantic foundation of a relationship. This looks different for each couple, but no one can expect romance without teamwork in parenting. No, this isn't the mushy love, but it is the practical and caring side. You cannot expect to relax and melt into your partner if you do not feel like teamwork and partnership are happening.

Related: Teamwork After Having a Baby

When it comes to teamwork for the date night, this might mean divvying up the bedtime and home management tasks. Make it fun with a race or checklist. Decide together what things can wait for tomorrow in order to make time and space for your date night.

Related: 7 Things New Dads Can Do After Baby

Stay AtHome Date Ideas for Couples that You Can Use This Week!

This post contains affiliate links, read more about our disclaimer here.

If you want more detailed ideas, along with conversation starters and other resources, check out our relationship roadmap bundle.

1. Add a "theme night" to your date.
   Whether it's star wars, the 50s, hip hop, pirates, Roarin' 20s, toga (can we all agree college toga parties were just an excuse to wear nothing under a white sheet?) or something else of choice, pick a theme and give each other a week to get an outfit and make a menu. Enjoy revisiting a favorite theme.
2. Set up a living room picnic.
   Gather your favorite appetizers, or maybe a charcuterie board, and drinks. Set them up in the living room as a picnic to enjoy together.
3. Get reconnected with conversation starters.
   This is a great way to break up the "how was your day" and logistics about the baby and go deeper into your conversation.
4. Stargaze together.
   Whether you have a clear sky or city lights, apps like Google Sky and Skyview allow you to see where the planets, stars, constellations, and more are at any time. Want to get really fancy? You can even rent a telescope locally or online.
5. Have a fondue dinner.
   Cheese or dipping chocolate (or both!) you pick your poison. Then, have all the dippable foods and dipping sticks to feel fancy right in your own kitchen.
6. Play a teenage party game.
   Something like "Two truths and a lie," "Never have I ever," or this spin on Would You Rather to try to stump each other and get to know one another even better. It's sure to bring out great conversation too!
7. Set up a massage "table" area.
   Gather oils, candles, and music. Take turns giving and receiving a full-body massage.
8. Have a sleepover in a different room in the house.
   Set up blankets and pillows, sleeping bags, etc., and have a camp out just to break up the routine. Think of what you used to do at a sleepover- tell stories, eat snacks, listen to your favorite music, etc.
9. Make a DIY drive-in movie.
   Project it on the side of your house, garage, or a white sheet. No projector? That's okay you can rent one from your local library (many offer this) or skip the projector and cozy up to your computer or another device. Want to go big? Check out this article on setting up a projector movie theater.
10. Cook your favorite meal together.
    Turn on the music, wear (nothing but) your aprons, and concoct your favorite edible masterpiece together.
11. Make a spray paint collage and let out your inner rebel.
    Use a plain white sheet (easy to pick up at a thrift store!) and find a place for it outside. Wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty (or no clothes at all) and go to town with the spray paint!
12. Try partner's yoga for a good stretch and connection (Modify as needed!)
13. Revisit your wedding day (or a favorite date you've had)
14. Have a blindfolded chocolate tasting.
    Gett a variety of chocolate flavors, removing the wrappers, and assigning a number. You and your partner can taste, guess, and rate the flavors and check to see how many you correctly identified.
15. Take an online painting class.
    Grab some paint supplies and two canvases. (Check out all the supplies you need in this handy kit.) Follow the online class tutorial and see who is the better artist.
16. Take turns giving one another a henna or secret tattoo.
    Henna is a beautiful way, but if you prefer just using markers to create a secret tattoo you can enjoy for a few days is playful and fun.
17. Wine or beer tasting.
    Get some fun beer glasses and have a fancy tasting in your own home. Maybe you will even discover a new favorite.
18. Turn your living room into a sports bar.
    This is perfect for the night of a big game (or you can record to watch later). Enjoy a menu of wings, fries, pretzels, and beer cheese, and any other favorites with a tall lager beer (fancy beer not allowed at sports bar nights, ha!)
19. Create a photo book.
    Using an easy page like Mixbook, you can go through your photos and choose your favorites for a book. Pick a theme, occasion, vacation, or year to focus on.
20. Have a board game night.
    Whether it is revisiting a favorite or trying something new, have some healthy competition with a board game.
21. Have a video game night.
    For those more into screen action, make a competition out of video games and turn off your other electronics.
22. Have a card game night.
    Get your deck of cards and bring back those favorite card games. Winner gets to pick a snack (or sexy activity!)
23. Set up a game night with your kids' toys.
    Who says fisher price is just for kids? Set up toys as bowling pins, create a basketball hoop, or come up with another fun game together while simultaneously picking up the toy room. (We actually had some pretty fun times with this sports center).
24. Create your own movie.
    (I don't mean that kind of movie, but that could be fun too!) Create a funny skit, puppet show, or comedy show just for the two of you to laugh about!
25. Take a museum or zoo tour online.
    Many places have virtual tours available to you, so you can travel and explore the world from your TV or computer.
26. Set up a mini-golf course.
    Using cups and boxes, set up mini-golf holes. Grab the broom and a ball and you are all set.
27. Play hide and seek in your house or back yard.
    Who doesn't love a game of hide and seek? Turn off all the lights for an extra challenge and play naked for extra fun.
28. Learn a new language.
    Using a free app like Duolingo, you can start to explore a new language together and try to learn a sentence to say to one another (I recommend something like "Your butt is on fire.")
29. Have a college party night.
    Turn on those jams from your college days, part your hair to the side, thrift for some old Abercrombie and Fitch, and get the beer pong table going.
30. Have a cupcake decorating contest.
    Bake a batch of cupcakes and go to town with the decorating tools. See who has the precision and creativity of an award-winning baker and who should stick to their day job.
31. Have a declutter competition.
    See who can gather the most clothing, tools, utensils, decorations, etc that are not being used. Donate, sell online, or give away. If you make some money off of it, the winner gets to choose how to use or donate the money.
32. Redecorate a room together.
    Start by creating a sketch and deciding on your shared vision, secure the items needed (if any) for the change-up, and then set a night to go to town with music, snacks, and making the vision a reality.
33. Make a compilation video from your favorite saved video clips.
    Go through video clips on your phone or cloud and make a fun video with music and transitions. You can do this on many free or cheap video apps.
34. Start your own brew of kombucha.
    You can find instructions and ingredients online or order a starter kit.
35. Start an indoor herb garden.
    Gather the supplies and seeds beforehand and spend the evening planting your favorite herbs together. After they grow, you can use them for your nights of cooking together!
36. Take a bubble bath or steamy shower together.
    It can be tough to find time to shower as a new parent, so save time and water by doing it together! Whether it's a bathtub full of bubbles or a steamy shower (maybe have some oils diffusing!), you can unwind from the day together.
37. Dance to your favorite songs.
    Make a playlist you would have loved at homecoming your senior year. Spend time slow dancing and snuggling and fast dancing and laughing together.
38. Make a family vision board.
    Think about places you want to visit, things you want to learn, and experiences you want to have as a family. This could be a cut and paste board or a shared board on Pinterest. Enjoy talking about your dreams together.
39. Have a backyard bonfire.
    Make sandwiches in this cast iron sandwich maker and get all the goodies for smores. Set up your chairs around the fire and sit together under the stars.
40. Find a craft to try together.
    Whether it becomes Pinterest perfect or a #pinterestfail, get crafty and try your shot at creating something fun. You can pick a craft to do together or choose one you can both do separately.
41. Have a good fight!
    Choose your favorite method (pillow fight, water gun fight, food fight, etc.) and have an epic battle. Don't forget to enjoy cleaning up together too.
42. Read to one another.
    Is there a book you both enjoy? A genre you haven't had time to read lately? Take turns reading to one another. Bonus points for using fun accents and voices. Want it to be extra sexy? Try erotica!
43. Show off that memory of 1990s songs with karaoke.
    This one has to be away from the sleeping humans in your house or else you'll be in for a rude awakening. Have a karaoke night by reading the lyrics on youtube or printing them off. Challenge one another to your favorite songs.
44. Have a cook-off.
    Choose one ingredient to focus on and challenge your partner to create something creative. You can allow time for shopping or limit it to whatever is in the fridge and cabinets. See who can get the most creative (and still edible) with the challenge!
45. Set a "no electricity" rule and see where it goes.
    Find activities you both enjoy and gravitate towards when electronics are not an option.
46. Work on a puzzle.
    Let your brain slow down with the activity of a puzzle. Enjoy conversation that arises as you sit together and work as a team. Pro tip: Get one of these to preserve your progress in the (likely) case you don't get it completed in one sitting.
47. Be a bartender for the night.
    Get the small alcohol bottles and some mix-ins and experiment with crafting the perfect cocktail. Alternative- skip the alcohol to make a mocktail.
48. Plan your next vacation together.
    Set a goal for your next travels by scoping out a place you'd like to visit. Plan which activities you want to do. Set up a separate bank account or a jar to set aside money for this excursion.
49. Create a comic book character for one another.
    Decide what they would look like, what their dilemma would be, what their power would be, etc. Have fun creating an imaginative storyline.
50. Repeat "I appreciate____" affirmations while keeping eye contact.
    It can be uncomfortable to maintain eye contact, especially when being vulnerable. Use the phrase "I appreciate____" to share what you appreciate about your partner. Notice the facial expressions you both experience as you share.

Continue to Grow Together with Fun Stay At Home Date Ideas for Couples

The goal is not to have perfect date nights all of the time. The goal is to keep growing together and keep investing in your relationship. These ideas for cute at-home date nights are created to give you inspiration and then make it your own.

If you are struggling with feeling disconnected from your partner after the baby, take this super quick quiz to help you identify the biggest roadblock and get our free resource on how to improve it.