Date Night Minus the DVD’s!!

 Things to do on a night in without the DVDs

Often there are nights when neither of you feel like going out, and at times like that it’s tempting to fall back on the old stand-by: A bottle of wine, a take away and a movie. Aside from the endless arguing over which movie to watch, as far as evening plans go, this can seem a bit… routine. The fact is that there are all sorts of cool things the two of you can do on a date night at home. Things like:

Play Videogames

Although plenty of couples enjoy gaming, we tend not to think of it as date night material. Yet if you think about it, it makes a lot more sense than watching a movie. There are more and more games now that have cooperative play options, and so rather than simply sitting next to each other and watching the screen in silence, you can talk and argue and scheme. Games like Portal 2 give you plenty of opportunities for problem solving together, while the infinite time suck that is Minecraft gives you plenty of opportunity to explore or build yourselves a gigantic virtual dream home.

Play a Board Game

If videogames are a bit too flash bang for you, a board game can be a relaxing way to spend an evening. Whether you’re game of choice is Scrabble, Chess or Backgammon, get out the board and pieces and match wits over a bottle of wine.

Build Something

There’s nothing that can bring the two of your together quite like building something. Sites like Instructables are full of easy to follow instructions to build everything from a new type of clock, to a steam punk remote control. Pick a good project that interests both of you, and spend your evenings working on it together, and that the end of it you’ll have a lovely memento.

Cook A Meal

A nice meal is always good for a romantic evening in. However, preparing a really ornate meal together can also be nice. Go for something elaborate with lots of courses. Whether you want to try for a Thai meal with lots of different courses, or see if you can make a McDonald’s Happy Meal from home made ingredients. It doesn’t matter what you cook, so long as you have fun making it.

Wine and Cheese

At the end of the spectrum, instead of having a really elaborate meal, why not keep it simple? Get a couple of nice bottles of wine, pick up a cheese board and some crackers. Try the different cheeses and wines in different combinations and argue about which ones are best!

Sort Your Scrapbook

Go through all your old photos, get them in order and use it as an excuse to reminisce. Get your photos printed beforehand. In this day and age far too many people keep all their photos in “the cloud” but there’s something special about feeling the photos in your own hands, and putting them together in order to tell the story of your journey together so far.

Jason Falls is a freelance writer who works with Butlers Bingo and loves nothing better than a romantic night in.