6 ‘stay at home’ date night ideas

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - As couples across the world are quarantined together, it can be hard to figure out how to have a date night while also working from home, sharing the same space almost 24/7, and often helping kids with schoolwork.

If you need some inspiration, check out these date night ideas from real couples who are finding creative ways to spend time together during the pandemic.

• Drive-by coffee car date: Bradley and Kiersten Hasemeyer, parents of a first-grader and a 7-week-old, got a much-needed date by grabbing coffee to-go, sitting in their car and enjoying the silence. “It was totally quiet, we didn’t even turn on the radio,” Bradley said. The couple lives in New York City but left to stay for a few weeks with family in Knoxville, TN before New York started shutting down. When grandparents offered to watch their kids for a couple of hours, the couple headed out without much of a plan. “The adventure became the date,” Bradley said. After getting coffee, they ordered drive-thru from a Knoxville favorite, Petro’s Chili and Chips, found an empty parking lot and enjoyed their snacks under some shade trees. It turned into a social-distanced double date when they drove by to see some friends who stayed on the street curb while they were in their car. “It was nice to be in person talking with each other, just realizing how powerful that simple thing is that we took for granted,” Bradley said.

• Star-gaze from a trampoline: After Dee and Josh Wilder of Memphis, TN, put their daughters to sleep one night, they headed out to the trampoline in the backyard with a couple blankets. “We just went star gazing on the kids’ trampoline. Talked, laughed, snuggled in a blanket. It was one of the best nights I’ve had in a long time,” Dee said. Sometimes the best dates can be really simple and free!

• Murder mystery party over Zoom: This date night takes more time and coordination to set up, but it’s a creative way to plan a group date. Joey and Laura Spinella of Denver, CO, played the murder mystery game “The Last Train from Paris” with three other couples in their family over Zoom. Joey had already found the game at a thrift store, but you can also order them online. “I mailed the booklets and invitations to the three other couples, and the night of we just set up a Zoom call. We also set up some thematic virtual backgrounds to resemble a fancy train,” he said. The couples dressed up in costumes for their characters, and Joey set up a large screen in his house to make it easier to see everyone as they each carefully read their clues aloud. “We also emailed pictures of the clues as they were discovered. But fortunately the conversations are fairly linear in this type of game, so it lends itself better to Zoom than a real dinner party,” he said.

• Fancy dinner with your kids as the waiters: Even before the pandemic, Rebekah and Tom Allen of Northport, AL often had “stay at home” dates where they’d eat their favorite take-out after their four kids (ages 11, 8, 7 and 3) went to bed. After seeing her daughters setting up a pretend date for them outside, Rebekah asked if they wanted to help her surprise their dad with a fancy dinner on Friday night. While Tom was picking up Chinese food, the kids got the porch ready, decorated the table with flowers and made a romantic playlist for their parents. Rebekah said she let her older kids stay up to wait on them, and once the novelty wore off they went back inside to play, giving mom and dad a chance for some uninterrupted conversation. “The kids had so much fun setting it all up and making it super special,” she said.

• Frozen pizza by the pool: Mary and Wae Ellis of Centre, AL wanted to celebrate their anniversary in a special way despite being stuck at home, so they planned a romantic outdoor dinner for two by their pool. “I’m always ‘over the top’ when I plan things. But I decided a frozen pizza and the left over stocking stuffer dessert I found was good enough,” Mary said. “I was going for easy and no clean up. We just sat by the pool discussing the best days of our marriage, the worst times, what we could do better/different, best vacations and things we would redo. One of the best anniversary date nights we’ve had,” she added.

• “Glamping” in your own living room: This date puts a fun twist on movie night by bringing “glamour camping” indoors. Luke and Kayla Sides of Birmingham, AL created a tent in their living room by hanging sheets on the backs of the chairs. They ordered Thai food from Blue Pacific in Hoover and enjoyed a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream while watching the sci-fi thriller Super 8. Their dog was also quite happy with the movie night arrangement, since he was allowed to cuddle with them on the mattress under their makeshift tent.

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