6 at-home date night ideas for Valentine’s Day

Stuck at home this Valentine’s Day? Try planning an out-of-the-ordinary activity for you and your sweetheart. Celebrate your love while in lockdown with these creative and intimate date-night ideas designed to inspire romance.

[Photo Credit: LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS]

Make your partner work for their Valentine’s Day gifts this year by planning a fun scavenger hunt at home. Write a series of personalized clues or riddles on pieces of paper and hide them in secret locations around the house. Challenge your Valentine to solve each of the puzzles as they follow along the mysterious trail leading them to their final surprise. You can even include small presents at each stop like delicious chocolates or Valentine’s Day flowers. Be sure to practice the scavenger hunt ahead of time to ensure all of your clues are in the correct order.

Travelling abroad together might not be possible right now, but it’s nice to pretend. If you’re craving a vacation, transform your home into an exotic destination for an international Valentine’s Day date night – no passport required. Whisk your love away for an Irie evening in Jamaica featuring coconut-scented candles, a Reggae soundtrack, sizzling jerk chicken, and rum punch. Or embrace la dolce vita together by watching classic films set in Rome while enjoying fresh pasta and Negronis. Commit to your Valentine’s Day escape by dressing the part and trading your usual sweats for a holiday-inspired outfit.

It’s been a while since couples had the opportunity to let loose on a dance floor together. If you and your partner are feeling restless and yearning for a night on the town, a living room dance party is an entertaining quarantine Valentine’s Day idea. Set up a speaker and move your furniture away from the centre of the room to create an open space for spins, twirls, and slow dancing. Whether you prefer a classic waltz, a spicy tango, or some high-energy swing dancing there are plenty of ways to get moving and grooving. If you need a little guidance when it comes to choreography, sign up for a virtual dance class to learn a new routine together.

Are you star-crossed lovers or destined for a breakup? Discover what the future might have in store by exploring the spiritual world of tarot card reading together during a unique at-home Valentine’s date-night. Order a tarot deck as a Valentine’s Day gift (or download a free mobile app) and give yourselves a tutorial on the meaning behind each of the cards. Then channel your inner psychic as you take turns conducting readings for one another. Each reading will produce a unique arrangement of cards; how you interpret the spread will uncover mystical insights into your past, present, and future and can help answer those burning questions about your love life.

Sure, you can’t stroll through galleries or museums together in person at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t inject some art and culture into your Valentine’s Day plans. Plan an evening of high-brow enlightenment and take a guided virtual tour of the world’s finest curated collections and historic sites. Stroll hand-in-hand (from the comfort of your couch) as you explore the galleries of classic Renaissance artworks at The Louvre in Paris or uncover archaeological artifacts at Stonehenge in England. If you don’t know where to begin, check out Google’s Arts & Culture portal, which offers content from more than 2,000 museums and archives from across the globe.

Even if you can’t be with your sweetheart in person this Valentine’s Day, you can still plan to spend some quality time together from afar. Keep the long-distance romance alive and recreate the experience of being together in person by tapping into a shared sensory journey. Make a custom playlist of music to listen to, burn scented candles to set the mood, and prepare a flavourful meal together over FaceTime using the same recipe. After dinner, get to know each other better by taking an online quiz to find out your Love Languages or playing a naughty round of Truth or Dare.