With Valentines around the corner, I got to thinking how can we make things a little more special this year. It is so hard to go out and celebrate when we have kids, especially if it falls during the week, on a school night or work night. I’ll be honest, since having our boys most of our Valentine evenings consist of Hulu, the baby monitor, and us eating whatever Valentine’s candy our children had collected! However, this year I am determined to have a memorable, romantic evening here at home. So I put together a list of 8 stay-at-home Valentine’s Day date ideas for parents.
Relationships aren’t easy. It takes time and patience to cultivate a strong marriage. I truly believe you get what you put into it. I think it is amazing how we find time to check Facebook or Instagram a hundred times a day, but we don’t have the time to drop our significant other a quick little text (that isn’t about bills or scheduling the kids) to let them know they are on our mind. And, please, don’t get me wrong I am not sitting here on my high horse, preaching to you on how to make your marriage perfect. I am just as guilty of getting complacent at times myself.
“A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person.” -Mignon McLaughlin
8 Stay At Home Valentine’s Day Date Ideas For Parents
Have a nice dinner at home, cooked by someone else.
There are so many nice restaurants available for pick up. I know that our Red Lobster and Olive Garden have curbside pick up options. Pick up your favorites entrees and then set up your kitchen table complete with tablecloth, nice dishes, a bottle of wine and candles. This allows you to have a nice uninterrupted dinner (minus any children evening/night time emergencies) with the limited cleanup.
Slow dance to your favorite love songs.
Move the furniture out of the way and slow dance to a collection of your favorite love songs. For example, my husband and I’s song has always been Let Me Down Easy by Billy Currington.
Create an at-home wine and cheese tasting.
This is can actually be a lot easier than it sounds, and it won’t break the bank either. I know that our local grocery stores, like HEB or Wal-Mart, have a fair amount of cheese choices. Here are some good resources for building a cheese platter, wines that won’t break the bank, and how to pair wine and cheese:
- Cheese Platter For Two
- How To Build A Cheese Plate For Two
- An Illustrated Guide To Pairing Wine And Cheese
- The Perfect Guide To Wine And Cheese Pairings On A Budget
- 20 Great Wines That Won’t Break The Bank
- How To Pick A Cheap Wine That Actually Tastes Good At The Grocery Store
Cook a romantic meal together.
If cooking is something you like to do together, then pop open a nice bottle of wine and start cooking. Here are some great romantic meals you could try:
Plan a night with a THEME.
Choose a theme and center everything around it. Have an 80’s or 90’s night (any decade) make your favorite food from that decade, listen to popular music or watch a popular movie from that decade. Have a Japanese night with sushi, sake, and watch some good anime. Think Italian, Disney, or Indian…be creative! Always wanted to visit Paris? Make it a Paris night!
Have breakfast in bed.
My boys get up at 5:30 or 6:00 every morning, so if my husband and I wanted to eat breakfast in bed we would have to get up by 4. So why not have breakfast in bed for a nice romantic evening at home? Put on some music or a good movie, crawl in bed and enjoy some eggs and pancakes.
Campout in the living room.
Pull out an air up mattress or the sleeping bags and camp out on the living room floor! You can make smores in your fireplace (or microwave) and cook foil dinners in the stove. You could even make a tent out of chairs and blankets! Tell ghost stories or watch your favorite scary movies.
Play games.
If you are a couple that likes to play games together, grab the boardgames or play the Wii. You could even find some fun trivia games online or couples quizzes.
I hope these 8 stay-at-home Valentine’s Day date ideas for parents inspire you to do something different this year. Be creative, but above all just enjoy spending time with your spouse or loved one.
Do you have any great ideas for stay at home dates? Please share in the comments! Or if you try out any of these ideas I would love to hear about it!
For more Valentine’s love and fun, check out:
7 Affordable Ways To Say “I Love You”
11 Things Your Spouse Needs To Hear
11 Tips To Help You Love Yourself
“But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” -Isaiah 40:31
Do like some of these ideas for Valentines Day when you are unable to get out of the house. Cooking a meal together is great fun at anytime of the year but could be extra special then.
GR | https://www.thegreat.uk
These are great! Me and my hubs usually spend it with the kids, so I’m right there with ya on this. Thanks for a wonderful post!
You are so welcome. Glad you enjoyed it.
I love the wine and cheese tasting! My husband and I are always looking for little date night ideas that we can do at home, after the kids have gone to bed. Great list!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 😁
This post is great! Especially being a parent. Thank you for sharing xoxo
Thank you! I am so glad you enjoyed it!
I love these ideas! Number 5 is my favorite, I think we will be trying that this year!
Thank you! I am glad you liked it. Hope you guys have a wonderful Valentines!
Love these ideas! We had a meal at home last year but before valentines as I were 40 weeks pregnant! he’s a chef so it was lovely 😍 can’t wait to see what he does this year.
Love the slow dance idea too its been a while since we’ve done that.
That’s awesome! I love that!
These are awesome ideas. Pinning this. We will definitely be choosing from this list.
Thank you! I hope you guys have a great Valentine’s!!
We don’t really do date nights, even before we were parents but I like some of these ideas. #kcacols
Thank you!!
These are lovely ideas! My fave is #5.
#kcacols
Thank you! That’s one of my favorites too!!
These are fantastic ideas. I really like the wine and cheese tasting #KCACOLS
Thank you. That is one of my favorites too. 🙂
Oh you’ve shared some wonderful ideas. Thank you so much for linking up with us form-#kcacols and we hope to see you next time..
Thank you!!
Funny because me and hubby often stop what we’re doing when one of our favourite slower songs comes on the radio and have a smooch. But we also dancy silly when a dancy song that we like comes on too! #kcacols
I love it! <3
These are lovely! It’s really important to make time for each other and Valentine’s Day is a perfect time to do it. #KCACOLS
Thank you! 🙂
I love this quote “Grow old with me! The best is yet to be.” -Robert Browning. Great Post!
Thank you!
I love the wine and cheese tasting idea. We do this every week and it’s so fun and cheaper than going out.
That’s awesome! And so true!
Hey Lana, these are really great ideas. As two momma’s, we usually don’t celebrate V-day. Tough to find cards and such for same-sex couples — but these look fun for date nights. Thank you! #kcacols xoxo
Awe. I hope you try some of these out. We have done the wine/cheese tasting and loved it. I like the idea of a theme night!
We will! I promise 😘
<3