Need a winter date night idea? These days when I hear or read the phrase “date night,” I think what’s a date night?! 😂 The pandemic has changed just about every aspect of our lives, including the way that we spend time with others – whether a significant other, friends, or family. If you’re like me, winter date nights are hard to come by… or maybe it’s just because the constant time we spend with our significant others is blending into other time….
Me: *works at computer all day out of the same room as my significant other and wonders if this qualifies as a date* 🤣 (I hope not!) lol.
Prior to the pandemic, most of our winter date nights would be dinner, walking around downtown, or occasionally, going to the movies. While some of this is still possible (depending on your comfort level), it’s just not quite the same. We aren’t 100% comfortable dining inside so we’ve been spending 99% of our date nights at home and have been trying to think of new and fun things to do.
If you’re in need of date night inspiration, I came up with 5 Winter Date Night Ideas for you to try! Above all, know that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to have a memorable date night. The majority of the time, it’s just about spending uninterrupted time with the person you care most about and sometimes, trying something new together.
5 Winter Date Night Ideas
Winter Fire Pit with Drinks & S’mores
Winter in New England is typically long, cold, and dark. In normal times when we’re not in a pandemic, it even feels long. This winter is on another level lol. We’ve been doing our best to embrace the cold, bundle up, and go for walks as much as possible. I read a quote last year that said, “there’s no such thing as bad winter, only bad clothing” which has helped to change my perspective about winter. When you care less about what you look like and just bundle up, you have more fun! And… it makes winter go a lot faster when you just embrace it!
When we were at my parents’ housesitting a couple weeks ago, we took advantage of their outdoor fire pit and bundled up with drinks. It happened to be snowing which made it even more magical. ✨ I popped a bottle of Prosecco and Geoff poured a little bit of bourbon. Hot cocoa with a little bit of Bailey’s or Kahlua (or sans alcohol) would also be delicious. We didn’t bring out the s’mores, but I love the idea of munching on those or even cooking a s’mores dip over the fire. This is super basic but it was fun to get outside and do something other than sit on our couch (lol). It honestly felt like we were tailgating… and then made me miss the fact that there were no in-person football games this year!
Make Homemade Pizzas
I got Geoff the Ooni Koda 12 pizza oven for Christmas and we have been loving making homemade pizzas with it for winter date nights. It’s a bit of a splurge but just in the few times we’ve used it, I already feel like we’ve gotten our money’s worth! You use it outside like a grill (we’ve been keeping it at my parents’ since we don’t have much outdoor space at our apartment) and just attach it to a propane tank like you would a grill. You heat it up for 15-20 minutes and then you can add your pizza. In total, it cooks your pizza in 3-4 minutes and tastes just like wood fired pizza. 🤯 I’m going to do a full blog post on this because I’ve received a lot of questions when I’ve showed it on my Instagram stories.
Even if you don’t have the Ooni, it’s fun to make homemade pizzas and to try something new. We were at my brother’s place a month or so ago and he made the most delicious ricotta, fig and proscuitto pizza with a balsamic drizzle. I’m usually super basic when it comes to pizza so I probably wouldn’t have thought to try that combo on my own. I’m also dying to try making ricotta, peach and basil once peaches are back in season.
I recommend using Pinterest for recipe inspiration and then each coming up with a new combo that you want to make. Surprise each other with whatever combination you came up with!
Shuck Oysters at Home
Not to make it all about food…. but our date nights usually revolve around food 👏🏻. In the Boston area, Island Creek Oysters are known for being some of the best there are. They offer an incredible farm tour where you can actually pay to go out on a boat with the Island Creek Oysters team and they’ll pull up fresh oysters for you to eat while you’re out there. When I was looking at purchasing for Geoff around Christmastime (for summer of course!), they had a pause on purchasing this because of the pandemic, but looks like they’re back on starting in May!
Instead, I opted for ordering Geoff the starter pack. It comes with 2 dozen oysters, a shucking knife, and shucking gloves. Side note: This may surprise you, but I am not a raw oysters person (yes, I’ve tried them lol). I refrained from having them but it was still fun to practice opening them (YouTube is your friend until you get your technique down haha). I love baked/roasted oysters that I’ve had at restaurants, so I’m thinking that next time we order, I’ll set aside a bunch to practice making Oysters Rockefeller or some type of similar recipe. 😋
At-Home Wine Tasting
We have yet to do this, but I love the idea of each buying a couple bottles of wine and having an at-home wine tastinng! You can pick wines that are in the same family or you can just pick your favorites that catch your eye. I love the idea of incorporating friends into this too – you could share 4 wines that everyone should buy, then do a wine tasting via Zoom and get everyone’s thoughts on the wines (if you don’t have complete Zoom exhaustion like I do 😂 – I swear even if it’s fun, it feels like I’m working).
Don’t forget your palette cleansers! Just regular old saltine crackers would be perfect for this. And, make sure to save your favorites in the Vivino app. I’ve been trying to remember to use this app since I often try wines I like and then forget about them.
Ice Skating or Pond Hockey
In the winter, I often find it tough to get myself to go outside, but once I’m out, I have a great time. 🎉 The past couple winters, we’ve had the best time ice skating. Unfortunately, most places are closed in Boston this year. I saw a picture on Facebook recently of this old pond in my hometown that kids and parents used to play hockey on during the winter months. It made me so happy to see that it’s a tradition that has lived on.
In most cities or towns in the Northeast, there’s usually at least a few ponds that you can go to skate. Just be sure that it’s completely frozen before venturing out. If you just started dating, ice skating is a chance to hold hands 😉 and I just feel like it’s so much fun. No matter how long it’s been, it feels like riding a bike.
Do you have a favorite winter date night?! Let me know in the comments 💗🙌🏻
