32 Valentine’s Day Ideas That Aren’t Dinner Out and a Movie

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There are plenty of Valentine’s Day ideas out there! So why are we sharing ours you ask? Well, simply because what we’ve found out there is always the same. 

Honestly, Eric and I don’t need another post that tells us to go out for a fancy dinner or watch a movie on Valentine’s Day. We even found a post that suggested to “tidy up together” as if doing chores was something we really wanted to do on Valentine’s day! To be completely frank, it’s become frustrating to find Valentine’s day worthy ideas so we’ve come to the rescue.

In this post, you’ll find upgraded date ideas that are great for Valentine’s Day. They’ll help you either have fun together, connect better, find the spark again or spend a cute moment together. No matter what your interests are, you’ll find some that you like in this list. 

Valentine’s day ideas at home

1. Order each other’s dinner as a surprise

Instead of a fancy dinner out that might break your budget, why not order in? Yes! But with a twist! Instead of ordering out as you usually do, order for each other as a surprise. 

That’s a great Valentine’s day date idea as you can do this for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Make sure to pick something your partner will like while it being something your partner has never tried. For example, Eric has order Pho for me before. I had never tried it before and loved it! Now, we have Pho regularly lol.

2. Body painting

For one of our more sensual and cute Valentines date ideas, we recommend trying body painting. Spoiler alert, you don’t need to be artistic to do this. Even if you’re not looking for creative Valentine’s day date ideas, you might still like this one.

Instead of simply painting a random design on your partner’s body, paint a meaningful memory of you two. You can use face paint (that you would use for Halloween for example) or makeup. 

There are plenty of ways you can make this spicier. From painting on spicy areas to painting spicy messages, we’ll let you use your imagination.

3. Bet the ending

To level up your Valentine’s day date, don’t simply watch a movie or a romantic TV show. Instead watch the first five minutes and bet on the ending. If it’s a TV show, you’ll have to bet on how the last episode of the last season ends.

You can either choose to bet together or against each other. You can also keep your bets secret until the end to have a bigger surprise. This is a great way to spend Valentine’s day at home, not spend a lot of movie but having a different type of date together still.

4. Write each other a crypted letter 

Eric and I love scavenger hunts. Anything that involves clues to solve or us stepping into Indiana Jones’ shoes and we’re in.

For Valentine’s Day, you can get inspired by scavenger hunts to create your own crypto letters. Instead of writing a simple love letter (which is still a cute idea), level up your activity by crypting it. Your partner will need a deciphering tool to be able to read your letter.

There are several ways you can achieve this. For example, you can match each alphabet letter to a number. Then write your letter with numbers instead of the letters. At the beginning of the letter, give a hint as to what the deciphering method is. 

For example you can write “every letter is a number but the alphabet isn’t in order”. That will show your partner that the numbers are matched to letters but that 1 might not be A, 2 might not be B, etc. They’ll have to figure out the code before they can decipher the letter.

5. Upgrade your movie night

We have a full post on ways to upgrade your simple movie date night. From playing Movie Bingo with our free card to baking romantic treats, there are lots of ways you can make a movie date night more romantic for V day!

6. Play couple’s games

For fun Valentines date ideas, you can play some games together. There are a few board games for couples that we really like. Some allow you to play together while some allow you to play at the same time. It makes it more fun that usual board games.

Alternatively, you can play some easy to set up couple games that you don’t need to buy. From “le pit bac” to “guess the song”, these are great for a last minute date.

7. A sexy rules day

Instead of having one date on Valentine’s day, why not make it an all day thing? We highly recommend trying a sexy rules day. The goal is to each pick a sexy rule and then go with it during the day. Some sexy rules include:

• a French kiss every time your partner calls your nickname
• removing a piece of clothing every time your husband asks you where his glasses are
• a dance every time you each say a chosen word

8. Ask each other questions to connect

When you’ve been married or together for a long time, you end up always talking about the same thing. It’s easy to forget that you don’t know absolutely everything about your husband or wife.

To increase your connection, you can spend some time asking each other specific couple questions. You’ll learn more about them and will feel closer.

9. Fondue and massages

February is one of the best months to share a fondue with your special person. Fondue is easy to set up and creates a cozy atmosphere that is perfect for Valentine’s Day.

To make it more romantic, you can give each other massages either before or after. It will complete your V day date.

10. Make a dessert bar

One of our favourite Valentines date nights ideas is making a dessert bar. I mean, desserts are delicious so why not make a whole date out of them!

You can pick any dessert you like but we personally love ice cream. Then just add toppings in lined-up bowls. You can then make each other’s dessert to surprise each other with new tastes. 

11. Disconnect

To connect better together, it’s time to disconnect from the world. Turn off your phones, TV, computers and put away any social media. 

Instead, spend time looking at each other’s eyes, snuggle up, read together or try one of this list’s Valentines date ideas at home.

12. Relationship scrapbook

Valentine’s Day, just like Christmas, is a great time to reflect on your relationship. A good Valentine’s day idea that allows you to do that is to create a scrapbook of the past year.

Print photos, create pages for each memorable moments and have fun with it. It will make both of you thankful for the other.

13. Heart shaped food

To level up a perfect Valentine’s day date, add some heart shaped food to your event. Regardless of the date idea you end up picking, adding some heart shaped food will make it even more memorable.

We have a sweet spot for heart shaped Nutella pizza and heart shaped apple pies but you can also make heart shaped cakes and pies.

14. Spa date

Spa dates are some of our favourite romantic Valentine’s day date ideas. From making homemade face masks together to actually putting them on and scratching each other’s backs in a warm bath, we have a lot of different ideas in the above list.

This is perfect if you want to spend a chill Valentine’s day date night and a cheap Valentines date as you likely can make face masks with things you already own (oats and banana for example).

15. Boudoir photoshoot

To spice things up, a boudoir photoshoot can make for a good Valentine’s day idea. You can either book a local photographer or take the photos at home. if you do it yourself, we highly recommend using a polaroid so your photos aren’t stored online!

16. Tell each other a story you’ve never told before

Although society has turned Valentine’s day into a commercial celebration, there are many ways to make it about your romantic connection instead. One of these ways is to tell each other stories you’ve never shared before. 

It can be a story about your childhood, time you spent with your grandparents as a kid or a story about yourself as an adult. It can be sentimental, funny or anything else. There are no rules really. The goal is for it to allow your partner to learn something about you they don’t already know. 

17. Start a bucket list

As couples, we all have goals for our future togethers. So Valentine’s day is the perfect time to start a bucket list together!

Whether it’s about romantic destinations, couple goals or little everyday things, make a list that you can refer to this year.

18. Rewrite your favourite song with your own story

There are many love songs out there, yet none is exactly about your story. Instead of writing a song from scratch, why not use a song that already exist and change it to match your story.

You can change the lyrics, change the tempo and make it your own. Every time you’ll hear that song, you’ll remember your own lyrics which is super sentimental and cute.

19. Surprise your partner with a reenactment of your first date

First dates can be stressful and it’s very possible that you don’t remember everything that happened that time. You can take the opportunity of this unique Valentine’s day to reenact  and replicate your first date together.

It will also remind you of why you chose each other and therefore bring you closer. It’s one of the cheap Valentines day date ideas we recommend as well.

20. Champagne and strawberries

A classic but one you can organise in many ways. in bed, in the tub, on your balcony, at the park, really the options are endless. You can even prepare the strawberries together, cover them in chocolate and make cute Valentine’s day design on them.

All together, a cute and celebratory date idea for one of the most romantic day of the year.

21. Make chocolate covered treats

Look we love treats. We love chocolate too. So anything covered in chocolate is pretty much a yes for us.

In that spirit, take any treat you each like and cover them in chocolate. Whether that’d be strawberries, pretzels or even savoury food, you’ll have a good time and will be able to share delicious food too.

22. Create your signature cocktail

For this Valentine’s date idea, it’s time to become a power couple. What is cooler than having your own signature cocktail when hosting guests? 

Time to create a cocktail that looks like you. Is your relationship a fast paced one? Create a spicy cocktail. Is you relationship, a quiet and slow kind of love? Create a milky cocktail. Mix your favourite drinks and create something that tastes like you!

23. Strip games

Strip bingo, strip board games, strip movies, really the options are endless! You can also add some dares such as every time someone says a word, the other has to strip but while making a little dance or singing a song.

Valentine’s day ideas out

24. Broaden your horizon with local activities

Eric and I aren’t special. Just like any other couple, sometimes we get stuck with date ideas. One of our secret resource is looking for local activities.

It allows us to broaden our ideas but also discover experiences around our location that we didn’t know about. You know how it goes, it’s always the locals that never did the local stuff! So time to spice things up and check the ones around you.

25. Cabin getaway

Cabin getaways are just so romantic, it’s a great way to celebrate Valentine’s day. You don’t have to go far, and you don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Pick a cute cabin, bring some food and have a drink by the fire. If you’re lucky, your cabin might even get a hot tub which is even better!

26. Free comedy show

Out and about doesn’t have to mean spending money. Some of our favorite cheap date ideas for Valentine’s day are attending free comedy shows.

I (Marie) used to live in a small village and those were on all the time. Eric and I have also lived in big cities and these shows are also popular. So wherever you are, you should be able to find one.

What’s great is comedians are here to perfect their set, get visibility and practice their art hence why it’s free. Usually, the set involves several comedians so it’s a great way to laugh with your partner no matter your humour style.

27. IFly challenge

This may not be for everyone but if you’re into adrenaline activities, you’ll love this! Jumping off a place (aka skydiving) is fun. I know so because I (Marie) did so in Hawaii. 

However, February might not be the best month to skydive. It’s cold, snowy and the weather can be unstable. So why not trying indoor skydiving instead? It’s a bit less intimidating and just as fun.

28. Stay in a suite

A classic yet a fun Valentine’s day date idea is staying at a suite. Most of us travel to romantic destinations but unless you have the budget, it’s rare we stay at suites.

Valentine’s day is your opportunity to stay at a local suite with your special person. The best part? Hotels usually have deals on V day. Whether it’s a dinner and stay deal or flowers and chocolates when you arrive, it will make your day special.

29. Sunrise walk with picnic

Sometimes we’re early romantic birds. And when that happens (about once a year), we go for a sunrise picnic. Imagine a quiet atmosphere, celebrating your love before the city awakes. 

You can bring a picnic (check out our picnic ideas for a date), special breakfast drinks and enjoy this time together. You can also mix this idea with others like asking each questions or telling each other a story about yourselves.

30. Try an immersive experience

Immersive experiences are great to escape your everyday bubble and feel connected again. From immersive scavenger hunts to immersive artsy experience, there are lots of different ones.

Check out your local events to see what’s near you.

31. 4DX movie experience

A movie date on Valentine’s day is not unique. However, a 4DX experience at the movies is more surprising!

We’ve seen a few movies in 4DX and thought it was quite fun. You get a bunch of effects like water and wind. Your seats also move just like you are in the movie. It’s super fun and a great spin on the classic movie night.

32. Be children again

Relationships are serious. Between work, taking care of the house and putting your relationship first, it’s hard to be an adult sometimes!

So take Valentine’s day as an opportunity to go be kids again. Take your partner to get cotton candy, ride your local Ferris wheel and play catch me in the park. You’ll laugh together and that’s really all that matters!

Valentine’s Day Ideas FAQs