Staying In

Staying In

With the new year comes resolutions like saving money or eating healthier by not eating out as much. To help you keep to your New Year’s resolutions we are here to help with some ideas to have an excellent night-in where you won’t even miss going out on the town. No promises on the eating healthier though! 

 

Dinner Date Night

To have a proper date night, you must set the stage. My husband and I are totally guilty of eating dinner in the living room every night. So it doesn’t feel like any other night at home, clear off your dining area and set it! I challenge you to not eat in the living room on date night. As part of setting the stage for your date, you need to set the table with real plates, glasses, and serving ware (don’t worry, there will be some more date ideas later that don’t require you to do dishes). If you want to take your dining area to the next level, consider some non-scented candles! Next up, if you and your partner are drinkers put your wine into a decanter or pour your beer into glasses instead of drinking from the bottle/can.

Now for the menu, I promise I won’t make this too complicated! If you are a novice or not so great cook then you can totally cheat by ordering some food and plating on some serving platters and no one will be the wiser.

Dinner: Engagement Chicken or Marry Me Chicken
Side: Serve with these cheesy Brussels sprouts alongside these heart-shaped dinner rolls
Dessert: Classic Chocolate Mousse

Dinner: Boyfriend Steak or Sheet Pan Steak & Potatoes
Side: Parmesan Roasted Asparagus alongside heart-shaped dinner rolls
Dessert: Oreogasm Lush


At Home Cooking Class

If you are not interested in cooking an entire meal alone, don’t! Make the meal a project for you both. It would be really easy to either get a meal delivery kits and assign duties or just split up duties of a recipe you’ve never done before! Or even check out some YouTube videos of cooking classes. You not only get to eat a delicious meal at the end (hopefully) and learn something as well.

 

Photo by JJ Horton Photographer

Wine Tasting

For the wine loving couple instead of going to a restaurant and buying $9 glasses make a date night out of it by going to your local Total Wine, a grocery store with a good wine selection, or wine shop. I would highly suggest the app, Vivino, you can scan wine labels or search by name. This will give you reviews of the wine before you purchase. Make it fun by picking wines from different countries/regions or even pick wines based solely on the label! Take your picks home, make your own charcuterie board using Off The Eaten Path’s blog post on How to Make an Easy Cheese Board in Less Than 10 Minutes and have yourself an at-home craft shop! This date night idea could even work if you are a beer connoisseur!

Build a Fort

Do you remember when you were a kid and how awesome it was when someone would build you a fort out of sheets, chairs, blankets, and various other household items? It was probably one of my absolutely favorite things about childhood. Well, a living room fort doesn’t have to be a thing of the past, as an adult you can build your own fort and stay up as late as you want to. Step one, build your fort! This is a great opportunity to set out of your comfort zone and be a little silly! You may be asking -- now that the fort is built what do we do! You can have a next level game or movie night (just make sure you can see the TV if you plan to watch movies). Pop some popcorn and get all of your favorite childhood treats out.

Go Camping in your own backyard

If you are ready to take your fort making to the next level -- why not put a tent up in your own backyard! The best thing about this, you are right in your backyard so no sketchy bathrooms, and a stocked kitchen! My husband and I did this last year to test out our new tent. Here is a  tip so it doesn’t feel like roughing it when your own bed is just a few feet away: use an air mattress and lots of blankets! If you have a fire pit, start out your backyard adventure with smores and drinks by the fire. If you are a real lover of smores try this cocktail, it was a big hit at our house. Some of my favorite memories with my husband is when we sit by the fire pit with music playing with cocktails, singing and talking the night away.


If none of these stay-in date nights did it for you, be sure to check out our Date Night In Pinterest board for more ideas and recipes! Next week on the blog we will be talking about Galentine’s Day and planning the perfect girls night!




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