Can’t do date night out? If you can’t leave the house, there are still plenty of fun activities for couples that can still keep you connected.
Let’s be real, there’s going to come a time when you’re in desperate need of things to do when you’re confined to home or indoors with your partner. For instance, one of you or both are under the weather, it’s raining cats and dogs outside or you’re on standby for the AC guy to show up between that annoying 5-hour window.
And those are just a few real-life examples and scenarios. So I came up with some stress-free, fun and engaging activities (also kid-friendly) to help you stay connected to your SO during this time of solitude – er, with your partner.
Because, at some point, we’re all going to need them.
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If you’re confined to your home, here are 25 activities to stay engaged with your partner
Read together. I know everyone has books, or at least access to Kindle, so utilize this time to enjoy some downtime taking turns reading a book together. Also choose from an array of books that are meant to improve the quality of your relationship (The Five Love Languages, Love & Respect, and The Seven Principles For Making A Marriage Work are some personal faves). There should be no shame in having the desire to improve your Love. Remember: just because marriage is good doesn’t mean it isn’t hard, and just because marriage is hard doesn’t mean it isn’t good.
Play a game. Whether that be a board game, card game, puzzle, video or computer game. Or a game you make up together!
Find + binge a Youtube Channel. My husband and I recently got into this trend (if it’s even a trend – oh well, it is for us), where we’ve started following and watching travel couples who live the RV or boat life. But there are so many other binge-worthy people whose lives you can follow, and it’s far more real than reality TV.
Engage in connection questions. As silly and repetitive as you might find these, connection questions can actually be utilized over and over again. These aren’t necessarily “get to know you” kind of questions, but thought-provoking and emotionally engaging questions based on the quality of your relationship at the time. These are answers that can change and fluctuate over time and can be revisited in the future! You can access these connection questions through the Couples Connection workbook.
Draw, paint or doodle. Create a caricature of each other, or sketch one another (like in the movie Titanic), or make a game of it by setting a timer and drawing something to have your partner guess what it is before time runs out.
Stargaze. Set up the blankets, pillows and soft music and spend a relaxing evening looking up into the night sky. You might just begin to realize how small you really are in such a big, big world.
Look up at the clouds. If you ever did this as a kid, why did you stop? Get in touch with your creative sides, or simply be mesmerized by the ever-changing formation of clouds above you – this can help relieve stress and re-center your conscious self.
Go for a walk. Confinement mean you can’t ever leave the house. Go for a walk in your neighborhood, or go on a nature walk if you live by a national or state park. The idea is to avoid crowds, not avoid nature.
Play real estate. My husband and I play this often, as much as it is mentioned in previous date activity posts I’ve written. Grab your computer, simply pick an ideal place you would love to move and a budget, go to any real estate site (like Zillow) and pretend you are in the market.
Super fun and underrated.
Make homemade pasta, or bake something. Obviously this is if you have the ingredients on hand, and can afford to use them. But making pasta is a new thing for me, yet it is SO easy to do on your own (and tastes 1000% better than any boxed pasta – promise) with just flour and eggs. Google a simple recipe and get to making your own pasta night!
Create a video story. For example, a video of how you met or your first date. You could even do a video reflecting this whole experience. This is a cute idea to be able to show your future kids or to watch 5, 10, 25 years from now as your relationship unfolds.
Play dress up + set up a lavish romantic dinner. Who says you can’t put on the romance from home?? That’s right, get all dressed up, light the candles, play the soft music and eat by candlelight.
Make a scavenger hunt at-home. Something fun, different and creative to do from home. You could even include a winning prize at the end.
Improve your communicating skills with Heads Up. If you’ve never heard of the game, Google it and download this game onto your phone. It helps improve communication because one person has to describe a word to their partner and they have to guess it before the buzzer. Plus it’s a less serious and more fun way of doing it.
Plan a vacation (or fake one). Because when the quarantine is up, you might feel like you need a vacation from that staycation. Plan one up, down to the excursions, even if it’s fake!
Plan + schedule out a year’s worth of dates. A bit more realistic in terms of planning, and intentional, so grab your calendar and start penciling in date nights and date activities for every week or month for the next year!
Have a food tasting + guessing game. Again, obviously, if you have the available rations on hand, and this is simply a fun game to play as a snacking reward. Put on a blindfold and have your partner guess from various fruits, vegetables or other snacky foods.
Learn a new language together. When you have the time, why not?? Practice together in conversation, or as the alternative in speaking to one another. Pretty sure you could learn a new language in no time that way!
Make an online photo gallery, then watch it. If you’re one with more pictures on your phone than you know what to do with, make an online gallery (like with Prime Photos – it’s free) then watch the movie presentation of it together for a good laugh or to reminisce.
Rearrange the furniture in your home. A fresh perspective (er, layout) of your home can make it a lot easier to embrace change because change can be good!
Play the ‘How Well You Know Your Partner’ game. How well do you think you know your partner? There are plenty of resources for this online, or you can make up your own! This is a fun way to challenge one another in how much you actually know about each other, as well as how well you remember and listen!
Make life lists, then compare. All the way from life aspirations, goals, to your 5, 10 and 20-year plans. This is a judgment-free space to dish your wants and dreams on paper, share with one another and even begin setting them in stone!
Create a workout routine and/or challenge one another using Tabata. The couples who work out together are sure to be on this already, but when the gym is probably the first place on your list to avoid, there’s no reason you can’t bring the gym home and create a regimen together.
Have a backyard picnic or camp out with outdoor games. Pitch a tent, bring the snacks and spend time outside in the fresh air with some ladderball, can jam, bocce ball, corn hole, or croquet.
Have a themed or trilogy movie night. Whatever it is you’re into – Disney, Marvel, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, or even the classics like Star Wars and Star Trek – watch one each night til you’ve completed them all. Talk about each one, your favorite character, scene or movie part to make movie night a bit more interesting.
