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Since we’ve been married, Mike and I have learned various lessons about each other that have allowed us to grow positively in our relationship together.
We’ve learned to keep communicating and strive to be curious about one another. We regularly seek out novelty as a way to avoid boredom and add excitement to life. We have shared dreams (such as this blog) and a common worldview that we talk about often so that we can grow together.
But with young kids vying for much of our attention, it’s often hard to have intentional opportunities for conversation and meaningful time together. Creating space and time to be focused on each other after the kids go to bed is one way that we’ve found to keep our marriage healthy and our communication open.
Some nights, our energy is drained and we have little motivation to do anything except turn on Netflix. We’ve found that this routine, although relaxing, doesn’t encourage us to grow in our connection with each other. Instead, when something enjoyable is done too frequently, it loses its novelty and becomes just another way to pass the time.
In this post, I’ve listed 33 ways to have an enjoyable, meaningful evening together with your partner, in the comfort of your own home. Some of the ideas are simple, some nostalgic, and others even border on cheesy (because why not?).
33 Ways for Couples to Have an Enjoyable Evening at Home
- New art skill. Pick a skill to learn and work at it for a short time each night, think pottery, painting, or drawing. Some helpful Youtube channels I’ve found are Brad’s Art School for drawing tips or Jenna Rainey for watercolor tutorials. You never know what hidden talents might emerge!
- Favorite old song. Think back to your teenage or young adult years and choose a favorite song to play, reminisce about that time and why you enjoyed it. Here’s a list of top songs by decade to get your started.
- New movie. Choose a movie on netflix from a totally different genre than normal, you might be surprised!
- Make a charcuterie board. We love having a “date dinner” after the kids go to bed and one way is with a charcuterie board. Use fancy cheese, sliced cured meat, crackers, chocolates, fresh fruit, nuts, olives, dried fruit, and hummus.
- Make a playlist of songs. Create a list of songs on Spotify to listen to as you enjoy a drink together.
- Do a blind taste test. Mike loves good dark chocolate. Sometimes he’ll pick up a few different brands and we’ll do a blind taste test, determining which ones we enjoy the most. Other fun foods to do this with are wine, cheese, or desserts.
- Have an UNO tournament. Although UNO is probably considered a kid’s game, we had so much fun in college having a tournament to 100 wins. For the record, I won.
- Take a virtual vacation. Open up Google maps, choose a destination you’d like to visit someday and spend a few minutes exploring the area together. This is one of Mike’s favorite things to do!
- Listen to a cozy wintry audio book together. During the cold, darker winter months, listening to an audio book is a relaxing way to unwind and relax together. Here’s a list of favorite first listens for some ideas.
- Play speed chess or speed checkers. If you don’t have a large amount of time to spend playing board games, try playing speed versions of chess or checkers- each move has to be done in 10 seconds or less, making the game about 10 minutes long.
- Play 20 Questions. You think you know everything about your partner? Try playing 20 questions, maybe you’ll learn something new or maybe even just have a few good laughs together.
- Reminisce together. Look back through your wedding pictures, the albums of when your kids were young, or take a scroll in the Google photos archives.
- Take youtube dance lessons. Want to get better at dancing together? Take a look at these Youtube Dance Lesson videos!
- Learn a new hobby together. Does one of you have a hobby that you’d like to teach your partner? Mike and I recently took a short photography course so I could teach him more about how to take a good picture and use my camera in manual mode.
- Make fireplace s’mores. If the winter weather keeps you indoors and you have a fireplace, make a spread of s’mores ingredients and enjoy sitting by the fire roasting marshmallows.
- Have an indoor picnic. Lay down a blanket, serve fun finger foods, and spend time chatting together just as if you were at your favorite park on an actual picnic.
- Order in, but make it something you’ve never eaten before. Try a new ethnicity of food that you normally don’t go to on a date. A few months ago we ordered from a Trinidadian restaurant and had fun choosing foods we’ve never heard of from the menu.
- Play gin rummy. It’s our favorite easy card game that can be played just for a few minutes each night. We make it more enjoyable by playing best to 500 points.
- Have an electricity free night. Avoid using electricity by turning off all your lights and devices and light candles for a cozy screen-free setting. Snuggle up with a blanket, hot drink, and a few ideas for intentional conversation.
- Have a candlelight dinner. Even if your dinner isn’t fancy, lighting candles always seems to elevate the ordinary and add an idyllic sense of peace to the setting.
- Have a fondue night. Making cheese or chocolate fondue is another fun way to have a date night together after the kids go to bed. We don’t have a fancy fondue pot, but still enjoy making fondue a few times a year.
- Plan your next vacation. If the colder months are causing some winter blues, think about planning your next vacation or weekend getaway trip. Decide where you’d like to go then begin researching lodging, attractions, and how you’ll spend your time. Just the thought of a warmer destination always fuels my motivation during the winter months.
- Create a realistic bucket list for the year. Bucket lists can be a good life-goal tool to dream about the exciting things you want to accomplish over the course of your life. Try creating a list together that includes realistic options of ways to add enjoyment and adventure to the year.
- Read old love notes and cards you gave each other. This may be cheesy, but Mike and I wrote lots of notes and cards to each other while we were dating in college. I kept most of them, turned the cards into a scrapbook, and stored them in one of our keepsake bins. If you did something similar, dig them out and enjoy going down memory lane together.
- Take an enneagram test. Mike and I have pretty different personalities, so taking a short enneagram test is a fun way to compare ourselves and see each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a free, short test.
- Create an at-home-spa night. Impress your partner by setting up an at-home-spa night. Lay down pillows and blankets on the floor, light some candles, melt some coconut oil and add a few drops of lavender essential oil, and put on some relaxing music. Not sure how to give a good massage? Check out these 5 easy massage therapy techniques.
- Have an old-school movie night. Pull up a list of popular movies from a previous decade, decide on one to watch together, and make a big bowl of popcorn to enjoy while watching.
- Bake something. Try baking something simple together then enjoy sitting and eating it while you talk. Some of our seasonal favorites are baked peaches in the summer, apple crumble in the fall, or even a good old ghirardelli brownie mix and vanilla ice cream any day of the year.
- Have a scrabble tournament. Scrabble is one of those classic, timeless games that allows for a relaxing evening together. It’s even more enjoyable with a tasty dessert or cocktail to drink!
- Happy hour at home. Plan your own happy hour (even if it’s after dinner), make your partner a fun drink, and sit back and relax for a while together. This is one of our favorite ways to spend a summer evening.
- List of date nights. Come up with a list of actual dates you want to do this year, and even schedule a few on the calendar if possible. Here’s a fun list for some out of the house date ideas.
- Breakfast in bed. Having breakfast in bed in the morning hasn’t ever been something I’ve done since I wake up before my kids, but the idea of having breakfast in bed after the kids go to sleep sounds even more relaxing. Do a date night dinner with your partner, make it breakfast themed, and enjoy eating as you relax in bed!
- Listen to a podcast. Need a switch from your regular Netflix shows? Here’s a list of the 50 best Podcasts of 2021.
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