The Ultimate List of Date Night Ideas for Couples on a Budget
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While there's nothing wrong with dinner and a movie (it's a classic for a reason) you might want to jazz up date night with something special and unique.
Here's a list of over 100 date night ideas for any mood and any season, even if you are on a budget.
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Train for a race together
Visit a farmer's market
Rent or borrow a tandem bike
Go for a nature walk
Go yard sale hopping
Visit the garden department and get seeds for flowers or vegetables to plant together
Visit a swap meet or flea market
Visit a botanical garden
Take a ferry ride
Summer

Go fishing
Go swimming
Go out for ice cream
Play miniature golf
Have a BBQ with friends
Visit the fair or carnival
Go to a drive in movie - Variation: Project a movie onto a sheet strapped to your fence in your backyard or watch a movie from your laptop on your balcony or roof.
Find an outdoor concert to attend in your local area
Picnic in the park
Hit the beach
Attend a street fair or parade
Pick berries
Go to a baseball game on discount nights (some fields have a grassy area you can sit in)
Find a new place to watch fireworks on the 4th of July
Fall

Go for a hike and a have a picnic in a scenic location
Visit an orchard and go apple picking
Visit a haunted house
Go to a corn maze
Take a ghost tour
Take a scenic drive up into the mountains when the leaves are changing colors
Plan and put together your couples costume for Halloween
Winter

Have a snowball fight and hot chocolate
Go ice skating
Drive around and find houses with Christmas light displays
Drive through a professional Christmas light show (for a small fee)
Go sledding
Build a snow fort
Make s'mores in the fireplace
Get Active

Go to a batting cage or park with a baseball field and hit baseballs, then have hot dogs
Play Frisbee
Go to the driving range
Play tennis at a public court
Rent or borrow a canoe, kayak or paddle boat at a local lake
Go rock climbing - visit an indoor wall or go outdoors with an experienced friend
Set up badminton in the yard
Go bike riding
Go for a run
Go roller skating or inline skating
Take a dance class
Play table tennis
Play racquetball
Cook up Some Fun

Take a cooking class from community education programs
Make candy together
Make your own pizzas at home for each other
Bake and decorate a cake from scratch together
Make fondue
Bake a pie from scratch (maybe using the berries you picked!)
Try a new fancy recipe and have a candlelight dinner
Have a Quiet Night Indoors

Binge watch your favorite show on Netflix with popcorn and treats
Redbox movie night
Reminisce the glory days of high school while perusing your old year book
Reminisce over old family photos
Find funny YouTube videos to watch
Work on a puzzle together
Read a book aloud to each other
Get to know each other better with the "How Well Do You Know Your Spouse" books
Be a Kid Again

Buy cheap water guns and have a water gun fight
Whip out the kids game station and play video games
Go to an arcade, some areas have a Nickle-Cade where you play games for nickels
Race go carts
Have a paper airplane contest
Get Outdoors
Play tourist and visit historical sites in your local area
Take a long evening stroll through the neighborhood
Go to the zoo
Star gaze, get out your telescope if you have one or borrow one
Feed ducks and have a picnic (instead of bread try canned corn, frozen peas (defrosted), oats, lettuce, duck pellets or bird seed)
Visit a state park
Walk a dog (yours, a neighbors, or earn some cash by walking dogs for Rover.com)
Watch a sunset from a scenic view
Have a Game Night

Play trivia games together
Double date with friends or family and play board games
Have an at home spa night with bubble bath, facials and massages
Play Catch Phrase (my husband and I just see how many we can get in a row before the timer goes off)
Play "Never Have I Ever" (here's one place you can get a list of questions)
Scavenger hunt (there are a few different fun Scavenger Hunt ideas here)
Go Out on the Town

Hit a comedy club on amateur night
Go to a museum on a discount night
Go to a community or high school play
Go to a high school, college or other inexpensive sporting event
Visit an art gallery on public or free nights
Visit a planetarium
Karaoke night!
Visit a jazz lounge
Play pool (billiards)
Go to a bookstore
Be Traditional

Find a new Ma-and-Pa type restaurant to eat at
Go to the movies at a dollar theater or matinee movie
Go bowling
Visit the library
Attend a book reading at your library, coffee shop or book store
Be Unique

Go pretend house shopping and tour your dream home
Create an "anniversary registry" (similar to a wedding registry or bridal registry) at your favorite department store
Go out to breakfast
Find a painting date class (where someone hosts a group and teaches them to paint while having ice cream or refreshments)
Browse an antique store
Teach each other your talent: how to play a song on the guitar, how to crochet, how to paint, etc.
Make pottery
Make a craft
Work on a new language (check out a book or audio from the library, or see if your library gives you access to Rosetta Stone)
"Eat out" at a food truck
Recreate your first date
Visit the elderly at a nursing home
Find a service project you can do together
Don't forget to check out 20 Free (or Cheap) Ideas for Family Fun
Share some of your favorite creative and unique date night ideas that you can do on a budget in the comments below!