31 Creative Date Ideas To Try Every Day For A Month

If you and your partner have been together for, oh, I don't know, more than two and a half days, you've probably watched enough Netflix together to last a lifetime. Don't get me wrong — snuggling on the couch and watching the new season of Bridgerton is a perfectly cozy way to spend a quiet night in. But no one can blame you for looking for more creative date ideas that go beyond Netflix and chill.

Elite Daily created a lineup of enough creative date ideas to try one every day of the month if you’re both up for it. Some are romantic, some are sporty, and most involve various kinds of delicious food and drinks, because hey, we're all only human. Most importantly, zero of them involve watching seven straight hours of TV until your butts leave imprints on the couch. You’ve got to shake it up from time to time.

Complete the list day by day, or if you and your partner aren't yet ready to spend 31 straight days together, cherry-pick your favorites for date night inspiration. These out-of-the-box, creative date ideas will create tons of new memories for the two of you to look back on and recreate again and again.

1. Take A Hot Bath Together

Have a romantic dip together. Line the tub with candles and drop rose petals into the water. This is about as relaxing as it gets, and you can even add some tunes to curate the vibe. According to matchmaker and dating coach Thalia Ouimet, “Music is the best way to set the ambiance and ... make the night even more romantic.”

2. Take A Cooking Class

A creative activity like a cooking class is a tasty bonding experience. “A cooking class is a great opportunity for a couple to work together and do a fun activity and disconnect from the real world,” Ouimet tells Elite Daily. Plus, those are skills you can bring back for cooking with your partner at home.

3. Go Skating

Go ice skating or roller skating. Pro tip: Unless you're really steady on your feet, wait until you're back on solid ground before you attempt to hold hands. “It’s always fun to try a new active date idea as a couple,” offers Ouimet, suggesting roller bladers map out where they want to go with a destination and stops along the way in mind. “Maybe grab a margarita or an iced coffee on the way,” she says.

4. Sing Karaoke Together

Have a karaoke night. Nothing says true love quite like being willing to make a fool of yourself warbling through an early 2000s pop song. “Make sure you have the camera ready and capture the moment,” Ouimet recommends. You’ll want to relive this top tier entertainment for years to come.

5. Plan A Trip Together

Pick a dream destination (or, hey, no shame in a destination that fits your budget!) and start researching transportation and hotels. “Planning a trip together will allow you to really get to know your partner,” Ouimet says. When you actually embark on the journey, “this is when you pick up on their habits and their level of patience and tolerance,” she adds. “It’s also a great way to build memories together … and really see if you are compatible as a couple.”

6. Play 20 Questions

Make hot chocolate and play 20 questions in front of a cozy fire. There are always new things to learn about each other, no matter how long you’ve been dating. “You want the fire in there because it will make it more romantic, you’ve got your hot chocolate, you’re snuggling, and you get to know your partner better,” Ouimet offers.

7. Go Hiking

Go for a hike, or if it's too cold where you live, hit the slopes and go skiing or snowboarding. “[When] you’re out in nature, you’re really able to connect with your partner and be disconnected from the real world,” Ouimet tells Elite Daily. “There’s something to be said about being out in nature and feeling grounded and that level of peacefulness with your partner. It can really bring people together … Nature has a way of doing that for us.”

8. Take A Pottery Class

This artsy date idea is creative, fun, and you get to take something home to remember it by. How cute would it be to design a cup to hold each other's toothbrushes in your respective bathrooms? “[Pottery is] a fun activity for a couple to do something out of the box but also therapeutic,” Ouimet says. “They could make each other a coffee mug or a watch tray or a jewelry cup.”

9. Try A New Cuisine

Have a dinner date where you both try a new kind of food you've never had before. That Ethiopian vegan place you always see on Yelp? Give it a whirl. “Just because you can’t go to Japan and have a traditional Japanese dish doesn’t mean that you can’t have a traditional Japanese dish somewhere in your city,” Ouimet tells Elite Daily.

10. Have A Beer Date

Take a brewery tour. Or DIY it: Buy six different bottles of beer, pour a little of each into cups, and see if you and your partner can guess which is which. “You get to see if you have the same taste [and] palate trying different beers,” says Ouimet. “I think it would be good for the couple to discuss what makes you like it and what notes you taste. It’s a really fun, interactive activity.”

11. Do A Comedy Night

Go to a comedy show. Or if you're really brave, dare each other to try five minutes of stand-up during an open mic night. While it’s not so much an interactive date during the show, it can be at the end when you discuss and relive the jokes and the night together. “There’s been a study conducted that [found that] couples that laugh together stay longer together, and it’s actually a bonding agent,” notes Ouimet. “Going to a comedy show together can actually help build an even stronger connection with your partner.”

12. Play Poker

Have a poker night with friends. “You’re adding different personalities to the date and you’re also, later on, able to chit chat about the game,” Ouimet tells Elite Daily. You can talk about who you thought was bluffing and how you could tell. “It can be a really exciting discussion after the date,” she adds. If it turns into strip poker, so be it.

13. Explore Somewhere New

Pick a historical landmark, zoo, vintage store, or anything an hour away from you that neither of you have ever been to. Drive there for a mini day trip. “Exploring a new restaurant is always easy, and also exploring a new sports event you haven’t been to before can be exciting,” Ouimet notes.

14. Go On A Boat Ride

Go on a boat ride and pack a basket with snacks and wine. According to Ouimet, “Going on a boat ride and catching a sunset can be a very romantic date with a partner.” If it's too cold where you live, find an indoor go-kart place.

15. Go Skydiving Together

If you’re both the daring type, why not check off a bucket list item together like going skydiving? It’s such a once in a lifetime experience that now whenever you think of the time you went skydiving, you’ll also think of this person you shared it with. “It’s different than getting coffee because we get coffee every day, so if we go on a date and get coffee with them, we’re not going to remember them every time we get coffee. But because this is a bucket-list item, we’re going to remember that moment forever,” offers Ouimet.

16. Take A Mixology Class

Learn how to be a bartender with your boo in a cocktail slinging mixology class. “A mixology class would be a ton of fun for both partners,” Ouimet says, “and what’s more fun than testing different types of alcohols with bitters and doing something out of the box?” Then, you can recreate your favorite recipes at home for each other.

17. Have A Nostalgia Night

Take a trip down memory lane. This is one of the easiest creative date ideas and is super fun and entertaining. “It’s a great opportunity to get to know your partner on a deeper level,” says Ouimet. Watch your family's old home movies and Facebook-stalk each other's most embarrassing pics from high school — then swap stories from each.

18. Attend A Sporting Event

Go see a game. Bonus points if you get really into it and paint your faces to match your team's colors. “This will be fun because you can be loud and fun and energetic — it’s such an energetic date because when they score you can get up and cheer together,” notes Ouimet. “It’s so different because it’s not that interactive, but at the same time there’s a lot of energy around it.”

19. Find Out Each Other’s Love Language

Read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman together. Then, talk about which love language fits each of you best to strengthen your relationship. As Ouimet puts it, “What better way to understand how your partner receives love than to discuss your love language?”

20. Have A Fancy Dinner Date

Treat yourself to dinner at a super nice restaurant. This is also conveniently an opportunity to go full date-night glam. “This can be fun because you and your partner are taking the extra time to get ready and to look nice for each other and to maybe feel a little bit of that power couple vibe,” Ouimet notes.

21. Play Pool At A Bar

You can get some harmless flirty competition going with your date by squaring off in a game of pool. Loser buys the next round of drinks! “I’ve seen couples get competitive, and I think it could be really fun and different,” Ouimet tells Elite Daily.

22. Go Bowling Together

It's kind of old-school and dorky, but if you have a competitive streak and aren’t into pool, this could bring it out. “It does allow you to see what level of competitive your partner is, so in a way you actually learn something about them on this date,” says Ouimet.

23. Do A Photobooth Crawl

You can find these in bars, restaurants, malls, the student center... See how many you can hit up in one night! “This is great because you’re documenting memories together, and you can look back a year from that moment and think to yourself how much fun it was,” Ouiment says. When you get home, collage all your photo strips together or put them in a cute scrapbook.

24. Get A Couple’s Massage

“Getting [a] couple’s massage is so intimate,” says Ouimet. It’s relaxing and sets the tone for a great day or night together. Or, give each other DIY massages and turn it into an at-home spa night complete with bathrobes and sheet masks. And don't forget the candles and some calming music.

25. Make Something Together

Whether you're finally putting together that shelf you got from IKEA or making dinner together at home, the important thing is quality one-on-one time. “Putting furniture together really does allow you to see how well you work with your partner because good communication will go such a long way,” notes Ouimet.

26. Review A Movie

As far as creative date ideas go, this one hardly fits the bill if you’re just going on a regular movie theater date. Make it a different experience by going in with the intention that you’re both movie critics and here to review the film. “Tell each other how you would critique or write a review about the movie,” suggests Ouimet. Plus, if there’s a drive-in movie theater in your city, the night will be even more memorable.

27. Visit A Museum

Museums make fun and engaging dates because you get to walk around being constantly stimulated by various kinds of art and history. “It’s a really fun activity to do together, and you gain an appetite afterward, so it’s perfect for a date extension to grab food after,” Ouimet says.

28. Take A Spin Class Together

The couple that sweats together stays together. “There’s something to be said about people who want to be active together and do something that they love as a hobby,” explains Ouimet. If spinning isn’t your jam, try another workout class like kickboxing or yoga.

29. Go On A Walk

Getting fresh air together is so rejuvenating and makes a great date. “Going on a walk, grabbing a latte, and just sharing stories about yourself and being vulnerable with one another as you're outside in nature and disconnected from the world can be really fun,” offers Ouimet. It’s a nice, mellow alternative to an intense workout, while still being active together.

30. Get Drinks At A Speakeasy

It might just be drinks, but somehow, the secret entrance makes the whole experience feel way sexier. “This can be a really fun date night because you and your partner are dressed up, and there’s something to be said about trying a secret location — it’s sexy,” says Ouimet. “A lot of speakeasies have really good mixologists, so maybe you and your partner get two different drinks and try each other’s,” she adds.

31. Recreate Your First Date

Pay tribute to the first time you met or got together by recreating your very first date. It’s ultra-romantic and “will allow the couple to realize how far they’ve come, [and] go down memory lane,” says Ouimet. This one is especially nostalgic for those couples who have been together for a long time.

Expert:

Thalia Ouimet, matchmaker, dating coach, and founder of We Met Through Thalia