Alternative Valentine's Day date ideas

Valentine’s Day is usually seen as a day to shower your beloved in gifts, take them out for a meal at a posh restaurant and make lots of grand gestures to show how much you love your partner – or at least social media would have you believe that’s the case! In fact, Valentine’s Day is for treating yourself and your partner in whichever way you most enjoy. We’ve come up with a few different Valentine’s Day date ideas for an alternative take on the day of love.

Whether you prefer a cosy night in with a home-cooked meal or a takeaway, or if you’re trying to find a unique yet still romantic Valentine’s date idea, we’ve got many different ideas you can try – take a look!

The typical restaurant and flowers Valentine’s date might be exactly your cup of tea, and that’s really great, but if you hate getting dressed up and paying a lot of money for your grub, this doesn’t need to be your fall-back this year – there are so many ways you can surprise and treat your loved one while doing something that you both find fun! First things first, you need to consider what you and your partner enjoy doing together:

Do you prefer eating out, or getting food at home?

Do you have a favourite or memorable place you can easily visit?

Do you prefer being outdoors or doing indoor activities?

Do you both enjoy active dates, like laser tag or trampolining, or more chilled like a visit to the cinema?

Do you want to spend a lot of money, or are you saving for something special?

Once you have a good idea of what would suit you both best, you can begin to plan your date!

If you’re still struggling to come up with an idea that really feels right, why not pick one from this list of cheap Valentine’s date ideas you can do together out of the house:

1. Go for a picnic in the park – grab a picnic blanket and a posh hamper and take yourselves to the local park – just make sure you’ve got plenty of blankets since it is still February, and it may be very cold!
2. Go for a hike in your favourite forest – get your hiking boots and hats on and get out into the great outdoors together.
3. Visit your favourite bookshop - spend the day picking out books to buy each other before heading to a boutique coffee shop to grab a hot chocolate and read your favourite picks.
4. Take a drive to the beach or your favourite historical site and spend the day soaking up the atmosphere together before grabbing some fish and chips to eat on the way home.

If heading outdoors during the bleak winter months doesn’t sound super appealing to you right now, then why not take a look at some of our ideas for creating a romantic Valentine’s date at home:

1. Set up your own movie theatre at home – take a blank wall or white sheet and a projector and make sure to include some popcorn or even make your own desserts to enjoy with your favourite films on the comfort of your own couch!
2. Cook your beloved a romantic meal – grab some candles, your best cookbook and kitchen utensils and get prepping.
3. Get cosy in the garden – snuggle underneath some blankets with a tasty cocktail and enjoy the warmth from a firepit or patio heater to watch the stars together and talk about your dreams.
4. For a truly selfless gift for Valentine’s Day, why not help out your partner by taking a day off work and getting all of the cleaning, chores, and odd jobs around the house completed, so that they can come home to a perfectly clean and tidy home to relax in!

Can you think of any other alternative Valentine’s Day gift ideas that your partner may love? Hopefully, you’ve got a great idea bubbling away in your head now of the different things you could treat your partner or loved ones to this Valentine’s Day – there are so many things you can do to make them smile!

Check out our blog for more lifestyle advice and inspiration, and to find the perfect Valentine’s mocktail recipes or slow cooker recipes to surprise your partner with this year.