Cozy and Affordable: Budget-Friendly Date Ideas for Winter

As the temperature drops and winter settles in, finding affordable date ideas can be tricky. I don't know about the rest of you, but here in Idaho, I definitely don't want to be going out on a walk through town or to a drive-in movie during the winter months. Here are some cozy and budget-friendly date ideas that you can enjoy indoors!

Home Cooking Night

Choose a new recipe that excites both of you and have some fun cooking together. You can even make it a themed night, like Italian with homemade pasta, or taco night with a taco bar spread across your kitchen counter, or challenge yourself with a meal you've been wanting to try. To add a fun twist, consider cooking something inspired by your favorite movie and watch it either while you cook or as you enjoy your meal!

We cooked together a lot while we were dating and in our first year of marriage. It helped us learn each other's cooking habits, and we've found specific meals that one of us is better at preparing than the other: Mitchell is in charge of cooking steak and chicken, and I am in charge of cooking everything else.

Game Night

Dust off those board games or card decks for a fun-filled evening. Create a mini-tournament with prizes for the winner. It’s a great way to engage in some friendly competition while enjoying each other's company. Mitchell and I love to play Bananagrams in the evenings when we have extra time (though we don't usually play by the correct rules...). Some other fun two-player games are 5 Crowns, Azul, Wavelength (my personal favorite), Hues and Clues, Mario Kart, or other online or Switch games.

Movie Marathon

Cozy up with a selection of your favorite films or explore a new series. Create a comfortable space with blankets, popcorn, and snacks. You can even theme the marathon around a genre or actor for added fun. This is a normal evening activity at my house. We love watching a movie after work and school for some decompressing time together. Some must-haves for a movie night: your favorite blanket, cozy pajamas, popcorn, candy, and drinks!

When Mitchell and I were dating, I proudly announced that I loved Marvel movies, so we decided to do a Marvel movie marathon...only to find out I actually hadn't seen most of them. Now we do an annual Marvel marathon just to make sure I remember all of them!

Some of our other favorites are:

Home

Forever Strong

Inception

Hitch

The Princess Bride

How to Train Your Dragon

Knives Out

A Quiet Place

The Fighting Preacher

17 Miracles

The Cokeville Miracle

DIY Craft Night

Get creative with a DIY craft project. Whether it's painting, building a new furniture piece, or making Christmas ornaments, crafting together can be a fun way to relax and chat while still making something to decorate your home. You could watch a painting video together and try to follow it! Or try out the trend of painting each other, or starting a painting and then switching canvases with each other every 5-10 minutes.

Our most recent art project together was painting glass jars with paint pens, and putting tea lights in them for Halloween decorations! It was a lot of fun and very affordable!

Puzzle Night

Challenge yourselves with a jigsaw puzzle. It’s a relaxing activity that allows for conversation while working together towards a common goal. Or, if you are more competitive, each of you can pick out a smaller puzzle, and you can race each other to see who can put their puzzle together first! If you wanted to have this date last longer, choose a large puzzle that will take you longer to finish, and do a little bit together each night!

When I was a kid, my family always had a puzzle out during the month of December for Christmas, creating a calm and festive atmosphere. My mom's family always had a puzzle going when she was growing up. Her dad's rule was that anyone who came over had to add five pieces to the puzzle! So when my dad would go pick her up for dates, they weren't allowed to leave until he put five pieces into the puzzle! Now my dad loves puzzles!

Indoor Picnic

Set up an indoor picnic complete with blankets and your favorite snacks. This adds a fun twist to your typical meal and creates a warm atmosphere. You can do a themed picnic like holiday foods, favorite foods, or something new. We like to set up our picnic blanket in the living room and build giant sub sandwiches instead of buying Subway. It could also be fun to have one of you make the savory foods, and the other one make the sweet foods.

Photo Scavenger Hunt

Create a list of items or themes to find around your home. Document your findings with photos. This playful activity can lead to lots of laughter and memorable moments.

Here's are some things to add to your list:

• An electronic device

• Something in the other person's favorite color

• A heart-shaped object

• Something to represent an inside joke

• Something associated with your favorite memory together

• A photo of you two

• A gift from the other person

• A book you've read together

These budget-friendly date ideas can help keep the romance alive during the winter months while being easy on the wallet. Embrace the cozy season with creativity, and enjoy the time spent together without the pressure of extravagant outings! Comment on this post with your favorite affordable date ideas!