Are you looking for some cute Valentine’s Day Date Ideas that don’t cost a lot of money? We love the idea of celebrating Valentine’s Day and those precious relationships that you have in your life. But we look at Valentine Recreation a little differently . . . are you surprised?
Valentine’s Day falls on a different day each year, but it’s a good time to get your husband to do something more romantic . . . especially after watching the Super Bowl last week.
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Valentine Recreation with Thought
Love is not based on how much we spend, but how much we spend time thinking about the other person. It’s easy to just go for a standard “dinner and a movie.”
But how much more fun and how much more exciting and romantic is an evening of planned surprises or special activities.
Concerts
Check your local high school, community college or university for concerts that are performed around Valentine’s Day. Usually, tickets are reasonably priced or free!
Inexpensive Eating Out Ideas
We don’t usually go out for a date on Valentine’s Day — it’s too crowded and most restaurants won’t accept coupons that night.
But if you want an inexpensive dinner idea for Valentine’s Day, without going to a restaurant try this idea.
Go to your local grocery store and buy a Rotisserie Chicken, Bagged Salad, and a loaf of Artisan or French bread. The total out-of-pocket cost should be less than $15.
So we go out the prior or following night when there are fewer people and more deals. Get dozens of restaurant hacks to save more money.
Progressive Restaurant Date: One year Steve surprised Annette with a date night that featured 3 of her favorite restaurants.
- Appetizers: First they went to Lunt Avenue Marble Club for deep-fried zucchini and mushrooms
- Main Dish: They ate steak at Black Angus steak house
- Dessert: They finished up the evening with Annette’s favorite, a Buster Bar from Dairy Queen
Lover’s Lane
An outdoor mall near our home hosts a “Lovers’ Lane” with free horse-drawn carriage rides, chocolate tasting and dancing to big band music. Free date activities are always fun.
If you’re in colder climates, there are still special indoor events being hosted that don’t cost a lot – check your local malls and churches for events.
Gather Friends
A few years ago we hosted a dinner party that included four other couples we’ve known for years. Annette cooked the main dish and everyone else brought side dishes – this kept the price for hosting the evening very affordable. Everyone dressed in cute valentine’s day colors too.
Then we sat around the table, taking turns sharing stories of how each couple met and fell in love. It sounds kind of “corny” but it was so much fun to sit with friends we’ve known for decades and share old stories and lots of laughter.
Help your kids write out cute little Valentine Cards of appreciation for their siblings, grandparents, other relatives, neighbors, teachers, coaches, etc. There’s always a need for kind words and thoughts.
We’ve also baked adorable and simple heart-shaped sugar cookies and let the kids ice them with pink frosting and sprinkles. The cookies can be delivered with their Valentine cards.
Family Games
Board games are usually pretty inexpensive and are a great bonding time … unless you play “killer Monopoly.”
- Playing Board Games or Card Games
- Charades with a group of friends
- Play Balderdash – we usually laugh until we cry.
- Play Mennonite Madness (watch this video – it’s so simple)
- Related Post: 35 Family Game Night Games
Outdoor Activities
- Bonfire: Have a bonfire at the beach, in a forest glen or in a fire pit in your back yard. Remember to bring makings for s’mores. This is a run and inexpensive date idea.
- Ice Skating: Outdoor or indoors, it’s fun, good exercise and a great reason to break out a thermos of delicious hot chocolate.
Dancing
If you and your date like dancing try some of these options:
- Go to a local swing dance club
- Research historic colonial balls in your area. We’ve attended these where participants dress up in period costumes. Lots of fun and very memorable.
- Irish Contra Dancing – this is another style of group dancing that is loads of fun. Search for: Irish Contra Dancing Near Me
- Give Greek Dancing a try – usually done in groups in a circle. It’s easy to learn and fun.
- Go to a cowboy bar that has Western Line Dancing. It’s easy and fun.
Valentine Recreation for Family Outings
- Factory tours—check your local area for candy, bread and milk production facilities. Many give free tours. We love touring a small family-owned candy factory in Glendale, Arizona – Cerreta Candy Company. It’s delicious!
- Visiting someone who’s been on your mind and you haven’t seen in a while.
- If you’ve got snow on the ground – go ice skating, sledding or tobogganing. In the Phoenix area, if we want to go sledding, we’ve got to drive 2 hours to Flagstaff – but it sure is fun.
Romantic and/or Family Movies
Snuggle up and watch a movie with the love of your life. That’s a great and inexpensive way to spend Valentine’s Day together. We’ve combined some of our favorites with a huge list provided by our Facebook Fans!
You may want to preview some of the movies produced after 1970 before watching them with your children.
- 13 Going on 30 | 2004 | PG-13 | Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo
- A Walk in the Clouds | 1995 | PG-13 | Keanu Reeves , Aitana Sanchez-Gijon , and Anthony Quinn
- Amazing Adventure, The | 1936 | NR | Cary Grant — One of our all-time favorite movies. Fantastic story, Fair video quality *
- An Affair to Remember | 1957 | TV-G | Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant
- Beauty and the Beast | 1991 | G | Disney Musical | Paige O’Hara , Robby Benson , Richard White and Jerry Orbach *
- Beauty and the Beast | 2017 | PG | (live action) Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Luke Evans
- Best Years of our Lives, The | 1946 | NR | Fredric March , Dana Andrews and Myrna Loy | 7 Academy Awards *
- Big Fat Greek Wedding | 2002 | PG | Nia Vardalos, John Corbett and Lainie Kazan*
- Captain Horatio Hornblower | 1951 | NR | Virginia Mayo and Gregory Peck
- Charade | 1963 | 7+ | Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant and Walter Matthau | suspense
- Desk Set | 1957 | NR | Kathryn Hepburn and Spencer Tracy
- Dr. Zhivago | 1965 | PG-13 | Omar Sherif and Julie Christie | 7 Academy Awards
- Ella Enchanted | 2004 | PG | Ann Hathaway and Hugh Dancy | Musical
- Enchanted Cottage, The | 1941 | NR | Robert Young and Dorothy McGuire
- Ever After: A Cinderella Story | 1998 | PG-13 |Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston *
- Every Girl Should be Married | 1948 | NR | Cary Grant and Franchot Tone
- Father Goose * | 1964 | NR | Cary Grant , Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard
- Goodbye Mr. Chips | 1939 | NR | Robert Donat , Greer Garson and Terry Kilburn | Academy Award
- High Society | 1956 | NR | Bing Crosby , Grace Kelly and Frank Sinatra | Musical *
- How to Steal A Million | 1966 | 13+ | Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole
- Houseboat | 1958 | NR | Sophia Loren and Cary Grant
This is less than half of our romantic movies list, see the rest of the growing list of Valentine movies here
* This is an Economides Family Favorite Movie!
We’ve provided some links to Amazon (these are affiliate links from which we receive commissions). Of course, you could always check your library for these movies and take them for a “test drive” and purchase only the ones you like.
More ideas:
A creativity-inspiring little book we have is 258 Great Dates While you Wait. It’s written for dating singles who want more out of life than, well, what Hollywood portrays as normal relationship activities. But if you’re married and want some out-of-the-box inspiration, you’ll like reading these ideas too.
Hope you have some romantic and loving fun with your family this year. And if you have some unique, fun, and creative ideas that have worked for you, could you share them below – we love hearing your ideas.
