9 Unique Inexpensive Date Ideas for Valentine’s Day

With inflation at an all-time high, spending an average of $175.41 per person on Valentine’s day is unimaginable. With many people living paycheck to paycheck, spending nearly $400 on a single day is not feasible.

This got me thinking about how Valentine’s day is over-commercialized, and you do not have to fall into debt to profess your love to your partner. Many unique inexpensive date ideas will blow your partner away this valentines day.

1. A City Scavenger Hunt

For the small price of a few gallons of gas, your significant other can go on a city scavenger hunt. This is something that not a lot of people do. We tend to frequent the same places and don’t go much farther.

With programs like Let’s Roam, Scavify, TurfHunt, and many others, you can make a great day or evening out of having the perfect city scavenger hunt.

If you want to make it extra romantic, plan the scavenger hunt yourself. That’ll win the extra brownie points with your partner.

2. A DIY Wine-and-Paint

You’ve probably heard of the “painting with a twist” concept. If you haven’t, it’s where you get to paint and drink some wine with friends, coworkers, or even family. This is a great little gathering where you paint an awesome picture on your canvas, even if you lack the skills!

Instead of spending $30-$50 per person, you can create your DIY wine and paint. You can spend half of that for the two of you and have an awesome evening.

All you need is the following:

Your favorite beverage (doesn’t have to be alcohol!)
Canvas
Paints
Brushes

You can also impress your partner with a lovely charcuterie board!

3. Movie & Dinner Night at Home

This option is going off the traditional, seeing a movie, and having a romantic dinner. If you’ve been together long-term, you know movie theaters are packed and food at restaurants on any big holiday is subpar.

Why not stay in and do your dinner and movie? Bring out all the stops. Make the table with a tablecloth, bring out your fine china, and you can even splurge and get the food wine!

This date idea can be as inexpensive as you want it to be. Shop for food deals early will be your saving grace with this option.

4. Dinner by Starlight

Instead of having dinner at home or a restaurant, let’s bring it outdoors. Whether you decide to do it in your backyard, a park, or another beautiful place, this is a must.

A perfect dinner by starlight could be you grilling some steaks, with baked potatoes and a pasta salad. Don’t forget to bring a blanket to sit on!

To make it extra special, leave your phones in the car. This will allow you to enjoy each other’s company without any outside force drawing you away.

5. Skate Rink

This might sound cheesy to some, but let’s go to the traditional TV show type of date at the skating rink. We’ve all had a date at a skating rink at least once. This is for those who don’t want to do the traditional dinner and movie deal.

To make this date even cheaper, bring your skates!

6. An Escape Room

A unique date to do with your partner, especially if you have been together for a while, is to do an escape room. Even though this is a pricier option costing an average of $40 per person, this is still something great to do. Let’s see if your love can stand against being stuck in a room with one another for an hour!

I went on a first date to an escape room (first ever!), and I thought it was a fun time! You get to see how they are under pressure, so you can escape before you are too deep, haha! – Amanda Byas

7. Take a Hike Or Go Canoeing

Go outdoors. Go to the closest state or national park. Take a day hiking or even rent canoes and go canoeing. This can be the best bonding experience you need. To get away from the world, your anxiety, and work.

This is not just a tremendously unique date but also an important mental health date. Just you two against the world like it should always be. No scrolling social media, listening to the news, or taking work calls.

To make this date even better, pack a picnic lunch to enjoy while you are out in nature.

8. Food Competition

If you both have a competitive side and you both love to cook. This date idea is for you. Let’s make this Valentine’s Day the showdown in the kitchen. You both are responsible for creating a dish, and who’s dish is the best wins and gets the bragging rights, of course!

9. DIY Wine Tasting

Love wine? You’ll love doing a DIY wine tasting at home! Yes, go to your local liquor and wine store and purchase wine you would not ordinarily buy.

To jazz this date up, you can either pair it with food or do a lovely charcuterie board to snack on while tasting the wine you bought. Not only is this cheaper than going out and wine tasting, but you’ll also have the rest of the bottle to consume if you love it!

Talk To Me

These 9 unique inexpensive date ideas for Valentine’s Day are great. I want to know what date you’ve had that stood out the most to you.