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Monday, April 7

Anniversary Week - 101 Completely Free Date Ideas!

Hey guys! Happy Monday and all that:) This week's a little special because it's Martin and my wedding anniversary this weekend, so each day through to the weekend I'll be posting fun things related in some way to the topic of relationships and romance etc, starting today!  As you can see from the title I'm doing another date ideas post because the last couple (50 fun date ideas, and 50 Fall date ideas) have been hugely popular and I keep getting requests for more (most specifically free date ideas)! Swithout further adieu, here is a really great list to get you out of the movie theater and doing something creative and different without spending a penny! 
To answer a few questions, Martin and I try to get a babysitter once every week if we can, which can sometimes be hard because if our favorite girl is busy (the oldest daughter of some close neighborhood friends) there aren't a lot of people who feel comfortable (or that we feel comfortable with frankly) watching four kids under 4.haha We go more often sometimes when we get the chance, and we always have a blast weather we spend money or not. We feel strongly that frequent dates without the kids are essential to keeping our relationship strong and helping us to stay on the same page. We see a big difference in the flow of our home when we've not had much alone time together for a while, and I know for certain that we're better parents when we take even a little time away to re-connect with each other. Plus the kids get a fun little play date and usually new activities and treats so they love it too:) 

Before I start I just want to add also that while most of the other dates I've suggested in the past have not been exclusively for those married or living together, I made sure that each one on this list would work great for any and every type of couple, and most would even be great for friends or roommates! Also some may not be 'free' if you don't already own a few things like a computer, a car, etc:) Okay here we go:

101 Free Date Ideas 
1. visit the farmers market together
2. 
go see the tourist attractions in your city or town
3. visit an orchard. most will let you eat as much as you want while on their tour, at no cost!
4. go on a hike
5. try to teach each other a skill that you each know (musical instrument, crochet, etc)
6. look up and attend a free local workshop or class together
7. 
go star gazing in the highest place you can get to
8. have a pizza night
9. use an instructional video or book and have your vary own yoga class
10. 
wash your car(s) together on a sunny day
11. have a progressive movie marathon with friends 
12. do a crossword puzzle together or have a Sudoku race
13. take a friends dog(or your own) for a walk or to a dog park for some quality chat time
14. go swimming/sunbathing at a local beach or lake, etc
15. do a big puzzle together
16. turn off the lights and do shadow puppets (look some up online)
17. start a garden together
18. write a short story together and include illustrations
19. gather a little group (or not) for a little rainy mud wrestling tournament or some football
20. choose a foreign destination that you both love and plan out your whole hypothetical trip

21. go fishing at a local lake, pond, or pier (borrow poles if needed)
22. have a bonfire night and make smores
23. go to some open houses around your city and tour through different homes
24. visit a local farm. Most have free visiting hours where you can see the animals and learn about the farm
25. grab a pad and pencil and take turns drawing each other, or some local landscape together
26. go to a public waterfront and practice the art of skipping rocks
27. pick some wild flowers and distribute them to strangers at a nursing home
28. set up a scavenger hunt for your partner and solve it together
29. go parking somewhere romantic. nuff said.
30. visit Costco at lunch time and wander around trying the samples
31. go to a local art show
32. do some arts and crafts with things you already own
33. build a sandcastle village together
34. visit a free museum
35. go to a park and play on the kid toys together (swings, mary-go-round, slides, etc)
36. 
bake a new recipe together
37. work on a house project together (paint a room, refinish a piece of furniture, etc)
38. read a play together and take turns with the parts, and don't forget the voices!
39. put together and hide away a time capsule
40. take your laptop to somewhere new and watch a movie together (the woods, the park, the roof, etc)
41. go to a major bookstore and leave review notes to the future owners in copies of your favorites
42. build something small together
43. have a water fun date with squirt guns, water balloons, sprinklers, etc
44. babysit someone elses kids (if you don't have any of your own of course)
45. use YouTube to learn some ballroom dancing
46. go to a local costume store and have fun trying on wigs, costumes, jewelry, masks, etc
47. have fun playing in and raking leaves for your neighbors, 
48. go window shopping through your local antique stores
49. have a picnic at a local park and play frisby or fly a kite
50. feed the ducks at a local pond, or the pigeons wherever they hang out 

51. go boating or canoeing/kayaking together(go with friends or borrow theirs if you don't own one)
52. build a blanket fort and tell stories
53. reminisce over old photographs and swap childhood stories
54. explore a nearby town together
55. rearrange the furniture in your home or apartment
56. prep a cover story and go take your dream car for a test drive
57. go to amateur, open mike, or karaoke night at a bar
58. use free internet sights to learn about each other's genealogy
59. go on a driving adventure and flip coins to determine left or right, see where you end up
60. go to a busy public place and people watch (give them voices)
61. candlelit dinner at the park
62. play basketball or tennis at those local free courts
63. go on a 'professional' photo-shoot together. You're both the photographers and the models 
64. play card games with some munchies
65. look up different ways to build paper airplanes and have an air battle
66. check for local parades or fireworks schedules and plan accordingly
67. go sledding or tubing 
68. make homemade banana splits ice cream sundaes out of what you can dig up from your freezer and pantry
69. get some friends together and do old-school county fair games (relay, potato sack, wheelbarrow race, etc)
70. look up some 'minute to win it' games to play together
71. go on a nature hike and collect flowers and leaves to press in a book with name tags
72. have a 'beach day' in your back yard with some relaxing music and sunbathing
73. play free two-player game apps on your smartphones (we like to play scrabble and chess)
74. have a bonfire, maybe invite some friends
75. trade hand and/or foot massages
76. attend a cultural festival if you have one near you, 
77. have a technology free date night. unplug the electronics and spend the evening cooking etc by candlelight
78. create a shared board on Pinterest and have some fun. (pin cute tings for the other to see)
79. go to a local school sporting event, bring your own treats
80. take breakfast and watch the sunrise
81. make tie-dye clothing together 
82. go on a mini road trip/ scenic drive
83. revisit the places of your first dates and reminisce 
84. tour a local business (cheese factory, beer distillery, etc)
85. have a progressive dinner with a few couples
86. if he's brave, swap clothes and go for a walk through the mall
87. have a yard sale together
88. play 'the newlywed game' together and see how much you know or don't know about eachother
89. go workout together ('free' if you already belong to a gym:))
90. take some string to a park and look up old-school cats cradle moves to perfect together 
91. build snow men in random public places around town
92. check for free days at your local zoo and make a date of it
93. go geocaching together. Must give it a try, visit geocaching.com to get started
94. tour a collage or university together
95. have an fondue party
96. donate blood together. sometimes they give out free movie tickets and things as a bonus:)
97. find a common cause and compose a letter to someone who could make a difference
98. volunteer together at a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter
99. pick a favorite foreign language and learn a few phrases together
100. attend a movie or concert in the park. bring blankets and your own popcorn
101. make a music video together and post it to youtube

And I'd better stop there! I hope that these ideas spark some creative ideas for fun, different, and cheap dates you can go on with your sweetheart, and I hope you'll let me know of any that stand out to you or that you think should be on the list! People always ask me how they can "get out of the date night rut of dinner and a movie", or how we can afford to do weekly dates whenever I mention it, so I'm happy to finally get these free ideas out there!

Have a great week ahead everyone, and I'll see you back here tomorrow,
xo, Emily

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21 comments:

  1. So many great ideas! How many have you guys done so far?

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  2. Great ideas, I'll be turning to this list when I can't think of anything or need a quick idea. :) Cheers.
    - Michelle @PermanentDaydream.com

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  3. Such a great post! I love this so I just had to pin it!

    http://hannahrosette.wordpress.com

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  4. Great idea's! I will be stealing some!

    www.dancingthroughsunday.typepad.com
    x

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  5. Amazing Ideas! It is so nice to have these all in one pin-able list :) thanks!

    Visit me at june lorraine xx

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  6. Great list, I had no idea anyone else did the "Costco dates"! My husband and I live a block away from ours and occasionally we will walk down, check out the samples, and maybe grab a smoothie or hot dog. It's a small and easy way to catch up with one another, especially during a crazy week!

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  7. I love the idea of donating blood together!!! Great list! Thanks for sharing!

    Kellee
    www.kelleethecaffeinated.blogspot.com

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  8. I love love this list! Thanks for all of the ideas, pinning now :)

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  9. To be honest I kind of did an eye roll when I saw the topic of your post- not because of you but the topic idea seemed a little over done. Most blog posts that you see like this from Pinterest don't really have good ideas and then they put a bunch of filler ideas to make it to 101. Anyway, my point is, I loved your ideas! They are truly creative! You can tell you put time and effort into your ideas and didn't just say random things that no one would actually find fun for a date.

    Good ideas! Will be using some of these! :)

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  10. I just discovered your blog and I absolutely love it! http://finestprocrastination.blogspot.co.uk/

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  11. great list! i'm broke as a joke right now so this is a perfect reminder that romance doesn't have to cost a cent : )

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  12. You always have the best date ideas! love the one about driving in a car and always turning right or left. Will be trying some of these out! http://adappledlife.com/

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  13. I always love your date ideas! I want to try the drive with only taking right turns with the hubby :)

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  14. Love this post! Will definitely come in handy with my boyfriend and I ;)

    Check out my blog sometime, I would feel honored! kyliepeters.weebly.com
    I post motivation and inspiration!

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  15. Definitely looking forward to using some of these ideas with my husband! Thanks!!

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  16. Definitely looking forward to using some of these ideas with my husband! Thanks!!

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