Top 17 Cheap Indoor Date Ideas For Rainy Days

Even though summer’s here, the weather doesn’t always cooperate for us to venture outdoors for dates (whether it’s too humid, raining, or any number of things). Here are some cheap indoor date ideas for you and your date to do for guaranteed fun.

1. Grocery store-hopping… on free-sample day (i.e., the weekend).

2. A Happy Hour tour at restaurants and bars you’ve never tried before.

3. Cooking. Crock pots are an easy way to create a meal together, then go do an outdoor date activity or two while waiting for that stew to be done.

4. Wine and cheese night. A friend of mine recently went to a cheese-tasting event at a gourmet cheese shop, then went home and created a cheese plate based on what he learned. So, you and your beau can do the same. Pick up some new cheeses at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s, buy a couple bottles of wine, and voilà.

5. Make ice cream and homemade ice cream sandwiches. My ice cream maker was one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. The possibilities are truly endless (not to mention its sensual texture as well).

6. Concerts! Pick a random band and venue out of the local paper and try something new (though you really should be going to an outdoor concert instead)!

7. Go ghost-hunting. Every town or city is bound to have some old haunts (pun intended) to check out. (Note: Not for the faint of heart.)

8. Go shopping. Now’s the time to play dress-up and then buy each other the winning outfits.

9. Go to an animal shelter and play with cats and dogs for a while. Not only will you two get closer, but those animals will appreciate your TLC, too.

10. Q & A session. Write down some questions you want to know about each other… either both answer them, or answer different ones. The more creative, the better.

11. Old-school arcade. Who doesn’t like playing Pac-Man or Frogger? Either find an arcade or create one in your living room (by tracking down those joysticks that plug into your TV).

12. Foosball. Same idea as above—and just as fun!

13. Take the train someplace new—either the subway or Amtrak for a city a couple hours away and be tourists for the day.

14. Go to a friend’s event. If you live in a city like L.A. like I do, a friend is always performing—stand-up, a play, etc. So pick a friend and activity and go support them. (They’ll probably give you comp tickets and, even if they don’t, at least your money’s going to a good cause.)

15. Have a listening party. Remember that beautiful scene in Before Sunrise where Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy’s characters go into a listening booth to hear a record and do nothing but absorb the song and smile, the romantic attraction between them palatable? Well, now’s your chance to recreate that with each other.

16. Build something together, whether it’s a picture frame or something more adventurous, like a chair. The good news is, even if the chair collapses when you try sitting in it, at least you had fun in the process.

17. Play Uno, Scrabble, Risk, or some other nostalgic game from your childhood.

Photo by ralph and jenny