Date/Activity ideas for a couple on winter weekend evenings?
November 26, 2019 4:37 PM   Subscribe

My spouse and I (childless, 30s, married for a couple years) are looking for date ideas for the weekend nights in a typical midwestern city for the winter months. Right now, it's typically less than 5C/40F and the sun goes down at 5pm on weekends.

Our rotation for weekend evening activities are typically:

- go thrift store shopping
- going grocery shopping
- the board game cafe (or at home)
- get or make ice cream
- watching TV or a movie (which already do most weekday nights)
- sex

We aren't fans of nature (or outside activities when it's this cold) or cooking; our depression and introversion doesn't help either; one of us rarely drinks so alcohol-focused events typically don't work out great. We don't our own home so we don't spend time on home improvement projects.

As I write this, I'm realizing that we can shift more dates/activities together during the day
(museums, many more businesses are open during the day) but we'd appreciate some more activities (including ways to make think more positive about doing spontaneous things or trying new things) at night.
posted by fizzix to Human Relations (19 answers total) 26 users marked this as a favorite
 
Puzzles
Lego projects
Paint by numbers
Paint a pot/ wine and paint
Ceramics class
Karaoke
Dessert at a new restaurant
Ice or roller skating
Phone banking or flyer organizing for a politician or cause you support
See a set

Basically, things that are novel/adventurous/challenging get my vote for date night
posted by bilabial at 5:12 PM on November 26, 2019 [1 favorite]


Go to classical concerts and dress up, or go see whatever type of musicians you like. Take salsa classes. I was going to suggest sledding at night under the moonlight, but it doesn't sound like you'd be into that.
posted by pinochiette at 5:15 PM on November 26, 2019


What about creating some sort of movie challenge to mix it up a little? Such as...
A-Z challenge—watch a movie starting with each letter of the alphabet
Birthday Year challenge—watch the top ten movies (or any ten) from your birth years
Around the World challenge—movies from x number of different countries
posted by bookmammal at 6:27 PM on November 26, 2019


Getting a new board game (my wife and I love cooperative games) and taking it to a new bar to play is an enjoyable way to spend an evening.
posted by rockindata at 6:50 PM on November 26, 2019


- Art openings (making the idea of going out positive: it makes the artist feel good to show the work to people)
- Comedy shows
- Between now and the end of the year, there are holiday light shows at the zoo and botanical garden, as well as craft markets (support local artists and conservation charities)
- Film festivals
- Live music, live theater
- Bowling
- Cleveland Blacksmithing has evening classes during the week and on weekends.

As far as mustering the energy to go out at night, you can try going out around 4 pm, then get dinner, then go to your chosen activity.
posted by xo at 7:05 PM on November 26, 2019


Museums and universities often host evening events.
posted by oceano at 7:10 PM on November 26, 2019


Escape Room
Book store
Check your local free weekly paper for listings and just choose something free to attend
Low-key live music at a coffee shop
Recital at local university music department
Take a community college class (ours offers lots of fun series as well as one-off cooking workshops and stuff)
Fancy dessert shop or chocolatier
Buy some materials and try a craft at home
posted by juliapangolin at 7:25 PM on November 26, 2019


We used to very much enjoy going out to free open mic nights at local comedy clubs. There was usually no cover, the drinks were cheap-ish, and the talent ranged from very funny to the other end of that spectrum. Always a very good time!
posted by pingzing at 7:41 PM on November 26, 2019


Cooking courses.
posted by pompomtom at 7:48 PM on November 26, 2019


Look though the craft section of a bookstore and see if there’s a hobby both of you would like to learn from scratch, then collaborate on projects and watch YouTube tutorials together.

Learn instruments. Or juggling.
posted by itesser at 8:18 PM on November 26, 2019


Read out loud to each other. Try lots of books; either person is free to say "not interested" and the other can continue on their own or not. Over the course of 35 years this has been such a pleasure for us to share. We've taken trips to the site of history books (Little Big Horn!) and started on series books - John Dortmunder & the gang, Herule Poirot, Jane Whitefield. 1491 and 1493 have led in so many unexpected directions. Have fun!
posted by kestralwing at 9:20 PM on November 26, 2019 [1 favorite]


Games (Yahtzee!)
Puzzles
Restaurants of various sorts (upscale? breakfast-all-day diner?)
Ditto bookstore
Watercolor painting
Making small furniture for an elaborate dollhouse using balsa wood, hot glue, and tiny fabric swatches (hey, you asked! ;) )
Go to a cafe and have tea
Go out for a movie
posted by slidell at 11:40 PM on November 26, 2019


Check for gatherings and classes at the local library, community center, college, vo-tech, etc. Check the local newspapers for listings in the classified sections and the events calendar. Contact city hall about any bulletin boards or social calendars online. Check with school districts and religious groups.
You mentioned that outdoor activities in the winter were not enjoyable, but the area wildlife dept. or parks and recreation dept. may have indoor activities.
posted by TrishaU at 2:10 AM on November 27, 2019


Getting some physical activity really helps make winter more tolerable for me, and folding that into date night can be fun. You could join a gym and play a sport (e.g. racquetball) or take a fitness class together. Low-budget alternative: there are yoga classes free on YouTube (try Yoga With Adriene).

You could also seek out arts/cultural events. If your city has an alternative weekly paper, check out their listings; if not, events may be a bit harder to find, but they probably still exist. Does your public library host clubs, events, or talks? Is there an cultural center or art studio nearby that has shows, events, or classes? Are there local theatres? Getting out there and experiencing something new can make the winter feel less dreary.
posted by ourobouros at 4:19 AM on November 27, 2019 [1 favorite]


We like to have adventure dinners where we go out to some fairly random place. Sometimes unfamiliar to us food, sometimes yet another small taco place. Or going out to a place that has foosball/skeeball/air hockey or whatever for a uncoordinated challenge.
posted by advicepig at 6:11 AM on November 27, 2019


One tweak to a games night that my wife and I enjoyed: playing a legacy game. It helps give a feeling of continuity and makes it feel like we're moving forward along a story each time we play, rather than just playing the same game yet again.
posted by yankeefog at 6:32 AM on November 27, 2019


Some of my friends' favorite adult at home activities are (1) listening to audiobooks while doing puzzles, and (2) 1 on 1 Dungeons & Dragons campaigns, where 1 person is the GM and the other is a character.
posted by sleeping bear at 9:25 AM on November 27, 2019


Nthing cooperative and/or legacy boardgames:

-Pandemic Legacy - season 1 is great, season 2 is more of a maybe

-Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective

-and if you're ready for a little more of a learning curve but with awesome payoff: Gloomhaven.

- Spirit Island is co-op but not legacy; its rules are confusingly written but there are tutorials online; it's a little on the more complicated side to get started with.

- Aeon's End is fun and has a legacy version coming
posted by LobsterMitten at 10:08 AM on November 27, 2019


Yes, it's Yet Another Subscription Box Service, but I've been curious about Date Night In A Box, and it seems perfect for wintry evenings indoors.
posted by zeusianfog at 12:08 PM on November 27, 2019


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