Here are 25 fun date night ideas for busy parents because keeping your marriage strong is important – especially after kids.  From simple and easy to more adventurous, you are sure to find this list is sure to have a great idea for your next date night! 

As a homeschool mom, I am constantly thinking of fun ideas and activities to do with the kids.  (If you are looking for fun Valentine’s day crafts for kids, I’ve got plenty of them here.) 

But it can be more tricky when it comes to planning date night with my husband.  He works hard all day to provide for us and I work hard teaching the boys and managing our home and at the end of the day, we love hanging out all together as a family.  

I am so thankful for our family life.  

But we know that intentionally maintaining our marriage and working to strengthen our relationship with one another is important.  A strong marriage is healthy for us and for our kids.  

And in a season of life where there are about a million other things vying for our attention, energy, time, and money, we want to be sure to make time to connect with one another.  

How can we quiet the noise and get that needed time together?  Here are 25 fun date ideas for busy parents looking to connect.  

25 Awesome Date Night Ideas for Busy Parents

Whether you’re looking for an adventurous date night out, or if date night in is more your style, we’ve got you covered.

Date Night Out Ideas – if you have a sitter

If you want to go out for date night, and have a sitter that can watch your kids, here are some fun, adventurous date night ideas to help you and your spouse reconnect.

Grab dinner at a favorite restaurant

Maybe a restaurant that you went to before kids, or a fancy place you don’t go to often.  We try to go to places that we can’t go with the kids as easily when it’s just the two of us.  It’s good for a change of scenery and it’s special since it’s like “our place”.

You could also try a new restaurant – either new to town or new to you.  

Go out for dessert only.

This is a great option if you have a sitter (or neighbor) that can come over after bedtime.  You can eat dinner with your kids – still do your regular night time routine for bed and sneak out for a bit after their in bed to a nearby restaurant or ice cream shop for dessert only.  I have a major sweet tooth and LOVE a tasty baked treat, so this is really fun for me.

Take a cooking class.

Instead of going out to dinner, take a cooking class together and then eat what you’ve prepared.  

Get a couples massage.

This is a great way to unwind together.  It’s also something you can do at home without a sitter, if you don’t want to go out or spend money on a professional massage.

Go to a play or musical.

This one is a little more on the pricey side, to be sure – but it’s one of my FAVORITE things.  If you have a local performing arts center nearby, check out what’s playing and go see a show.  We don’t do this often, but when we do, it’s always so fun and special!

Attend a local sporting event.

Grab tickets for a local baseball game or soccer game, if you’ve got local teams.  It’s a fun way to take part in things in your city, and something fun to do as a couple!

Escape Room.

Another thing that we don’t do often, but is always a good time.  Great for couples that enjoy solving puzzles and being adventurous.

Spend an hour at a trampoline park, or a local rock climbing gym.

Great for couples that like to stay active, or feel like kids again.  

Mini Putt-Putt.

Mini Putt-Putt can be lots of fun with a little competition added in.  It’s perfect, especially if the weather is nice!

Race Go-Carts.

Another way to incorporate some friendly competition with something a little out of the box that you don’t do often.

Visit an Arcade.

We love to visit arcades with the boys, but it is fun to go together, just the two of us to play the games that we love.  

PRO-TIP: Many arcades have several of these activities right in one spot – so you can do a little bit of everything!

Grab lunch during the work week.

I’m adding this under the “if you have a sitter” category because you may still need someone to watch your kids. That said, this is especially great if your kids are school-aged.  If not, you can let them go on a play date for an hour, while you meet up with your spouse for lunch during the work week.  Bring your own bag lunches or eat out at a place nearby.

It makes the work day better and is just fun to do something that feels spontaneous in the middle of the day.

Be tourists in your city.

Leave the kids with a sitter and take time to explore your city.  Check out all the places you don’t usually go.  Local restaurants, museums, parks, there is often lots of fun to be had right in our own backyards.

Take a day trip to explore a nearby city.

Or head down the road a little bit and explore a new city for the day.

Take a weekend trip – just the two of you.

If you are feeling really adventurous and have the ability to do so, taking a kid-free weekend trip can be a really great way to reconnect with your spouse.  Before our second was born, my husband and I took our first kid-free trip since becoming parents to spend a gorgeous fall weekend up in Boston and it was everything I didn’t realize we needed.

  We had the best time and were able to come home feeling so well rested and rejuvenated.  We were able to spend time talking, laughing, and just enjoying one another’s company and it was so wonderful.  One of my favorite trips.

PRO-TIP:  Be sure to check sites like Groupon for local deals.  This is a great way to save some money on a really fun date!

Great Date Night at Home Ideas that Don’t Require a Sitter

For a lot of busy parents, having a sitter is a treat and not something that happens very frequently.  Here are some simple, but romantic at home date night ideas that you can do after the kids go to bed – right in the comfort of your own living room.

Watch a favorite movie or show.

There are always great options on Netflix or Amazon Prime for this.  Pop some popcorn, or grab a bowl of ice cream and snuggle up for a movie together.

Bake something together.

As a part of your date night, why not bake something together?  I spend lots of time cooking and baking with the kids and it’s always a treat when I get to cook with my husband. 

Try a Date Night In subscription box.

If you’ve been around here, you know that we love our Date Night in Boxes.  They’re a really great way to help prioritize date night at least monthly and are always full of fun activities, conversation starters, and even suggested menus for date night.  You can read all our Date Night In Box reviews here.

Rewrite your wedding vows.

Take some time to re-write your wedding vows.  This is actually really romantic, I think.  How would your vows sound if you knew now what you didn’t know then?  Now that you’re parents?  Take some time to reconnect and recommit to one another by re-writing your vows.  Or, pull out your original vows and read them again to one another.

Write a love note to one another.

Because who doesn’t love a good, old-fashioned love note?

Read a book together.

In our first weeks and months home as parents, I spent A LOT of time on the couch holding and nursing our sweet baby.  My husband would often sit with me and read aloud to me.  It was something that we hadn’t done before, but it was actually so nice and relaxing.  We read the Chronicles of Narnia because I hadn’t read it before and to this day, it’s still one of my favorite series.

Have a picnic.

Spread a picnic blanket out on the floor and make it as cozy as you’d like.  Whether it’s dinner or dessert, take it to the living room and have a picnic.  This one is easy to combine with your favorite movie, or games.

Play games together.

We love a good board game around here.  But we’ve also had lots of fun with dancing or karaoke style video games, too.  I always forget how fun it is to just play games together until we do.  And we never regret pulling something out of the game closet.

Talk about your goals and dreams.

We always try to set goals at the beginning of each year, but it’s always good to check-in together and see how things are going or what might have changed.  We recently had the opportunity to do this with one of our Date Night in Boxes and it asked us to write down our own goals, swap lists, and read the other’s goals out loud.

This was something that we had not done before and it was really incredible how special it felt hearing my husband read my goals and how reading his goals aloud made them feel like my goals, too.

If you’re looking for some great conversation starters to help set goals with your spouse, be sure to check out this post – there’s even a free downloadable worksheet to get you started!

Enjoy some time outside.

All those things I listed above – take them outside.  Once the kids are in bed, grab the monitors and relocate to the backyard or front porch.  Swing in a porch swing, or just relax in your outdoor space.  Sometimes just a change of scenery and fresh air can do wonders.

Whatever you choose, just make sure that date night stays a priority.  It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive.  It just has to be intentional.  Strong marriages don’t happen by accident.  Hopefully these date night ideas will get you started (or keep you going) with making date night a priority in your marriage!