Date night can be tough to navigate – especially when you have to factor in accessibility. Does the restaurant have a ramp? How close are the tables? Will I be able to see the screen in the movie theatre?
Some days, we just want something simple, easy and stress free. Here are some date nights that you can do at home. Many of these could also be slightly adapted for the garden or park if you would prefer an outdoorsy date.
Paint
Painting can be a lot of fun – especially when you remove the pressure of doing it well. Consider setting up a painting station at home with finger foods as your date night. You can either purchase a paint-by-numbers kit or do timed painting activities. Give yourselves five minutes to do a portrait of your partner, or swap canvases every 2 minutes to paint a combined picture.
You can even remove all the brushes and paint with your hands, which is a great way to remove any pressure to do well and is a great way to make the painting activity more inclusive for people with limited hand dexterity.
Movie night
It’s a classic for a reason. Curling up on a couch together with snacks and a good movie is a great way to build intimacy. If you want a twist on an old classic, try picking movies that you think might have a predictable ending (for example a rom-com) and take bets on what you think might happen. If you watch a thriller or horror, you can pick the character who you think will survive and cheer them on. The winner could perhaps win a back rub or pick the next movie you watch together.
Another fun spin on movie night is picking your old favourite movies (perhaps from childhood) to watch together and discuss any fun memories that come up from that. The goal is more to inspire conversation than watch the film. Make sure to communicate that with your partner beforehand – especially if they are a cinephile who gets irritated when people talk during a movie.
Bar games
From quiz nights to karaoke, bars often have fun activities to draw people in. Unfortunately, many bars are inaccessible. Why not start your own games nights at home? You can even make signature cocktails as part of the fun. There are “bar noise” videos or recordings on Youtube that you can play in the background to really set the scene.
Youtube also has some karaoke videos that you can sing along to. For quiz night, you can look up questions, create your own or adapt a board game. For example, use the 30 seconds cards to ask questions that the other person needs to answer in the time limit and see how well you do.
This is also a great activity to do with friends if you want to double-date or just include more people in your activity.
Sensations for the senses
If you are looking for a more romantic or sensual date night, consider a spa night. The goal is to set an intimate, comfortable atmosphere with soft music and candles. If you are able, you and your partner can take turns to give each other massages. Take a bath together (complete with champagne and chocolates), or relax with a face mask.
You can also do a blindfolded taste test. Setup some snacks of various textures and temperatures (for example, chocolate-covered strawberries, ice, salty chips). Blind fold your partner and let them taste the food. They can describe what they taste or guess the item. You can do something similar by using items of different textures to stroke across your partner’s arm.
An intimate night could also just include a technology-free evening wherein you and your partner focus on connecting emotionally with each other. This can be done through deep discussions and/or practicing closeness through, for example, staring at each other, laughing together and sharing true thoughts and feelings.
