40 Fun & Frugal Date Ideas for Summer
Need some fun & cheap date ideas for summer this year? Some of the most memorable dates with your loved one don’t have to cost a fortune.
Dates can get very expensive. Just to go on a simple date to a dinner and movie is well over $100… well, $150 if you want to buy the popcorn.
Finding the balance of romance, and your savings account flourishing at the same rate, is not easy.
Human beings have a tendency to think “inside the box” when it comes to dating. Date night equals going out to dinner, period.
Stop living in the confines of this box and start to venture into other amazing memorable date nights, that also won’t break the bank!
With summer quickly approaching (especially if you live in Arizona like me), there are so many amazing and cheap date night ideas that will be unique and save you from going into debt.
So if you’re just dating or have been married for ten+ years everyone still needs to find a way to connect to one another without filing for bankruptcy!
Grab your sunscreen, your person, and take a look at these 40 fun & frugal date ideas for summer!
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FOR THE INTROVERTED COUPLE
1. Read a book, graphic novel series, or a magazine together. Take turns reading out loud, or maybe you each read something different but at the same time.
2. Eat a meal outside on your patio or in your backyard. Pick some flowers and put them in a vase, cover your table with something fun, and light a candle to make it feel a bit more special.
3. Have an art night. Whether you draw, paint, or sculpt it, opt-in for a night together creating something. Maybe you paint a still life, or maybe you paint each other, either way, an in-home art night can be something different, even for those who are artistically challenged!
4. Share a bath. Set the mood with a new playlist, light candles, add salts and bubbles, and enjoy relaxing together.
5. Have a cook-off. Does your partner say they could make crepes better than you? That sounds like fighting words to me! Have a cook-off or bake-off at home to see who can make it better!
6. Go down memory lane and pull out your photos and memory boxes. You guys will laugh and hopefully not cry, and remember moments once forgotten.
7. Play a board game together. Everyone has games somewhere in their home, dust them off and dedicate a game night. Twister anyone?
8. Write a short story, graphic novel, screenplay, and or book together. Nothing says teamwork like character development. Even if it is a short story maybe you will unlock the talent you didn’t know you had. Who knows, if you guys got something good how cool would it be to get something published together?
9. BBQ something different. Look up some cool new BBQ recipes and spend some time outdoors together.
10. Make something tedious together. Homemade ice cream, a blanket out of your old band shirts, super hot salsa. Find something that takes some effort and energy and enjoy having a partner in crime to nail it together.
11. Transform a room in your home. Maybe you always wanted the garage to double up as an adult arcade? Maybe you two have always wanted a double home office in that spare room? Together come up with a plan, buy a can of paint (cheap date), and spend a day together rearranging and bringing your dream into reality.
12. Have a movie marathon at home. Whatever is your poison, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Alien, scary movies, comedies, etc. Opt-in for a movie night marathon. Grab all the pillows and blankets and get that popcorn in the microwave!
13. Find a theme. If you’re going to stay in for date night, pick a theme like Hawaiian, sci-Fi, or western. Find a cool playlist on Spotify, pick out a movie, and create a dinner & dessert plan that matches your date theme. These summer date ideas can be so versatile you can do them all the time!
14. Have your own bonfire at home and make some s’mores. If you have a firepit, great! If you don’t make your own tabletop terra cotta pot mini-bonfire and whip up some s’mores in no time!
15. Enjoy a spa day at home. Set up relaxing music, give each other massages, put on a face mask, and make it enjoyable for both of you.
16. Try a new recipe. Have you always wanted to make Louisiana Gumbo or Colorado Roast? Pick a recipe online together and create a new meal you both have never made.
17. Exercise at home together. Get on Youtube and watch a yoga video, a workout video, or just create a new workout routine you both to do at home together.
18. Meditate together. If you have never meditated and felt it won’t work for you, I beg you to reconsider. There is a free app called Insight Timer, and it provides you guided meditation tours. With or without music or talking, for as long as you want. Sit back to back and practice meditating together, you just might get hooked.
19. Play a trivia game. Get an app on your phone, play a physical game, or just come up with trivia questions about each other.
20. Write a letter together so someone important to you both. How often do we reach out to people in the form of a letter? Sometimes a heartfelt letter to a family member can brighten up their day and make you guys feel more connected.
Related Read
100 Casual Summer Outfit Ideas
FOR THE OUTGOING COUPLE
21. Layout by the pool. Try the public pool, your mom’s pool, or your own pool (lucky you), enjoy some R & R in the sun.
22. Have a game day outside. Bocce ball, frisbee golf, basketball, volleyball, hula hooping, etc. Pack some Gatorade and tangelos and keep track of who won for bragging rights. Loser has to cook dinner!
23. Have a perfect picnic. If you have never had a picnic before with your partner, it is time. These types of summer date ideas will never go out of style! From fancy cheese platters to a PB & J, picnics are a timeless classic outdoor date that will never go out of style.
24. Go for a hike in a new place. Look up trails near you and try hike every single one of them together, it will be your personal summer conquest.
25. Have an outdoor photography contest. Try going to a nearby park or trail and see who can take better photos. Print off the best ones to remember that date forever.
26. Take your animals for a walk somewhere new. They will be excited about the adventure and it can help you guys get out of the daily walking around the block rut.
27. Work on your outdoor space together. Maybe you always wanted to grow grass, lay concrete for a patio, create raised garden beds, or finally put up that hammock you bought. Create your dream backyard together!
28. Grow a garden together. Not necessarily frugal depending on the garden, but create your dream garden and care for it. Nothing will be more satisfying than harvesting your own fruits and veggies together.
29. Have a garage sale. Ok, maybe not the most exciting date, but the money you make from your sale can go towards a fun date night for the two of you later, plus a bonus for getting the junk out of the house.
30. Find free outdoor events. Check your local city and see what events are coming up that are free! Art walks, farmer markets, parades, etc. you will be shocked at how many things are free!
31. Have a beach or lake day. No matter where you live there is always some sort of body of water nearby. Go for a full-blown beach day, or maybe head that way when the sun sets and take a walk together.
32. Go fishing. Virtually free if you already have your own fishing gear. Whatever you catch that day will be that night’s dinner!
33. Fly a kite. You can find kites at the 99 cent store, and it is not for the weak! It takes finesse and it may seem silly to get started but once you get it flying in the air, it’s actually incredibly fun!
34. Project a movie outside. If you have a projector, know someone who does, or you make one, watching a movie under the stars outside is a super amazing experience.
35. Go night swimming. Swimming during the day is so fun, but night swimming in summer is a date night worth remembering.
34. Host an outdoor event together. Maybe you invite people over to watch a movie outside, join in on your BBQ, or to have a game night. Working together to pull a frugal night that everyone enjoys will bring you guys together.
35. Hit all the scenic spots in your town. The top of a specific mountain, a field of flowers, a brewery the size of Texas? Look of your towns most scenic places and turn it into a summer quest to go to all of them!
36. Go for a bike ride together. If you haven’t been on a bike in a long time, the saying is true, you won’t forget! Take a day ride around a beautiful area on bikes.
37. Go out for an iced coffee at a new coffee place. Spend the 10$ and try a coffee house you have never been too, Supporting smaller business will make a big difference in your community!
38. Go to a fresh produce stand. Find a local farm and pick yourself some fresh fruit & veggies together. Make a meal or dessert that evening with the freshest produce on the market.
39. Take a mini road trip. Go for a scenic route you have never been on and get a fresh perspective on where you live.
40. Go to the dollar movie theater. Most places cities have at least one movie theater that only costs a dollar, so gather up that loose change and have a good time.
Can’t wait to see which one of these 40 fun & frugal date ideas for summer you’re going to try. Go on and make some memories that will last a lifetime.
Happy Decluttering!
