Cheap Valentine’s Day Dates

Valentine’s Day comes hot on the heels of the holiday gift-giving season. If you’re like most people, you’re sitting around looking at your bills wondering how you’re going to afford another holiday. What people often forget is that Valentine’s Day isn’t about expensive chocolates, flowers or fine dining — it’s about you and the one that you love spending time together. Whether you’re newlyweds or old marrieds, here are some ways you can spend February 14 that will have you remembering the very first time you met.

A Home Cooked Meal

Especially if one of you tends to do most of the cooking, a home cooked meal can be a nice change of pace. Get quality ingredients and make an event out of it. Let the person who normally does the cooking sit back and relax. If you both tend to share cooking responsibilities, you can spend time cooking together. Accomplishing tasks in common together is proven to bring couples closer together.

A Guide to Dining Out

Dining out doesn’t have to be pricy. You can easily feed two people well for under $50, including a desert and have a night to remember. What you want to do is look for an out of the way place that’s a little off the beaten path. Not only will it be cheaper, it will also be quieter. Throw in some inexpensive flowers, gentleman, and your date will be telling everyone just how romantic you are the next day.

Skating

For the person who lives somewhere with an ice skating rink, this can be a great way to get close to one another. Someone without a lot of experience on the rink will be clinging to the person with more experience. Roller rinks are another way to do this for people who live in warmer climates. In both cases, you’re going to go have flashbacks to the more whimsical days of your youth. You won’t spend more than $20 or $30 on a night like this, and it will create memories that will last a life time. You can’t put a price on that.

Karaoke

Karaoke is a  great date because it gets you to open up and act a little sillier than you might normally. Unless you’re heavy drinkers or live somewhere where drinking out is expensive, you won’t spend a ton of money on this date, but you’ll have a ton of fun. Even if you or your date can’t sing, who cares? Karaoke isn’t about singing. It’s about having fun.

Window Shopping

If you live somewhere with an upscale shopping district, why not take a walk through it with that special someone dreaming of the days after you hit the lottery? Walk around looking at stuff you can’t really afford. Even try some of it on. Note to gentlemen: It’s probably a good idea to spend $50 or so on something small for her so the evening isn’t just a reminder of what you can’t afford. You can always get her a bottle of nice perfume for that price; but the time she has doesn’t have a value.

Hiking or Running

If you and your partner are active, why not have an active night together? A walk in the park can be made into a serious hike. If you prefer running, why not go for a serious five kilometer run together? If you’re used to the run, there’s no reason why you two can’t bond over the run — and you wouldn’t be the first runners who prefer running to just about everything else. A lot of cities even have couples runs.

Crafting Date

For the creative and crafting types, you can spend the evening together crafting. Even if one of you isn’t that into crafting generally, it can be fun to spend time together making something for the other person. When the night is done you will each have a gift that money couldn’t buy, as well as the memory of good time spent together.

The Best Things In Life Are Free

Whether it’s the view from Mulholland Drive or just the natural beauty of looking at a majestic mountain out in the sticks, there’s a good chance where you live boasts something of natural or man-made beauty that costs nothing at all. Pack yourself a picnic lunch and head out there for some quiet time together.

Nicholas Pell doesn’t have any plans for Valentine’s Day at press time.