The Best Quarantine Date Ideas on the Planet!
Since most of us are at home dealing with stay-at-home ordinances, there have been a lot of quarantine date ideas popping up. Some of these quarantine date ideas are creative and some… well not so much.
We wanted to filter out the bad ideas and give you the best that we’ve come across so far plus the ones we’ve come up with.
Several of these are tried and true date ideas tested by people in long-distance relationships. Couples in long-distance relationships have been coming up with creative date ideas long before this pandemic entered into our lives. So they know what works!
Lastly, if you’ve recently matched with someone on a dating app and are looking for great virtual first date ideas, we’ve noted which ones will work for that too.
P.S. Many of these ideas are great ways to catch up with friends too!
The Quarantine Date Ideas list:
The dinner and drinks date
Having dinner and drinks at your favorite local restaurant is off the table, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t have dinner and drinks from your favorite local restaurant.
Since many bars and restaurants have had to close because of the Coronavirus pandemic, a lot of local governments have relaxed their restrictions on alcohol delivery (typically with food purchase).
For someone you’ve been dating a while or in a relationship with, you can place an order using a food delivery app or better yet order directly through the restaurant and have them do the delivery (If available. This allows the business to keep more of their revenue). Alternatively, you can send some money to your boo and then let them order what they want. Need some dinner and drink ideas? Try these options:
- Build your own tacos or burritos and margaritas
- A bottle of wine and a charcuterie board
- Pizza and a bottle of wine
- A premade meal kit (three-course, four-course, etc.)
- Dinner roulette – This is where both of you each order based on what your partner likes. Just make sure you check for food allergies because you wouldn’t want to get them sick!
Recommended for virtual first dates? Yes, but with the caveat that a lot of people won’t be comfortable giving out their address to a stranger. Set the date up in a way where you both order on your own from your favorite places.
Other notes: Set it up as if you two were on a picnic.
The dinner-and-a-movie date
It has been done to death. But unfortunately, people have been doing this date in the wrong order. Watch the movie first then do dinner. Doing it this way, allows you to talk about the movie over dinner. This way your conversation is driven by the topic of the movie and can naturally segue into other topics. For couples, you can do this in any order you want.
To do this over video chat, grab a bottle of wine and/or some snacks or whatever you fancy, and set up your phone off to the side as if they were sitting beside you but not to the point where you can’t see them while watching the movie.
You can do this with TV shows too.
Recommended for virtual first dates? – Not recommended.
Optional tools – Netflix Party – This Chrome extension allows you to Netflix and chat.
A cooking / mixology date
If you both like cooking, this is a great date idea. There are different ways you can do it. The first is by making it easy on yourself and ordering a meal kit from a local restaurant. That way you don’t have to worry about all of the leg work in gathering various food items to make a specific recipe.
Depending on what’s around you, you could both order two similar meals or get two different meals. It’s up to you and who you’re doing the date with. Set up the video call while you’re making your meal kit and compare results.
Another way to do this date that requires a bit of preparation is to find a specific recipe that you’ve both been wanting to try. Head over to the grocery store and gather the things you need the day of the date. Set up the video call and get going.
This kind of date is great because conversation happens organically without the pressure of having to constantly chat. You can talk about what you keep in your pantry, your favorite kitchen appliances, your favorite spices, etc. Other things you can talk about are your favorite foods, what’s your favorite recipe to make, etc.
You can also find out who’s the better mixologist. Find an interesting cocktail (mocktail for non-drinkers) and see who can make it the best. You won’t be able to taste it, but you can focus on the presentation and see who has a better-looking drink.
Recommended for virtual first dates? Yes and no. It depends on whether you both like cooking and how long you’ve been talking beforehand.
Virtual tour date
Using Google Maps, you can go on a virtual tour of a museum or a city that you’ve both never been to. Or go to a city you have been to that your partner hasn’t and be their tour guide by showing them where you went and what you liked. Show them your favorite bar, restaurant, or landmark. This is an incredible way to learn about what they like and where they’ve been.
Recommended for virtual first dates? Yes.
Show and tell date
Show someone around your place and little items you’ve bought throughout your life. This is a great way to showcase your personality and for them to do the same. Go through your book or movie collection. Talk about which one’s your favorite, which one they hated, etc. Go through each other’s closet and find out what their favorite piece of clothing is, what item of clothing they can’t let go of, etc. It’s also a great way to find out red flags!
For couples, you can make it a little more fun by being a little more naughty with your clothing show and tell.
Recommended for virtual first dates? Yes.
The themed date
Do a night on the beach, 60, 70s or 80s theme, Star Wars, Harry Potter, whatever you two have a shared interest on could work great.
Recommended for a virtual first date? Yes. With the understanding that you both need to have talked for a bit to discover a good theme to use.
Playing games together date
There are a ton of great games to play as a couple and for first-time daters. We tightened up the list of sites, apps, and games based on what we think works best.
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- HouseParty is not necessarily a game per se. It’s a video calling app that has a few different games on it like Trivia, Heads Up, and a fun drawing guessing game. The games are integrated within the app which makes it a lot easier to get started immediately.
- This site has a few classics like chess, checkers, and connect four. There are a few others that are regionally based.
- Card games like war, poker (there are a lot of variations and some are more naughty than others), Go Fish, etc.
- This is another option to play a drawing guessing game.
- Hangman is a stalwart when it comes to games. Twiddla is a great sandbox tool to set up a space to play it and you can use this tool to draw random things together too after you get tired of playing Hangman.
- Phrase Party – It’s similar to Catchphrase but meant for mobile. Give it a try.
- Minecraft – for the more technical people out there, you can set up a date where you show off what you’ve built.
- Monopoly – you can do this electronically or play it live if one of you has it.
- https://www.pogo.com/games/monopoly
- Use this for virtual dice when playing live – https://www.random.org/dice/?num=2
Recommended for virtual first dates? Yes. These games help take the pressure off of both of you by allowing you to have conversations that can range from different topics more easily.
The arts & crafts date
From paint dates to origami, there are some inventive ways to stay connected with your partner. Read on to learn more…
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- Origami – Learn how to make a butterfly, ninja star, a dinosaur, paper cranes, turtle, or even a dragon. YouTube has a lot of different videos to choose from. Pick whatever tickles your fancy.
- Kirigami – This is a variation of Origami where you cut paper in addition to folding it. Try making a house, a pop-up card, a paper ribbon, or whatever you two would like to make. YouTube has a lot of tutorials as well.
- Painting date – We love recommending dates where the conversation can be about other things rather than the focus on getting to know each other with an interview-like approach. Painting together allows you to talk about what you’re doing with your painting, your favorite art styles, your favorite painters, or museums.
YouTube has a lot of great ideas and you can also watch some Bob Ross episodes for inspiration.
Remember that these dates do require a bit more preparation than others but they can be very rewarding. Check out local art studios near you. They may have prepared kits for date nights.
Recommended for a virtual first date? Absolutely.
Tools – Get a prepared kit for different pieces of art here – Gogh Box
The online shopping date
This quarantine date idea can be quite fun. Share your screen and talk about things you’re interested in buying. This is not necessarily a date by itself but more of a topic of discussion that you can incorporate during your first conversation (first dates only). If you’re already in a committed relationship, it works even better.
Recommended for a virtual first date? Yes. It’s more of a supplement than a full-fledged date.
The spa at home date
Send your boo a care package on date night. This will take some advanced planning but you could buy some chocolates, body scrub, face mask, and ship this out to them.
Recommended for a virtual first date? No.
The fitness / workout / learn a new dance date
Take an online fitness class together. Do a yoga session. Learn a new dance. Lots of different options are popping up with trainers setting up classes you can take at home. YouTube has an endless supply of videos to choose from too.
Recommended for a virtual first date? No.
We hope you found these date ideas helpful!
If you have any ideas that you’d love to share, feel free to post them in the comments.
Best,
FilterSocial
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