Planning a date night at home can be just as special, and even more special, than a date night out in town.
As adults, we have a lot of the same nights at home. Even when the kids are at Honey’s house for a night, we tend to have the same routine. We go to our favorite local restaurant and come home to some quiet time. But sometimes it’s fun to switch it up a little bit! Plus, you get the opportunity to do something special for your spouse.
I’m going to tell you how I planned my surprise date night and maybe it will give you some great ideas for your own date night at home!

Planning a Date Night at Home
Pick a Menu
It’s simple enough…Pick your favorites!
For my menu I chose:
- Filet Mignon
- Fancy Mac and Cheese
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Apple Pie
Picking the main course was easy for me, since my husband’s favorite meal (besides pizza) is steak. I’m not big on fattier cuts, so I went with filets.
I was trying to be fancy, so I made homemade Mac and Cheese a little differently than I usually do with Muenster, Gouda, and Mozzarella cheeses.
Apple pie is also my hubby’s favorite dessert… so that was a no brainer too!
Plan a Setup
There are so many ways you could do this. I considered making a comfy pallet on the living room floor with pillows and twinkle lights, but we have two very nosy dogs that would have been all up in our faces as we ate dinner on the floor.
You could also: setup a romantic bedroom picnic, set the table to look like a fancy restaurant, have a real picnic, or choose another location in or around your house.
The evening weather here in South Alabama has been so incredibly nice. So, I went with a fancy restaurant style setup on our back patio.
I got creative to make the table. I used our four TV trays and put them together in a rectangle and used my husbands weights to hold them down.
Spice up your area with some of the same things I did:
Do It Your Way
Planning a date night at home can easily be done on a budget… mine was. Of course, it’s your experience and you can make it whatever you want it to be!
My husband had been working all day and had no clue what I was planning. When he came home to the fancy outdoor table, he enjoyed the surprise.
Either way, use the opportunity to enjoy your significant other and no matter how you choose to do it… have fun!
Check out more of Mom of W.A.R. here.

My boyfriend and I make sure to have one date night a week. We switch off every week as to who plans it. This upcoming week is my turn, so I am planning to do something similar to this! I love it, and I think the menu makes it even cuter. Thanks for sharing this!
So cute! We’ve been together ALL the time, but we haven’t really made any attempt to have a date night. I’m inspired to plan one!
I love this so much! It’s so hard to date at home – and I love the idea of creating a fancy menu. I actually wrote a similar post here about how to create fun at-home date nights. I can’t wait to try this!
At home date nights are great and sometimes I prefer them over going out to a restaurant to eat. I feel it’s more intimate and as a plus no noise so you can hear each other 😂
Great idea! We have 5 children, so we don’t get out much. We are always coming up with budget friendly ways to date each other at home! 🙂
What a cute idea.
I love this idea. Thank you for the inspiration. I may just fix a fancy picnic up for tonight. Our weather has been nice, too.
Awww sounds lovely!! We need to try and do this- some great tips!