I love me a good date but it’s hard when you don’t always have the funds to support that. I agree with my dad who says that date nights are really important to spend time focusing on your significant other. Even living together, it feels good to set aside a part of your day to get out of the house with your loved one.
So for anyone else who needs some good cheap date ideas (and also to remind me) here are my favourites (I live in Melbourne so most of these apply to that area, however, there may be something similar near you).
ACMI – FREE
This is just the greatest. There will usually be two free exhibitions open all year round and the main one is like a history of film/games/tv it’s incredible! You get to learn about awesome stuff with your date, interact and create things (you can do a Matrix style jump) plus there are so many things to look at that it’ll appeal to everyone. It’s just a cool place and if you can, I highly recommend checking it out.
Art Gallery – FREE
I don’t know why but looking at art is just really pleasing even if there is a part of you going ‘how does this look like a photo and I can sometimes draw a nice tree?!’. The cool thing is that you can both chat about stuff you see and enjoy holding hands while you walk. The abstract art is pretty fun to both guess what you think it means and it’ll make you feel cultured by the end of it (even if you did laugh at all the nipples).
Beach day – FREE FREE
Beach days are perfect for double or even triple dates. You can bring backyard cricket sets (I’m Aussie shh) or a volley ball or a Frisbee or just start a game of macro polo. Whatever you bring hanging out with your partner and a bunch of friends is going to be so much fun plus you get to flirt while wearing very little clothing! Best time ever!
Bike Ride – FREE
You get the bonus of a fun date and exercise! What’s not to love? Let me pass on some advice from my own experience: make sure you choose a track that suits BOTH you skill levels. My boyfriend is a far more experience rider than me and he took me on a massively long ride with lots of hills, by the end of the day I couldn’t sit straight…don’t push yourself to show off, learn from my mistake!
Bounce – $
What’s more fun then trampolines?? A room full of them! Man, Bounce is such a good time. Bouncing for hours (and feeling super unfit when you get a stitch after 3 jumps), there’s dodge ball and you can always book to have bounce lessons together so you can learn a few tricks. I just love that it’s like being a child all over again only this time you have cute grippy socks.
Check out prices here: https://bounceinc.com.au/#/
Bowling & Laser Skirmish – $
Find a bowling place that also does laser skirmish and you are set. As I’m from Melbourne, I like the one in Melbourne central because it’s easy to get to and relatively cheap. This date is a two in one so you can’t lose (unless you suck at bowling but details…) it’s good because it keep the excitement up during the whole date if you start to get bored of one thing just switch to another. Also in laser tag you can team up with your partner for some epic teamwork skills OR you can be a lone ranger and reign hell. Either way, it’s super fun.
Take a look: http://www.strikebowling.com.au/
Mini Golf – $
Cue many opportunities to get close to your date to ‘help’ them play or if you’re like me try and sabotage their shots so you can win. I just love anything mini and this is a great example of why. Mini golf isn’t super hard but it is challenging enough to not bore you. There are so many places that do mini golf so I’m sure you can find something the suits your interests. My personal favourite is glow in the dark mini golf because everything just looks so cool AND there is enough darkness to have a few sneaky kisses (as long as it’s consensual, of course).
Night Market – FREE (unless you buy something)
It’s great fun going to a night market. There are so many interesting people and things to see, funky music, and yummy food. When you go with your partner you can also buy them something or vice a versa to remember the day (hint hint) and it’s great being out with someone at night looking at random objects…so just do it.
Picnics – FREE
Look up the closest park to you on google maps and all you need to do is bring a blanket, some sandwiches, a board game and make a music playlist on your phone to play while you enjoy each others company. This is probably my favourite date, especially in summer because it’s super relaxing and fun to chill in the sun. Recently I’ve started teaching Declan to do handstands so it’s great having a big grassy area to practice on too.
Trivia Nights –
For this one you kinda just gotta keep an eye out. Often bars will do trivia nights but I’m sure if you searched you could find a place that works. It’s fun putting your knowledge together and finding out how much you know (or don’t know) and who knows? maybe you’ll even win a prize!
Hope you liked my little list and if you have more ideas put them into the comments because I’m always looking for more ideas and I’m sure other people are too!
Cheers,
A4Paige
A4 Paige 