Family Date Night Ideas, Suggestions, and Secret Hacks

One great Idea To Strengthen Homeschool Family Relationships is gathering a list of family date night ideas that you can enjoy together.

We all know that spending time with family is important. But sometimes it can be hard to think of fun things to do together.

That’s why we’ve put together this list of date ideas for families.

Whether you’re looking for something active, something adventurous, or just some time relaxing at home, we’ve got you covered.

And if all else fails, there are always a few secret hacks up our sleeves to help make your family date extra special. So read on and get planning!

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Family Date Ideas, Suggestions, and Secret Hacks

How often do you plan a family date night? If your answer is slim to none, no worries! I totally understand. In this fast-paced day and age there is barely enough time to think, let alone add one more thing on the schedule. However, one good thing I’ve seen come since the pandemic is family’s spending more time than ever together.

How to Start a Family Date Night

As with most other things in life, it works best when it’s planned for. The same is certainly true when planning a family date night.  Whether you are planning a year’s worth of family fun days that you are going to use as a Christmas gift, or whether you are just trying to start a new tradition or routine with your family that will reap many benefits, I commend you for your desire to start a regular family date night.

Start by having a chat with your family and pitching the idea altogether. Let each member weigh in with their questions, comments, and concerns. Throw around a few ideas pertaining to:

• Choosing a set day and time of the week (or month).
• Having a theme (one that follows the entire year, or a new one for every week/month).
• Delegating individual tasks to make it happen (and using all hands on deck).
• Instating a budget limit (are these free, less than $10, alternating in price, etc).

These few ideas are sure to generate some good convos and leave your family with lots to consider. Once you’ve all come to an agreement, be sure to add the family date night to all of your calendars. Make this night a priority and stick with it. No canceling or overbooking allowed!

When the day comes, make a big deal about it. Go back to your list of delegated tasks and make sure everyone is doing their part to make it a fun and memorable night. With that in mind, let’s look at some family date night ideas.

Tried and True: Family Movie Night

One of the easiest, no-prep date nights for the family is the good ol’ fashioned movie night. All you have to do is get some snacks and drinks together, find a good movie on your favorite streaming service, get comfy, and get to watching!

It’s a great time to revisit some of those classics from your childhood too!

However, it’s worth noting (and I know from personal experience) that some of those classics might not be quite as appropriate as you thought. Especially if we go back to the PG movies of the 80’s!

But for that, we have a very special solution – VidAngel.

With VidAngel, you can link to your favorite streaming services and set content filters to watch clean versions of movies. Cursing, blasphemy, violence… you name it. Just set them, and VidAngel will filter it out. You get to enjoy a piece of your early years with your family while safe guiding their young eyes and ears.

It’s amazing! And best of all, our readers can click here to try free for 14 days! You can also learn more in our VidAngel review.

12 Months of Family Date Night Ideas

Looking for something to fit the season? The list below is going to give you monthly themed ideas for your family time.

Of course, you can come up with your own, but for starters consider having dinner and a movie and/or board game time for each of your family date nights.  If you don’t have the creativity to come up with fancy themed nights, there is nothing wrong with a special dinner and a fun board game.

January – Baby It’s Cold Outside

• Enjoy a family game night with one of your family’s favorite board games (or buy a new board game to try out together)

February – Love is in the Air

• Make Valentine’s cards to give to each other as well as some of your neighbors.  Consider making some treats as a family to go with your Valentine’s!
• Make donuts as a family then eat them while watching a fun family movie
• Have a small lesson on the Five Love Languages and then have each child identify their own love lanauge. Be sure to compare notes.

March – St. Patrick’s Day or Easter

• Go on a family scavenger hunt together, or try geocaching.  
• Make some Easter-themed smores using peeps instead of marshmallows
• Do you have any famous ancestors? Do some family history research as a family and see if you find anybody you recognize.

April – Easter or Springtime

• Start a family garden (indoor or outdoor)
• Find a local spot with lots of flowers and go on a family walk or hike.  Follow up with an ice cream stop on your way home

May – Super Hero Theme

• Everyone dresses like their favorite superheroes and then watch the accompanying movies
• Give yourselves family superhero names and make capes out of pillowcases or old t-shirts.  Then go for a round of mini-golf while dressed like superheroes.
• Go on a family bike ride and pretend you’re flying, just like superheroes!

June – Hot! Hot! Hot!

• Have a family BBQ, complete with smores
• Drive to a remote location and go stargazing
• If you’re feeling really ambitious, consider a family campout in the backyard or living room.

July – Life’s a Beach

• Take a trip to the local swimming pool or splash pad.  Or if you live close enough, go to the beach! Be sure to follow up with snow cones or ice cream.
• Pretend you are going to the beach or pool together and you need to pack your luggage.  Give each family member $5 and then have them draw names of another family member from a hat.  Now go to the dollar store and each person has to shop for the name they drew, keeping the beach vacation in mind.  See what fun things they come up with!  Follow up with a real trip to some water or a sprinkler party in the back yard.
• Go to Michael’s or Hobby Lobby and buy some cheap hats and craft supplies. Then come home and make some silly hats that you would wear to the beach if you lived closer.

August – Back to School Bash

• Make a big, fancy breakfast as a family and then eat it together!  Make sure it’s something you don’t eat regularly.  Waffle bar with all the fixings, cinnamon rolls, german pancakes, etc.  Make it special
• Have a karaoke night with old-school favorite songs from back when you and your significant other were going to high school.  What do your kiddos think of these old-time favorites?

September – Fall Family Festival

• Decorate the house for fall and eat some fall-inspired foods (soup, pie, pumpkin-spiced cocoa, apple cider, etc)
• Have a mini progressive dinner where each family member is in charge of a part of the meal (appetizer, main dish, side dish, dessert, etc) and then come together and see (and enjoy) what everybody made!

October – Dress to Impress

• See if you can all dress up in a whole family-themed costume using exclusively items you already have lying around the house.  Dress up and make sure you take pictures!
• Pumpkin decorating contest (either with paint or with carvings)
• Pick a few of your favorite Halloween movies and have a family movie night marathon, complete with your favorite candies and some pizza.

November – Thankful For You

• Play Thanksgiving-themed charades and watch a family movie
• Make a list of 10 things you are grateful for about each family member.  Now hide each of your lists around the house and have your family members find them over time.  Or alternatively, take turns reading everything out loud as a family for some intense family bonding time.

December – ‘Tis the Season

• DIY Gingerbread House Competition (pair up and make gingerbread houses together, the most creative one wins!) (or for a Christ-themed twist, do gingerbread nativities instead!)
• Go ice skating together and then stop for hot chocolate on your way home.
• Do you have a favorite Christmas play or show you like to go to?  Some families like to go to The Nutcracker or The Forgotten Carols.  Pick a show and go as a family!  

Free Printable Date Coupons

In preparation for your awesome year of family dates, you’re going to need a couple of coupons to fill out! If you’re feeling crafty, go ahead and make your own, or feel free to download and print the pdf we prepared for you. Hopefully these printable coupons make your gift idea just a little bit easier.

Just print out the coupons, fill them out, and then pop each coupon into an envelope with the month written on the outside. Stick in any cash or coupons you need to go along with your activity, wrap them all up nicely, and voila! Your gift is ready!

So, while you’re cooped up in the house and doing most things from home, you might as well schedule a family date night! I have several ideas for you below so keep reading to see the various fun ways you can have as a family.  

In fact, when Christmas comes aroung and you’re searching for some family experience gift ideas, or any other gift idea for families, a year’s worth of planned family date nights is a wonderful idea!  This is a gift that just keeps on giving all year long.

And as you’re going through this list, keep in mind that I’ve got some free Christmas coupon vouchers you can download (for free) and fill out with your year’s worth of date ideas.

Get your free vouchers here.

Fostering Love Through Family Time

If one thing is for sure, spending time together is the best way to love one another. Family date nights give you a chance to be intentional about family time and creating memories that will be talked about for years to come. Of course there’s no right or wrong way to host your family date night, the idea is to simply do it.

If you have small children, be sure to let them have a say in the planning as well. As a matter of fact, let each person choose a theme, the dinner menu, or the game to be played. That way everyone feels like they are part of the family activity planning.

What are some fun family date night ideas you have tried? Let me know in the comments below!

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