Cheap Date Ideas

Go back to your dating days with a relaxing drive, delicious dessert and precious time spent with each other. This cheap date idea lets you indulge in expensive desserts. Just be sure you eat dinner before you leave home but save room for dessert. You're only spending money on gas to the restaurant, plus the sweet treats at the restaurant.

Support the arts. Take in a local theater production at an amateur playhouse or a local high school or university. Tickets for two are usually under $20 and are sometimes free. Some shows also offer dinner as an option. It's a great way to combine the cheap date of a local play with the cheap date of a drive and dessert!

Check your local newspapers and websites to find free music festivals near you. Even small cities usually host bands or orchestras for free music events in the park or at the amphitheater. Bring your own food and your cheap date will only cost you a tank of gas.

Pack a blanket and some food for a cheap date that gives you some face-to-face time with your spouse. Meet for lunch during the day while the kids are at school or plan a romantic picnic at night. Even as close as your backyard is the perfect setting for a picnic date.

Authors travel to cities big and small to read their work and take questions from the audience. It's a great way to try something new with your spouse and can also bring some new dinner time table talk to your relationship.

See up and coming comics without the Las Vegas show ticket price. Amateur night at comedy clubs brings out a variety of talent. Admission could be free or just a few bucks to get in the door. Either way, this cheap date is rich with laughter for you and your spouse.

Explore your town as a tourist. Buy a map. Rent a bike. Browse gift shops. Take pictures. Walk around the streets where other tourists roam. Act as if you don't know your town inside and out and you and your spouse will probably discover something new together.

Shoe rental and a couple of games will still give you money to spare, no pun intended. Even if you think bowling isn't something you and your spouse would enjoy, give it a try. You'll more than likely be surprised at how much you laugh together as you play to win.

You've been cooped up all day with diapers and have dried baby food stuck to your clothes and all you want to do is get into your pajamas. As hard as it may be to believe you might actually want to take a hike, the fresh air will do you good. And it's a wonderful excuse to hold your sweetheart's hand as you enjoy the Great Outdoors.

Look at the TV schedule or visit a $1 movie rental kiosk to pick out the perfect date night movie. After the kids are in bed, your date night begins. But you can also have a cheap date night that's more than just an hour and a half curled up on the couch, although there's nothing wrong with that. Make an evening out of it and plan your meal around the movie. Watching the latest James Bond flick? Eat the foods he does in the movies. Don't forget to save room for popcorn.

Both of you can do great work together for the charity of your choice. Whether you help build a house for another family or you work alongside each other at a soup kitchen, doing something for charity will benefit many people while bringing you and your spouse closer together.

Feeling like a casual night out on the town? Buy the cheap seats for the local minor league team's game or attend a high school game. Eat dinner before you go to save money but save some room for some popcorn from the concession stand and split a drink with your significant other like you used to before you had kids.