Valentine’s Day is certainly a holiday designed for couples. Heading out to a fancy dinner or hitting a wine bar may be appealing, but Valentine’s Day menus tend to be expensive and it’s often impossible to get reservations at restaurants. Forget leaving the house this year. There are plenty of romantic Valentine’s Day ideas to do right at home.
The best ideas are more thoughtful and memorable than going out. Personalize the experience and enjoy the privacy without having other couples an arm’s length away. If you’ve never celebrated at home before, you’ll want inspiration for what to do, foods to cook, and how to decorate your home. We have you covered. Keep reading to make this Valentine’s Day a holiday that you’ll always remember.
Low-cost ideas
There are romantic ideas which will draw you closer as a couple, save money without needing to go out, and create a memorable and intimate night.
Romantic ideas that won’t cost a ton
- Create an at-home spa and give each other massages and take a bubble bath
- Clear space in your living room, put together a playlist, and dance the night away
- Have breakfast in bed
- Have a picnic dinner on the patio or backyard
- Write each other love letters, then take turns reading them
- Put together a slideshow of photos of the two of you
Ideas that will have you working together
At-home Valentine’s Day ideas don’t have to be overly romantic. They could be playful, laid back, and something the two of you would enjoy together.
Ideas you have to do together
- Movie night: Cuddle up and watch a new or favorite movie. Pop fresh popcorn and have a candy station with all sorts of movie theater favorites.
- Game night: Turn back time and play classic board games or video games that you either enjoyed as kids or still make time for as adults. Or spice things up and play truth or dare.
- Do a craft together: Try a fun art project like your own canvas painting and wine sipping night, or make pottery or other easy arts and crafts. Buy kits and supplies online and follow tutorials on YouTube or craft sites.
- Go on a scavenger hunt: Harness your creativity and set up a scavenger hunt with clues around the house ending in a gift or surprise. Use clues that point to memories together.
- Stream live music or comedy: Platforms like Twitch have live music streaming, enabling you to have a concert experience at home.
- Have a wine and cheese night: Put together a charcuterie board with fruit, wine, and cheese.
- Go “camping”: Set up a tent indoors, make s’mores, tell ghost stories or sing songs, and cuddle together.
- Shake it up: Try your hand at making fancy cocktails together.
Decorate your home
Set a romantic ambience with various at-home Valentine’s Day decorations. The decorations you choose should be based on the vibe you’re going for, your budget, and your craftiness. For example, if you’d like something cutesy, get balloons and string up pink and red crepe paper. If you’re going for something elegant and seductive, a pathway of twinkling tea lights and scattered rose petals leading from the dinner table to the bathtub or bedroom is a better fit.
Decoration ideas
- Tea light candles
- Rose petals
- Fresh flowers like carnations, tulips, roses, or lilies
- White duvet with red heart pillows
- Red satin sheets
- Twinkle lights
- Red or pink bath towels
- Balloons
DIY Valentine’s Day Decorations
- Kiss balloons: Get white helium balloons and use lipstick to stamp smooches on each balloon.
- Heart streamers: Small construction paper hearts attached to long ribbons or string draped around.
- Handmade “stained glass”: Tissue paper hearts decoupaged and hung in windows.
- Paper heart wreath: Origami or construction paper hearts arranged in a large heart-shaped wreath.
Valentine’s Day meal ideas
Most Valentine’s Day dates revolve around a meal. Whether you’re more of a breakfast-in-bed couple or a candlelit dinner duo, there are romantic ideas for meals at home.
Some delicious ideas
- Order delivery or takeout from your favorite restaurant. Consider getting food from a special restaurant, such as where you had your first date or where you proposed. Relive the experience at home by ordering the same foods and reminiscing about the experience.
- Purchase a meal kit delivery box, such as HelloFresh or Sun Basket, and cook a unique meal together. Plus, a lot of the top meal kit delivery services are offering special Valentine’s Day-themed choices for delivery by February 14th.
- Cook a special meal. If your sweetheart has a favorite meal, or you want to replicate a certain meal you shared in your relationship, try cooking it yourself or cooking it together. There are lots of cooking videos online which walk you through each step of a recipe with pictures and videos.
- Fondue for two. An easy DIY Valentine’s Day dinner and dessert idea is to make it a fondue party. Fondue is easy to make and it’s sensual to dip and feed each other different foods. After a cheese fondue dinner, stay on theme with a luscious chocolate fondue dessert and dip other fruits, marshmallows, graham crackers, and more.
- Make heart-shaped foods, using heart-shaped cookie cutters, a heart-shaped waffle iron, or a knife (carefully). For example, make heart-shaped pancakes or waffles for breakfast, heart-shaped grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, heart-shaped mini pizzas for dinner, and heart-shaped cookies or brownies for a sweet finish.
