Date Ideas for Couples: Phones-Down Dates at Home, Out and Apart

First: phones down

The most romantic date in the world still falls flat if you're both checking your phones. Before you pick an idea, agree on one rule: phones face down until the date is over. Photos at the end are allowed.

In Toffee & Bao, Date Mode turns it into a little game: start a date, turn both phones face down, and the app counts the time you spend together. When you're done, you get a cute card to remember it by.

Date ideas at home

• Cook a dish from a cuisine neither of you has tried.
• Build a blanket fort and watch a film inside it.
• Have a living room picnic with all your favourite snacks.
• Do a jigsaw puzzle together with a playlist on.
• Bake something messy, then eat it warm.
• Play a board game or cards. The loser makes chai.
• Have a "first date" again: dress up and ask first-date questions.
• Make a photo album of your favourite memories so far.
• Learn a dance from a video and film your best attempt.
• Hold a two-person karaoke night.
• Paint or draw each other, badly.
• Plan your dream trip together, down to the day.

Date ideas out

• Chai and a long walk with no destination.
• A street food crawl: one dish from each stall.
• Watch the sunrise from somewhere high.
• Go to a bookshop and pick a book for each other.
• Visit a museum or gallery you've never been to.
• Take a cooking or pottery class together.
• Ride a local train or bus to the last stop and explore.
• Have a picnic in a park.
• Go stargazing outside the city.
• Try a new café and rate everything out of ten.
• Go to a comedy night or an open mic.
• Retrace your first date.

Date ideas when you're apart

For long distance, work trips, or any night you can't be in the same place.

• Watch the same film at the same time on a call.
• Cook the same recipe over video.
• Order each other's dinner as a surprise.
• Play an online game together.
• Take a walk together on a call, each in your own city.
• Take turns answering deep questions.
• Read the same book and talk about a chapter.
• Make a playlist for each other and listen together.
• Take a virtual museum tour.
• Write each other a letter, then read them out loud.
• Stargaze at the same time, wherever you are.
• Plan your next visit together, hour by hour.

15-minute dates for busy days

• Tea on the balcony with no phones.
• A slow walk round the block after dinner.
• Dance to one song in the kitchen.
• Share the high and low of your day.
• Read to each other before bed.
• A short stretch or workout together.
• Look through old photos together.
• Write each other a three-line note.
• Share a dessert with full attention.
• Lie down and listen to three songs, eyes closed.

Make date night a habit

• Pick a regular night and protect it, even if it's just an hour.
• Take turns planning. It's half the fun, and it keeps things fresh.
• Keep a list of ideas so you're never stuck. This page works.
• Save the good ones. A photo and a line about it, so you remember.

In Toffee & Bao, every date you finish in Date Mode gets its own card, and you can save your favourite moments on a memory wall that's just for the two of you. Apart for a while? Here's how to feel close when you can't be together.

Quick answers

What are some cheap date ideas for couples?

Walks, picnics, sunrises, street food, bookshops, cooking at home and games nights cost little or nothing. The best dates are about attention, not money.

How can long-distance couples go on dates?

Do the same thing at the same time: watch a film, cook a recipe, play a game or take a walk while on a call. Planning your next visit together counts too.

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