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How to Plan the Perfect at home Date Night!

Updated: Jun 9, 2020

By: Sarah McGovern


The outbreak of COVID-19 has made almost everyone across the world self-quarantine. Quarantine is a way to stop the spread of contagious diseases and protect the public. New York was the state hit hardest with the coronavirus. To date, there have been 398,828 confirmed cases of the virus just in New York alone.


While quarantine is essential to help slow the coronavirus spread, being self-isolated in your home for an extended period is incredibly dull. Not to mention, you can no longer have fun and exciting date nights out on the town. This is because, in New York, no restaurants or bars have been open since March. The good news is that these typical date spots are beginning to open in New York City as of June 8th, 2020. If you are still not comfortable going out to restaurants yet, or just want to save money and stay home, this date night is perfect for you.


Getting Ready:

You have probably been in your sweats all day every day for the past three months, and that’s okay, so has everyone else. 


To make your date night feel more authentic and exciting, try dressing up for the night. Putting on makeup and doing your hair for the first time in three months makes you feel like a whole new woman. Plus, it is fun to spend some time making yourself feel extra beautiful. You can even experiment with your makeup and try a new makeup trend that you have been too nervous to try on a typical date night out. 


Next throw on comfortable yet still stylish, clothing. Try something you would typically wear out to a dinner date. Don’t forget to accessories with some cute jewelry. 



This was my date night outfit! Dress is Princess Polly & Shoes are Steve Madden.

These are my go to accessories. Most of this jewelry can be found on Amazon.


Some of the best places to shop online for trendy date night outfits are Princess PollyNasty Gal, and Hello Molly.


Dinner:

Now it is time for dinner. Since you have probably been cooped up inside for most of the past three months, take dinner outside if you can. 


This was the sky the night we had our date night. How beautiful!


Have a pizza night! You can make your own dough from scratch, and there are many easy-to-follow recipes that you can do. 


Blake (my boyfriend) making his pizza.


Once you have made your dough and allowed it to rise, prepare a toppings platter for the pizza and bring it outside. Some suggestions for toppings would be, pesto, red sauce, pepper jack cheese, or even some garlic. 


Our plate of pizza toppings. Tip: use a baking sheet it's the perfect size to fit all the toppings!


Next, assemble your pizzas. You can choose to make one big one or even two personal-sized pizzas. Add whatever toppings you like. Get creative! 


Instead of making your pizzas inside in the oven, try making them on the grill. It is honestly way more straightforward than it seems, and you will end up having less clean up. 



My pizza on the grill.


Finally, take some good pictures of your pizzas and enjoy it!


First Pizza: half and half, one side is red sauce with mozzarella & basil, while the other side is pesto with feta cheese & arugula. Second Pizza: pesto with pepper jack cheese & basil.


Making pizza is fun for a date night because you have so many steps to follow, allowing you to take your time with the meal. You also can customize every pizza with your own favorite toppings or with food that you need to eat from your refrigerator. It is also fun to have a competition with your significant other and see who can make the best tasting and best-looking pizza.


Dessert:

Once you have digested your delicious food, it is definitely time for some dessert. During quarantine, baking has been such a staple activity. It keeps you and your brain busy and is a way to pass the time.


The best place to find any baking recipe is on Pinterest. There are so many recipes for literally any dessert you could imagine, and many of these recipes are great if you have any dietary restrictions. There are also many reviews under each recipe, so it is easy to know if the baked goods will turn out well.    


Tonight my boyfriend Blake and I made the best homemade blueberry muffins, a recipe that I found on Pinterest. These muffins are Blakes’s new favorite snack. Perfect for any time of day (yes, even dessert).


This is how the muffins turned out. How yummy!


Movie:

Now as the night is winding down, it is time for a movie under the stars. An outdoor movie is a perfect way to wrap up a charming date night. Setting up this outdoor movie is way simpler than you may think. You can even do the set up while your dessert is baking in the oven! 


But first, don’t forget to change back into some comfy sweats. No one wants to still be wearing their dinner clothes while watching a movie and cuddling. 


Setting up the movie space is almost like making a pillow fort. Take as many pillows as you can find and throw them onto your patio or deck floor. Patio furniture pillows are big and perfect for this. 


Then bring out as many comfy blankets as you can find. 


Set up a small TV, or even your laptop to watch the movie on. We used a little TV and plugged in an Apple TV to source our Netflix. 


Next, bring out all the essential movie snacks. Including but not limited to, popcorn, candies, your baked good item, and sodas. 


One of my favorite candies is Sour Warhead, and it is so much fun to see which of you can have more of the extremely sour candies. 


Lastly, pick out a movie. Often, this is the hardest part, not knowing what movies are enjoyable to watch and where you can stream them from. Some of my favorites are on Netflix. Bird Box, Just Go With It, Lincoln Lawyer, and 21 are a few recommendations. 


Blake patiently waiting for me to put on a movie.


While this date night is far from typical, it is essential to embrace the new normal we are all living in. While times may be stressful do not forget to take a night to keep the romance alive in your relationship. Take time to feel good about yourself by remembering how cute you can look when you change out of your sweats and into a fun date night look.  

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