5 expert tips for recreating the perfect date night at home

As parents, it’s so important to spend time together, but it might be tricky to head out to your favourite restaurant. Here, Nidhi Verma, Head of Food & Founder at Cookaway, offers some tips for recreating the perfect date night at home.

Sometimes it can be tricky to find time to head out to your favourite restaurant or bar for a date and balancing your own relaxation time with parenting. But it’s still so important that you and your partner spend time together, bringing some romance into your daily lives. The perfect way to do this is often to have a date night at home, and there are lots of ways that you can bring the date night atmosphere into your home and create a special dinner. 

Whatever you and your partner’s favourite food and drink are, there are ways to create it at home and have the perfect date night with your partner. Here, we’ll offer some expert tips.

Creating your own menu

While deciding to cook at home rather than head out to a restaurant can be daunting, it also offers you plenty of opportunity to cook all your favourite dishes, and really customise your menu. So, think of the food that you and your partner really like to eat, such as your favourite cuisine or a dish you remember eating on a memorable trip abroad. 

Then, look at some recipes and work out how you can recreate it at home. A great way of doing this is to use a recipe kit, as this will allow you to purchase the exact ingredients for your dishes together and receive helpful instructions for when you’re unsure how to tackle something new. 

You might also want to use the seasons as your inspiration and check out your local farmer’s market for some fresh produce. Using produce that is seasonal and fresh can be a great starting point for a special meal and allows you to enjoy improvising new dishes based on what you find on sale. To make the meal extra special, you might also want to write up or print out your menus to lay out on the table, for that restaurant feel.

Choosing music and lighting

Having the right atmosphere for your date night is just as important as the food. So, make sure to get your space looking as romantic as possible. If you have dimmable lighting, then lowering it can really bring that cosy restaurant feeling; if you don’t have dimmable lights, then adding lamps rather than turning on the main lights can be a good option too. 

You might also want to light some candles to conjure the image of a romantic restaurant or bar, and add some flowers to the table too. Incorporating you and your partner’s favourite flowers is a great way to make the evening special, and you can make a playlist of your most memorable tracks as well to add the finishing touch to the occasion.

Setting a special table

Thinking about how your table looks is another good way to make sure that the evening feels really special. As well as adding flowers, you might want to get some special accessories such as tablecloths and napkins; this will make sure that the table looks different from your usual weeknight dinner table, and it will mark the evening out as a date night. 

Fairy lights and table ornaments can bring a cosy touch too. You might even want to pick a theme for the night, such as an Italian restaurant or a Parisian bar, to give you an idea of how to bring the décor together. This can also be a fun reference to enjoyable trips that you have taken with your partner, and it can serve a sentimental purpose to add to the atmosphere. Think about particular restaurants or destinations that you have enjoyed and incorporate these into your date night ideas.

Adding personal touches

While you can incorporate personal memories such as favourite locations and dishes, some extra personal touches will really bring the evening together. Try writing your partner a handwritten invitation or making place cards for the table. 

You can also add an activity that you and your partner will really enjoy to follow the dinner date: whether that’s board games, puzzles, or simply watching a movie, there are plenty of things you can do to spend time together and have some fun. Planning an activity that both of you will enjoy is a personal touch that can bring so much enjoyment to the night. Not only this, but finding time for your individual hobbies can be tricky during school holidays and busy times, when little ones are running you off your feet. So using your date night to spend time on a hobby can be real quality time.

Creating a drinks menu

As well as food, you’ll also want to bring together a drinks menu that is enjoyable, special, and maybe a bit different. You might want to try coming up with your own signature cocktail together; this can be a fun activity in and of itself, as cocktail-making offers plenty to learn and experience. Or, you can purchase home wine-tasting experiences if you and your partner prefer this. Both of these activities are perfect for following a luxurious meal and will create memories that will last for years to come.

If you prefer to focus on the drinks that are paired with your meal, try purchasing some special wine or beer to go perfectly with whatever you’re planning on cooking up in the kitchen. There are plenty of guides on the subject, or you can simply follow the flavours that you and your partner enjoy.

Use these tips to create the perfect date night with your partner and find great activities to make new memories with them. You might even find that through planning your date night, you discover whole new flavours, cuisines, and drinks pairings that you continue to enjoy again and again!