*(This article contains affiliate links which, if you buy or sign up through that link, I receive a credit at no additional cost to you).
Solo date nights are a highlight of single life. They're the dedicated time you give to yourself to do something special, just like you would for a date night you would spend with anybody else.
The challenge you might face at the moment is a combination of the winter weather, plus the cost of living crisis, both encouraging you to stay indoors. Added to that, some of you are single parents, so activities you can do around putting the children to bed for the evening need to be considered as well.
Whichever applies, here are four ideas for a tech-free, people-free evening to yourself that I've tried and tested over my single time.
1. Go all out for a Movie Night - with fairy lights and a bedsheet den
This doesn't just mean switching Netflix on and doing your evening routine of winding down in front of the TV. No, no. This is about going all out to create the magic of a movie night under the stars whilst being indoors. Grab an old bed sheet to create a den in your living room, grab fairylights and light boxes to create the magical, sparkly night sky, and pop your fluffiest pjs on. And if you really want to treat yourself, order in a takeaway too or use Too Good To Go for restaurant food on a budget!
2. Get messy with making DIY Pizzas from scratch
Pizzas are a home comfort but making one from scratch really makes an event of this. As a keen Gousto customer (3 years and counting!), the idea of cooking pizzas without using a pre-made base became a reality when they started to include kits as a meal option. You're there, mixing the yeast together, kneading the dough, and creating an authentic pizza without just buying something from the supermarket.
This solo date is more than just having food. It's about having fun, getting messy and making your favourite pizza by hand!
(Gousto have the kits as part of their recipes from time-to-time. You can try a Gousto box for 65% off the first box, and 25% off future boxes for your first two months if you sign up via this link )*
3. Learn A New Party Trick (c/o The Adventure Challenge [Solo Edition] Book)
Whenever anyone asks me "What's your party trick?", I go to a complete mind blank. As far as I'm concerned, I don't have one... until I tried this challenge.
Thanks to The Adventure Challenge Book, I was tasked with researching party tricks ahead of spending an hour learning how to do one. There were a few I ruled out pretty instantly, but then I came across a trick which I "probably knew from junior school" that I very much didn't know so proceeded to practice trying to balance a can on it's edge.
It was a fun fifteen minute of madness, all of which I recorded (and highly recommend you do too) for the determination, laughter and thought processing trying to get it to work, all through to the moment I DID IT.
You can watch the escapades here:
And if you need a WHOLE book full of solo adventure ideas, you can purchase The Adventure Challenge (Solo Edition) book, for 50 Scratch-Off adventures to do on your own.
4. Arts & Crafts Evening
Inspired, creative,
If you've tried all of those, then you can come up with your own to keep your solo date nights going. Think about what you would want to do if you were with a partner - what sort of indoor date nights would you organise for them? As well as that, consider what experience and feeling you want to have and design an indoor activity around that!