Valentine’s Day just about a week away so I wanted to share some of my mine and Ryan’s favorite ways to spend our winter date nights that make great Valentine’s Day date night ideas. For those of you who were planning to be anti-Valentine’s Day this year and now you are starting to feel like you want to celebrate these ideas are a fun with to spend the day/night with anyone you love from your girlfriends or your roomie or even your pup!
Delivery and board games: This is our go to way to spend a winter date night. When the temps get too cold to get dressed up in Chicago we opt to order in and play a board game like Scrabble, Rummikub or cards by the fire. If we are ordering delivery on a weekend, we tend to make it feel a little more like date night by ordering from some of our favorite higher end restaurants for make the night a little more special. It can be hard to find higher end restaurants whose food keeps well when delivered. We always have really good luck with RPM Italian and Le Colonial
Make Home Made Pizzas: Ryan and I have made home made pizzas a few times and its such a fun way to make date night in a little more fun and festive. I’ve always wanted to do this for Valentine’s Day and make the pizzas into hearts! I’m sure one year when I have little ones I will. This is also a great way to spend Valentine’s Day or Galentine’s Day with your girlfriends or roomies!
Sex in the City inspired Sushi Making: I’m completely kidding on the Sex in the City inspiration side of this idea but in all seriousness at home sushi making is a really fun at home date night. It a makes making a meal together so much more fun and more of a bonding experience. Back in October, Ryan and I had our good friends over and they taught us how to make our own sushi. It was SO fun and everything actually tasted really good. I do suggest doing some research ahead of time and you might want to have a back up Sushi order in your Postsmates ready to go just in case it doesn’t turn out so great 🙂
A “Lauren and Ryan At Home” Inspired Valentine’s Day: Sometimes there’s just nothing better than treating yourself to all the fancy things in the comfort of your own home and Valentine’s Day is the perfect night to do it. If you read my story on Instagram the first Valentine’s Day that Ryan and I sent together after a two year break up was at home on the couch. Ryan still made sure to spoil me though. He made the most amazing dinner with all the things from steak, salmon, shrimps, fancy wine, chocolate covered strawberries, the whole nine yards. Instead of dining out, head to Whole Foods, buy the filet AND the expensive salmon or maybe some lobster tail and a great bottle of wine and you’ll have a much nicer dinner for half the cost. The best part is you’ll get to spend so much more quality time with your loved one in the comfort of your own home while you cook together. The year Ryan and I spent Valentine’s day this way is one of my all time favorite memories.
A Long Slow Dinner at a New Restaurant: I was on my A game this year and made a reservation at Oriole for Ryan and I back in November (say what?!?) I know I’m crazy but I wanted to book something special. This past year has been a bit stressful with wedding planning and I just wanted to have a special stress free plan for this Valentine’s Day. When Ryan and I have both been running super hard and haven’t spent a lot of tome together, there’s nothing I love more than a nice long dinner with several courses where I can really just sit down and talk with Ryan about all the things. If you don’t want to stay in and cook, Valentine’s Day is still the perfect excuse to spoil yourselves with a nice bottle of wine and a few extra appetizers. You definitely deserve TWO desserts too! While I can be tough to get a Valentine’s Day reservation, there are still really great restaurants that still have reservations available. For those of you in Chicago here are a few suggestions: