When you’ve got young children (or any for that matter), I think it is so important to ‘date’ your other half. I do find the whole date night term a little bit cringe, but it is so important to remember your relationship as you have kids that are growing. Otherwise, it is easy to get distracted with the kids and things can quickly take a turn, in terms of your relationship.

The chances are, though, that you might need to pay for a babysitter to be able to get out together. So you don’t want to make it too expensive. Otherwise, they’re not going to happen very often if they cost a lot and you’ll justify not leaving the house. I’m all for making a posh meal for when the kids have gone to bed from time to time as a way to have a special night in, but it is good to go out and do something elsewhere too. So here are some ideas for date nights that won’t break the bank.

2 for 1 Cinema Tickets with Meerkat Movies

Before we had children, the husband and I would go to the cinema practically every Friday might. His dad works in film so we got an Odeon pass that would allow us free tickets each work. Sadly, that card no longer exists! But we have made the most of the 2 for 1 cinema tickets that you can get with Meerkat Movies. So on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, you can get two tickets for the price of one with a code.

You can get the code when you buy an insurance policy through Compare the Market, and the chances of needing insurance for something each year are quite high, right? With the average cinema ticket costing well over £7, you could save over £380 if you went each week. So in my opinion, totally worth doing.

Free Summer Screenings

Being so close by to London means we can make the most of heading into the city and all it has to offer. On a weekday night I can just meet Mr. U up in London after work too. There are lots of free screenings going on, especially in the summer (I’m sure there are in other cities too). We have been to Trafalgar Square to watch the free screenings of the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera before, and they have some coming up this summer too.

• Wednesday 7 June at 7.30pm – The Royal Ballet’s The Dream/Symphonic Variations/Marguerite and Armand
• Tuesday 4 July at 7pm – The Royal Opera’s La traviata
• Friday 14 July at 7.30pm – The Royal Opera’s Turandot

Volunteer Together

This one will depend on whereabouts you are in the world as to what you can do. But it makes a difference to do something for other people, and still have fun. There might be a local shelter you can help cook in, a neighbourhood project, or a local RSPCA centre to help in. I have done the latter before (in the life before the husband, awks), but it was fun to take out dogs for a walk on a summer’s evening.

Get Outdoors!

I appreciate that most of these will only work in summer, but getting outside is good for the soul. It could be going on a bike ride together, a run, yoga in the park, or just going for a walk in the woods. You could even have a picnic meal at your destination, or toast some marshmallows and make s’mores, if you can take a throw-away BBQ. If you can’t quite justify a babysitter for this kind of thing, then maybe a picnic in the garden could work instead.

Classic Meal For Two

A meal out doesn’t have to be expensive, so it can easily work for a date night when you’re trying to be frugal. Drink water and get something like a Taste card to get money off, and it will be an inexpensive, but fun date, where you get chance to just relax and talk. Probably about the children, ha!

What are some of your favourite date night ideas?