1. Build a fort, because of course
"My husband makes the BEST couch/blanket/table forts complete with the TV and a mattress inside the fort with an 'outdoor' picnic area for dinner before settling down with snacks and a movie in the fort."
2. Open your own "restaurant"
"My husband and I do a thing called 'fake restaurant' where we will clean up the house, dim most lights so the atmosphere is romantic, he'll put on a really nice record and I'll cook something semi-difficult/French/or a steak haha. We open a bottle of wine and look our best and never leave the house, but the effect is the same- we enjoy each other and life is beautiful!"
3. Treat each other to a massage
"We play fake massage parlour, with clean made bed all freshly laundered and smelling warm from the dryer, massage oils, and soft music/candles. We're not always (ok most of the time, but really not always!) making it sexy, it's just so relaxing. Usually only one person gets massaged because who wants to be the masseuse after you're all relaxed from a massage? So it's really an honour system for keeping it even. Saves so much money, keeps us excited to clean the house, absolutely romantic, and we get to enjoy each other's company and have positive experiences together in our own house."
4. Give your SO the "at home" spa treatment
"My guy surprised me with a sudden ninja 'fake spa'. We were watching movies in our jammies and he offered me a foot massage. Obviously, I opted in... so he got up, left the room, then came back a couple of minutes later with a basin of hot water, a bowl for scooping water up, sugar for exfoliating, bubble bath, epsom salts and moisturiser. I felt like empress of the goddamn world."
5. Do something crafty
"My fiancé and I aren’t terribly artistically inclined, but we like to go to craft stores and get packaged projects to do. We made a mosaic stepping stone, painted coffee cups, and etched beer mugs and wine glasses. I taught him how to crochet once, and we both tried sewing together."
6. Take a bath together
"My S/O got really into bath time when he found a vendor at the farmers market that makes bath bombs and bubble bath with 'manly' scents. He'll come home and dramatically announce that he got Dragon's Blood or Wolf Fang this week for the bath."
7. Turn your living room into a club
"My husband and I both dress up in our best formal attire - turn our living room into a dance floor - chill the wine and have a candlelit dinner followed by a night of dancing. It is my absolute favourite tradition."
8. Perform in a play together
"Our local [charity shop] has a very interesting selection of used books, so every few weeks we pop in and get a play (so far we've read Macbeth, The Glass Menagerie and we are planning on starting Much Ado About Nothing when I get home), then we make stiff drinks and read the play together in our most dramatic voices. May not be for everyone but we always end up giggling at each other's silly voices and character confusion,"
9. Just talk
"We are both people who tend to have the TV on and be half watching at all times so we have an unofficial distraction free date nights. Phones are ignored and the TV is actually off. It's great, we end up sitting at the table for hours talking instead of migrating over to the couch and watching TV all night."