Cheap Date Ideas
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Sure, we’d love to be able to whisk away our date on a yacht while we sail away to one of our many private islands, however with your budget, you’ll be lucky if your car can make it to your dates place in one piece. Below are a few cheap date ideas for teens and adults alike. Some of these are great for first date ideas well.
Bike Ride
Enjoying the outdoors is the best, especially if you are in decent shape… unlike going for a long walk, a bike ride means you don’t have the pressure of making constant conversation as you would when walking. Take a few breaks, enjoy the scenery, maybe even have a picnic. Take these breaks to really get to chat with your date. This can be a great, cheap first date for teens, however you’ll want to make sure the person you are going with is the athletic or someone who enjoys the outdoors, otherwise this have the potential to lead to disaster.
Picnic
In the park, at a lake, by a beach… basically anywhere with some nice scenery. All you need is a wicker basket, a blanket, a few nibbles, and a few chilled drinks and then the pair of you can just laze on the grass all day long while people watching or chat and relax while eating some good food. To spice it up, have one at sunrise as it’s a beautiful way to spend the morning and then you still have the whole rest of the day to hang out if wanted.
Art gallery
Typically you should be able to find a gallery that’s either discounted or free at least during one day of the week. This is a really good first date idea, especially if you aren’t sure if you’re going to get along. If you feel there may not be a connection between the two of you, then this is the place to go. It’s perfect because you have to be fairly quiet at an art gallery, so it gives you an excuse not to talk. However, if there is a spark there, then you can go out for lunch or a coffee.
The brunch date/lunch date
This is best used on the first (or second) date. It’s a perfect first date option because lunch only lasts about 1 – 2 hours, so if things aren’t going to well you can make a quick exit, however if things are going swimmingly, you can move on to something else.
Bowling
It’s just plain fun! It’s a great group date if you’re not quite ready to go just with each other. You can bring a whole bunch of friends, it’s a great way to see how competitive the other person is, and there’s plenty of time in between your turn to chat, talk and flirt. Bowling is laid back, fun, and the best part is it doesn’t matter if you’re good at it or not… it’s one of those activities/sports that doesn’t matter if you suck or not… either way you’ll be able to have fun.
Rec Center
Great place to play pool or other games. This is a good first date idea due to the fact that it can allow for some friendly, flirty competition. Competition can be really good and can be exactly what you need to score a second date. You can play whatever, and the loser takes the winner out for a second date. Loser buys lunch, coffee, breakfast, etc. Just something that helps lock in the second date (assuming that the first date goes well)… the best part is that this also serves as a great cheap date idea for teens.
Street Fair
In most places in the U.S., you should be able to find a street fair during certain periods of the year. These kinds of events provide a plethora of visual stimuli and entertainment which typically will include great live music, games of skill (win a cuddly toy for your date), food, ability to people watch and plenty of opportunities to people watch.
Zoo/Aquarium
A trip to the zoo or aquarium doesn’t just have to be for kids. You can both walk around and laugh at the chimps throwing poo at each other or go gaga at the baby lion cubs… it’s hard to get bored at the zoo as it seems the animals are always changing and the way they react will surely be different every time. Seeing all the different animals will give you both loads to talk about.