A Guide to Solo Date Nights [30 Ways to Love Time Alone]

Do you find yourself craving new ways to enjoy time alone? Or questioning why it’s important to plan solo date nights in the first place? I get it. Public solitude often interpreted as negative—like an intentional outcast. But after the first pandemic lockdown, people seem to be growing more comfortable with solitude—after all, being alone doesn’t have to parallel loneliness. 

As a regular self-dater, I’m going to answer all things solo date related. Whether you’re a night on the town or I’m not leaving the house type, investing purposeful time alone is key for personal growth. 

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30 Ideas for Solo Date Nights

Definition: A solo date is an intentionally singular experience. It is a consciously planned time that can include reservations at a new restaurant, preparing a new dish at home, attending a stylist event, or anything you enjoy spending your time doing. Solo dates are best when repeated weekly or monthly.

Here are 30 ideas for solo dates, including budget options, ideas for staying in, and lots of ideas for a night out.

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Budget Date Night Ideas

On a budget? Me too. Dates can be expensive, but they don’t have to be. Here are 10 budget solo date night ideas for your next night off. 

1. Create a playlist that’s perfect to scream out while taking a long drive
2. Put on an audio book or podcast and take a long hot girl walk
3. Spread a picnic blanket outside and bring a bag full of books, your journal, and lots of snackables like cheese, crackers, a deli sandwich, fresh fruit, etc
4. Hike or drive to a picturesque view
5. Take a trip to the closest beach, lake, or river
6. Pull out old CDs or records and have a solo dance party
7. Volunteer at a local church, shelter, or humane society
8. Queue your favorite show, silence the phone, and snack on all your favorite treats
9. Start a puzzle or craft such as knitting, painting, drawing, or paper craft (origami, handmade note, paper chain, etc.)

10. 💐 Allie’s top pick: An at-home spa night! Starting with whitening my teeth, ice rolling my face, and washing my sheets, then giving myself a hair blowout, next moisturize my skin, massage my face with a gua sha stone, bubble-up the bath, and apply a hair and face mask. 

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At Home Date Night Ideas

Find yourself canceling plans and wishing you hadn’t committed to that event or lunch meeting. I feel this at least once a week. Here are some of the ways I honor my introverted-ness.

1. Leave work a little early and go to your neighborhood pool or closest natural body of water for a dip around sunset
2. Watch that movie or show you keep starting but fall asleep before it’s over 
3. Organize an area of the house you haven’t gotten to yet that keeps bothering you but you haven’t gotten to it yet
4. Bake your favorite kind of cake and decorate it with all the icing colors and sprinkles you like 
5. Attend an online yoga or Pilates class from the comfort of your living room floor
6. Plant a little herb garden
7. Book a night at a fancy hotel, stay in the robe, and order alllll the roomservice
8. Look through old photographs and print some to put in an album
9. Attend a virtual Mixology or Wine tasting class—a great company for this is Offsyte 

10. 💐 Allie’s top pick: I would light candles around the house, queue soft music or an audio book, and take my time preparing a three-course dinner, add wine of course 

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Going Out Date Night Ideas

While I love time at home and thrive on routine, I crave balance in every aspect of lifestyle. Therefore, planning a night out where I can play dress up, is essential. Here are some of my favorite ways to spend time out-and-about.  

1. Get dressed up and attend an opera or a ballet
2. Sign up for an in-person workshop such as a dance, scrapbooking, or art class
3. Try a beginner rock climbing or boxing class
4. Be a tourist for the day in a neighboring city—book a tour or plan a walking route around the city to explore unseen places (check out the blog post, Planning the Perfect Carolina Weekend Getaway, for mini trip ideas)
5. Spend a few hours in an art museum
6. Tour a winery or schedule a wine-tasting
7. Book a spa appointment with a few treatments you’ve been wanting to try
8. Go seasonal fruit picking—blueberries, strawberries, apples
9. Attend your favorite artist’s concert

10. 💐 Allie’s top pick: I make reservations at a restaurant I’ve been wanting to try and arrive early enough to grab a happy hour drink at the bar (a dirty dry martini of course) and settle into the surroundings.  

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Each of these date ideas will help honor aloneness in a way that leaves you feeling empowered and fully capable of tackling all seasons of life. Building a strong relationship with self is like building a muscle, it takes moments of discomfort to grow. And what a fun way to grow! By taking the opportunity to self-date, being consistent with planning alone time, and exploring what you actually like spending time on, 2023 has the potential to hold many surprises. One more thing…

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Chef Allie’s Kitchen Tip of the Week

Citrus fruits are consistently on my grocery list. Lemons, limes, navel oranges, and clementines to name a few. I love them all, okay almost all, hold the grapefruit. Here’s how I fancy-up my morning water, afternoon cocktails, and evening beverages.

• Juice your citrus of choice with a juicer like this one or this one
• Fill ice trays about half-full with juice
• Add herbs of choice–mint is wonderful for summer, and in the winter I like to use warmer herbs such as rosemary and sage, as shown below
• Freeze over night and enjoy!

Tips for Using Infused Citrus Ice Cubes

• Impress your guests next time you host with twist on chilling drinks
• When any of these fruits are marked down at the grocery store, buy in bulk and get to juicing
• Lastly, instead of juicing, try slicing the lemons, limes, or oranges like this:

All of the categories on this blog are pillars in my, day, month, and yearly planning. Life can be messy. I’ve parted ways with friends, felt homesickness on a vacation i’m supposed to be loving, used not-so-great beauty products, experimented with fad diets, and worn clothing that make me cringe looking back. But this is what life is. It’s trying something new and failing. But, there’s power in knowing that the setback will turn into a lesson, the lesson will turn into a story or a laugh, and every action has the potential to act a stepping stone to the lifestyle that works best for you.

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CONCLUSION

Nike is onto something with their slogan “Just Do It.” There is so much learning in adventure in just doing it. Tag me on Instagram @__alliemitchell, when you just make an aesthetic drink using the citrus ice cube, kitchen tip of the week or take yourself on that solo date night idea that resonated with you most from above.

Happy dating and ice making.

xxx

Allie M.