The Internet's Most Extensive List of Free Date Ideas

Because marriage should be fun and affordable.

First things first. I'm getting married!!! In 197 days (and totally counting), I will be the proud Mrs. Brennon Schow, for the rest of all time and eternity. Umm....How do I put this? Yeah. I'm stoked.

However, like the majority of newlyweds and college students (and most certainly newly-wedded college students) we just don't have a lot of money. I know this is nearly 200 days in the future we're talking about, but even then, we just won't have a lot of money. And even if we did, we shouldn't/wouldn't want to spend it all on just having fun and being in love. Because that just seems wasteful. (And I'm a member of Recyclebank. I make pledges. So I really can't be wasteful.)

But everybody knows that quality time with the ones you love is not only fun, but a vital part of staying sane and happy! So I got to searching. Google search: Free Date Ideas. Google search: Dates Under $1. Google search: Dates Under $5. And still, I ended up with a total of like...32 Inexpensive Date Ideas that sounded relatively fun. (Well, no. Some of them sounded really, really stellar, which is why I added them to my own list. But overall it was a pretty mediocre list.)

And then I remembered...I have a blog devoted to lists! I made that blog because the lists I find on the internet are usually less-than-satisfactory! And that is when I made it my personal duty to create...(drumroll please)...

THE ULTIMATE LIST OF FREE DATE IDEAS

It's a long list. And I'm pretty proud of it. Some ideas are general and some are more specific. I like the more general ones because they leave room to make it your own. Also, I think it's important to note that some of these things won't be up your ally. I tried to list things that my fiance and I...

*Don't already do on a regular basis

*Love to do but don't usually get time for

*Need to do but we put them off

Because those, I think, are the kinds of things that make the best dates! In other words, try and

*Stray from your usual

*Make it special/meaningful to the two of you

*Get things done that you need to do, but make it fun!

SO. If anything on this list sounds boring, impossible/improbable, or like something that you do every day anyway, don't discount it as a terrible idea! Replace it with something that you and your significant other will love. Once you start getting creative, you'll realize how many possibilities there are!

PLEASE: If you come up with your own ideas or do something on this list, tell me about it in the comments or send in pictures/videos! I would love to see how people are taking this list and making it their own!

JSYK. We aren't going to start pulling ideas from our jar until we get married, so so far this list is just a list. But I wanted to post it right now because, well, people might want it right now! But once I have actually done one of these, it will be in this pink color, which means that it is a link. If you click on the ones in pink you will be taken to a blogpost where you will find pictures/videos/reports of mine and my husband's date night for whichever idea you clicked on. Those links won't start existing for another 200+ days though. Sorry. :)

Alright, I think that's finally it. ....Enjoy!

FREE DATE #1: Create a Free Date Ideas Jar

1.  Art Project from Trash/Recycling Bin
2. Babysit
3. Backyard Carnival (Host)
4. Bake a Pie
5. Banana Split Party
6. Basic Car Checkup (oil, tires, etc.) (Teach Jayme J)
7. Bop-It Competition (Yes. I am talking about the toy from the nineties.)
8. Boy Meets World Marathon (or whatever your favorite TV show is)
9. Bubble Bath
10. Build a City Out of Legos
11. Build Your House Out of Legos
12. Camping
13. Candle Light Dinner at Home
14. Canyon/Exploratory Drive
15. Carve Pumpkins
16. Cha Cha
17. Change Out the Pictures in the Frames/On the Wall
18. Choreograph a Line Dance
19. Cleaning Date!
20. Clean the Shower Squeaky Clean. Reward Yourselves with a Lovely Shower
21. Cookie Decorating Contest
22. Cooking Show
23. Dance to Your Wedding Song/Playlist
24. Disney Movie Marathon
25. Do Puzzles
26. Do Something “Improv Everywhere”-esque
27. Doorbell Donking (I only justify that because that's what Brennon and I did the first time we ever hung out (when we were 15). I know it's not exactly socially acceptable, but it's nostalgic for us.  J)
28. Dumpster Diving!!
29. Eighties Themed Date Night
30. Family Barbeque (Remember: Pre-Budgeted Spending ONLY!!)
31. Feed the Ducks (Nielson’s Grove?)
32. Feed the LDS Missionaries
33. Find a Rope Swing or Zipline (and Ride It!!)
34. Find Free Furniture
35. Finger Painting
36. Fishing (Wait Brennon is Allergic to Fish!!)
37. Fly Kites (Store Bought or Homemade-Easy Tutorial)
38. Follow a Trail Head (a.k.a. Hike)
39. Foxtrot
40. Free Samples at Costco/Sam’s Club
41. Free Show/Concert
42. Frisbee Golf
43. Game Night With Another Couple
44. Get (Make? Collect?) Pet Rocks
45. Get ALL the Laundry Done & Watch an 80’s Movie
46. Get Ready Like You’re Going to a Black Tie Event (and undress like you just came back ;))
47. Get Rid of At Least Five Things
48. Ginger Bread Houses
49. Give Away Copies of the Book of Mormon
50. Give Each Other Make Overs
51. Go Bobbing for Apples
52. Go for a Walk & Pick Up Litter
53. Go for a Walk on the LDS Temple Grounds
54. Go to a Dog Park
55. Go to a Poetry Reading or Something Similar
56. Hang Out with Your Cousins
57. Harry Potter Marathon
58. Have a Bon Fire
59. Have a Recital (cousins, siblings - piano, clogging, etc…)
60. Have a Snow Day
61. Help Each Other Shave
62. Hike the White Rock
63. Hiking
64. Homemade Bowling
65. Homemade Doughnuts
66. Homemade Frosties (with Milk Ice Cubes!)
67. Homemade Playdoh
68. Host a “Just Dance” Party (The Video Game)
69. Host a Milkshakes & Smoothies Party
70. Host a Murder Mystery Dinner
71. Humanitarian Aid Night
72. Invent a Rube Goldberg Machine (Ideas here http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/rube-goldberg-machines/ and here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiHn5_RfKjE )
73. Jousting (Get Creative!!)
74. Jump in the Lake
75. Just Make Some Truffles
76. Lake/Beach
77. Learn 15 New Words. Go Out and Use Them
78. Learn Some Martial Arts Moves
79. Learn to Juggle
80. Lift Weights
81. Listen to a Book on Tape (Well, an Audio Book of Sorts)
82. Local Art Show
83. Local Library
84. Long Boarding
85. Look Through Old Photos/Journals
86. Make a Collage of Any Kind (Get Creative!)
87. Make a Family Home Evening Chart
88. Make a Fort (Blanket/Snow/Whatever)
89. Make a Gift Basket & Give it to Someone
90. Make a Leaf Pile (and Obviously Play in it)
91. Make a Mural
92. Make a Music Video (To “You Look Good in My Shirt by Keith Urban PLEEEEEEASE?? J)
93. Make a Time Capsule
94. Make a Vinegar & Baking Soda Volcano
95. Make Bird Feeders
96. Make Butterbeer
97. Make Dinner for Hubby’s Family
98. Make Dinner for Wifey’s Family
99. Make Hubby’s Favorite Breakfast
100. Make Hubby’s Favorite Dessert
101. Make Hubby’s Favorite Dinner
102. Make Newspaper Hats/Boats/Flowers
103. Make Paper Snowflakes
104. Make Popcorn Balls
105. Make S’mores
106. Make Wifey’s Favorite Breakfast
107. Make Wifey’s Favorite Dessert
108. Make Wifey’s Favorite Dinner
109. Massage Night/Spa Night (Relax & Be in Love)
110. Minute-To-Win-It Games
111. Name Indexing/Get Own Names for Temple
112. Nerf War (Borrow the stuff if you have to-NO SPENDING!!)
113. Nickelodeon Marathon
114. Organize the Closet(s)
115. Organize/Have a “Take the Kids to Work Day”
116. Origami
117. Paint Fight
118. Park Benching
119. Penny in Flour Stack Game/Other Around the House Objects Games
120. People Watching
121. Photo Shoot
122. Pick a Random Letter of the Alphabet. Eat, make, and/or do something(s) that starts with that letter!
123. Picnic J
124. Pie Eating Contest
125. Pillow Fight
126. Ping Pong Battle
127. Plant Something
128. Play at the Playground
129. Play Dominoes
130. Play Dress Up
131. Play Hooky.
132. Play Horse Shoes
133. Play House at Ikea (Like in 500 Days of Summer)
134. Play Rock Band or DDR
135. Play Soccer (slash teach Jayme J)
136. Play Tickle Monster
137. Play Twister
138. Play with Chalk (Hopscotch, etc…)
139. Power Outage (No Electricity/Electronics-All Loooove!)
140. Practice Your Backflips
141. Promote the Family Business (aka Bren’s Music)
142. Push Ups/Sit Ups Contest
143. Re-watch a Conference Session
144. Read-a-thon
145. Rearrange the Living Room (Feng Shui)
146. Red Light Game
147. Reenact a Fun Day
148. Relay Races/Obstacle Courses
149. Review/Update Your Emergency Preparedness Plans
150. River Rafting
151. Roller Blade
152. Run Through All the Sprinklers
153. Sand Castle Making Contest
154. Scooter Ride
155. Shoot Hoops
156. Shopping Cart Races
157. Skinny Dipping!!
158. Sleep In Together
159. Sleepover with Younger Siblings
160. Slip-N-Sliding
161. Slow Dance
162. Sock War
163. Star Gazing
164. Stone Soup/Left Overs Casserole (Clean out the Fridge)
165. Study a Book of Scripture You’re Not Currently Reading (maybe D&C or New Testament…)
166. Swing Dancing
167. Take a Couples’ Cooking Class
168. Take Out Neighbors’ Trash/Mow their Lawns for No Charge
169. Take the Bus/Train to an Unplanned Destination
170. Teach Each Other a New Skill
171. Temple Night with Another Couple
172. Test Drive Cars
173. Treasure Hunt/Scavenger Hunt
174. Tree Climbing
175. Truth or Dare
176. Try a New Vegetable (Maybe Cook with It)
177. Type Up a Journal (Jayme’s Goal)
178. Use a Free Redbox Code
179. Viennese Waltz
180. Visit a Cemetery
181. Visit Someone Elderly
182. Visit With Your Grandparents
183. Wash The Cars (By Hand Of Course)
184. Wash the Windows
185. Watch an Eighties Movie
186. Watch Family Home Videos
187. Watch the Sunset/Sunrise
188. Watch Your Parents’ Wedding Videos
189. Watch Your Wedding Video
190. Waterfall Hike (Bridal Veil, Stewart Falls, etc.)
191. Weed Someone’s Garden/Yard
192. White Elephant Gift Exchange/Party
193. Window Shopping
194. Wood Carving
195. Wrap Items Around the House & Exchange Them as Gifts
196. Write & Illustrate a Children’s Story
197. Write a Rap Song – Youtube It
198. Write Letters
199. Yard Work for Strangers
200. Yoga/Pilates