global pandemic Cozy up with at-home date nights

20 | COLOURFUL DINNER IDEAS 22 | SHOULD YOU WATCH PORN? 22 | SINGLENESS

A NICE MEAL AT HOME WINE TASTING MOVIE NIGHT

Staff Reporter Taylor Pipe suggests three at-home date night ideas to enjoy during lockdown.

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY TAYLOR PIPE

If you’re like me, you love going out on the town with your significant other. My partner and I would make lists of all the different places we wanted to go and things we wanted to see together.

Then COVID-19 hit.

For a little background information, we moved to Guelph on March 15, 2020. Since we were completely new to the area, we had a list of things we wanted to do, which included: U of G Homecoming, Riverfest in Elora, Oktoberfest in Kitchener, and the Scottish Games in Fergus.

However, as fate would have it, we were confined to our small two bedroom apartment in downtown Guelph with nothing to do.

This forced us to get creative with our date nights. There were a lot of failures, but it was a lot of fun and a good way to break up the monotony that has become our life.

Lockdown is upon us, and romance is in the air… but so is COVID-19, so that’s why I’ve come up with three at-home date night ideas to get you and your boo cozied up together this winter!

One of the things my partner and I did religiously before the pandemic was go out for breakfast. We would try to go out at least once a month for a classic bacon-and-egg meal.

This time around I tried to wake up early and have everything mostly done by the time they woke up. I had even put in extra effort and cut up some potatoes for homefries.

However, I’m a very clumsy, loud person and my partner woke up before I could surprise them, but it worked in my favour because I got them to set up the table while I finished our meal.

I made a simple breakfast: bacon, eggs, toast, and homefries. We set up the table with some electric tealights, wine glasses, and pinecones. I put on a “Saturday morning jazz” playlist on Spotify.

The mood was set, and we sat and ate breakfast together. It felt like a nice treat for us to do something so simple, but with an elegant flair.

With our spirits lifted it set us up for an enjoyable day and gave us a bright outlook on our weekend at home. We knew we could make simple things fun and bring some sparks back.

Your meal doesn’t have to be breakfast. It doesn’t even have to be fancy. It could be as simple as making grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup for your loved one. Either way, it shows you care and sitting at the table for a meal instead of in front of a TV is a great way to reconnect.

I’ll be honest, I very much look forward to drinks on a Friday night. Especially during lockdown, Fridays have become my favourite day of the week.

But I’ll also admit that I often overindulge, which is why a wine-tasting night is a great idea.

I specifically picked Ontario wines for our endeavour. I also made sure to get small bottles for our tasting, because moderation is key.

We tried different wines and played different games. I even came up with a relationship-themed game of Scattergories that asked us questions like, “where have we gone on dates,” “which bands have we seen live,” and “our friends’ pets’ names.”

Another fun thing we did for our wine tasting night was draw portraits of each other after a few glasses. It was a giggle-fest that ended in us on the floor singing along to the radio.

Overall, I think wine night is a good way to be silly with your partner while also trying new things. I specifically picked wines that I knew we hadn’t tried and it was also quite an enjoyable way to support local wineries.

This one might have been my favourite.

I know movie night doesn’t sound too out-of-the-box, and let’s face it, any night can be movie night during a pandemic, but we put a fun twist on it.

Remember blanket forts? Turns out they’re a lot easier to make as an adult with some strategic thinking skills.

Originally we were going to set up a picnic area in our living

room, but we decided to make a blanket castle around our TV to make it a true viewing experience. It’s amazing what you can do with some chairs, brooms, and a bunch of blankets.

The other thing we made sure to do for movie night was pick a light-hearted film. We figured that during these tumultuous times, the thing we could use most was a laugh and a snuggle in an adult-sized blanket fort.

At-home date nights are becoming increasingly important during a time where we’re stuck inside our houses, getting on each others’ nerves.

But doing little things, like making a loved one a bangin’ breakfast, getting wine drunk on a Friday night, or watching Forrest Gump in a blanket fort while binging on junk food makes having to stay home to protect our communities a little bit easier.

Get small bottles of local wines for a fun wine-tasting night.