33 Delightfully Free & Inexpensive Winter Date Ideas

Thinking of cheap winter date ideas is surprisingly harder than planning dates in other seasons.

If you or your boyfriend live in a cold climate, it can be difficult to find fun things to do when you finally get to visit each other. My husband lived on the frozen tundra of the upper Midwest while we were dating, so winter dates made up a majority of our time together.

Planning activities together can be a bit more challenging than other seasons, but you’re not without options. Here are 33 delightfully free and inexpensive winter date ideas, broken up between outdoor winter activities, indoor dates at home, and indoor dates elsewhere.

Outdoor Winter Activities

1. Photograph snowflakes
2. Go for a walk in a city park
3. Build a snowman
4. Go sledding
5. Have a snowball fight
6. Dig a snow cave
7. Go ice skating
8. Make snow angels
9. Check for snowshoe or cross-country ski rentals at regional and state parks

Indoor Dates at Home

1. Bake an elaborate dessert
2. Watch a documentary
3. Play a board game
4. Complete a thrift store puzzle
5. Create a fort out of blankets
6. Play worship songs
7. Read the Bible together
8. Reorganize a room
9. Check out a movie from the library
10. Learn to swing dance from YouTube

Indoor Dates Elsewhere

1. Find free museums in the area
2. Walk around the mall
3. Volunteer at a local nonprofit
4. Ride around on the city bus or metro
5. Visit the campus of a college you don’t attend
6. Watch a movie at a discount theater
7. Attend a community art class
8. Eat samples at Costco
9. Go thrift shopping
10. Visit an international grocery store
11. Swim at an indoor pool
12. Read a book in a library
13. Attend a local festival or concert
14. Go to the gym

In a long-distance relationship? These 16 video call ideas can spark your creativity for ways to have fun while you’re apart.