I talk a lot about self care and self love in many of my posts on GenTwenty. One thing that I haven’t explored much about the topic has been solo dates.
If I’m being honest, I’ve been struggling a bit lately. When I was trying to find ways to work on making myself feel better and live a happier life, solo date ideas kept getting brought up.
Since I don’t gatekeep, I’m bringing you along on my solo date journey so that you can start your own.
What is the point of solo dates?
If you’re not familiar with solo dates they are basically exactly how they sound – dates that you go on by yourself. You may be wondering what the point of that is.
Believe me I was too the first time I heard the term. It turns out there are actually a lot of great benefits to solo dates, including increased self love, more confidence, time for mindfulness/reflection, and more.
One of my favorite reasons/benefits of solo dates is proving that you don’t have to wait until you are in a relationship to do the fun things you’ve been wanting to do.
I’ve been single all my life. That’s a long time to go without going to certain events, venues, activities just because I don’t have someone to go with.
By committing to going on solo dates I can start doing these things I’ve missed out on.
How I’m Doing Them
There are many different ways that you can go about deciding what to do on your solo date. Here are some of the parameters that may help you decide.
Planned vs Spontaneous
Here you can either have everything planned out or you can decide what you’ll do randomly through something like a date jar. I’ll be walking you through how I made my jar full of solo date ideas later on in this post.
Stay In vs Go Out
You need to decide if you want to have your date night at home, or if you want to go out.
Some things to consider here are:
- Will you have the house, or at least an area of the house, to yourself?
- Do you feel safe going out by yourself where you would be going?
If you decide to go out, make sure someone knows your location so that you stay safe.
Dress Up vs Dress Casual
How will you be dressing for your date? You want to treat these solo dates like regular dates, so decide if you’ll be dressed to the nines or keeping things casual.
Whatever you decide just make sure you put effort into your outfit like you would if you had a date with someone else.
Spend Money vs. Save Money
If you’re worried about going on these dates because of money, I’m here to tell you that it’s possible to go on cheap solo dates, or even free.
In fact I recommend doing these dates the most because it gives you more opportunities to go on solo dates. They still mean just as much as other dates as well, as long as you are intentional about them.
That means dressing nice, even if you are just at home, staying in the moment while on your date, and more. I like to listen to my self love playlist while on my dates for a double boost of self love.
Occasional Dates vs Dating Yourself Often
Lastly you want to decide how often you want to go on dates. This will change as you go through different seasons of life. It’s good to have a starting point though. I decided to organize my dates by price range.
- Every other week I’ll do a solo date that is free or costs very little.
- Once a month I’ll go on a solo date that costs a bit more, like maybe a nice restaurant, local concert, etc..
- Once every three months I’ll do a “treat yo’self” date. These would be activities like going to the spa, shopping day, etc..
I think this is a good system but I might adjust it if needed along the way.
30+ Best Solo Date Ideas To Try This Summer
If you’re ready to start your own solo dating adventure, here are some ideas to get you started.
I’ve got them separated by price range to make it easier for you to decide what type of dates you want to add. Also the ones on bold are dates that can be done at home.
Free – Under $40
- Picnic in the park
- Go see a movie
- Cook your favorite meal while listening to your favorite playlist
- DIY at home spa night
- Make a charcuterie board
- Get dressed up for no reason and do a mini-photo shoot
- Have a pool day
- Have a craft day
- Complete a puzzle
- Go to a flower field and buy flowers
- Take a class (art, cooking, baking, etc.)
- Try a new workout class
- Go to a farmers market
- Try a new coffee shop
- Reorganize closet while listening to a great playlist
- Go to a town/city event
- Watch sunrise/sunset then journal about it.
- Walk a trail/go hiking
- Try a new makeup look
- Plan a getaway, dream/journal what it would look like
$45-$75
- Take a day trip
- Comedy show
- Go to the theater
- Eat at a nice restaurant (don’t forget to dress fancy, just because)
- Go bowling
- Go to the aquarium
- Visit an art museum
- Go to a sporting event
- Paint & sip night (at home or a scheduled class)
- Go window shopping
$75+
- Concert
- Manicure/pedicure
- Take a day trip
- Go shopping for a new outfit
- Go get a massage
You’ve got the ideas down, now it’s time to figure out how to decide what date to go on when the date comes. I decided to create a solo date jar for mine.
To wrap this post up I thought I’d share with you a tutorial so that you can make your own.
How To Make A Solo Date Jar
I think a date jar is a fun way to decide on what solo date to go on. Especially if you are indecisive like me. I had fun making my jar and I thought I’d show you how I did it.
All you need is some type of jar, paper, pens, markers, and stickers (if you want). If you want to see it done visually I have a TikTok video down below for you.
Before we get started with the tutorial I just wanted to say one more thing. Don’t feel pressure to make your jar the same as mine.
You could put all your date ideas in a hat and it would still work just as fine. Whatever works for you is great!
Here’s how to make yours:
- Write out all your date ideas on your paper. You’ll be cutting these in strips so leave space in between them.
- Cut your date ideas into strips.
- One by one fold up your strips. Put a circle, or any other doodle on the front and back if you have any categories of dates.
- Put the strips in the jar and screw the top on
- Decorate your jar if you’d like.
Final Thoughts on Solo Dates
Solo dates are a great form of self love, and self care. I hope you got some ideas from this solo date ideas list. Or maybe you have some of your own? If you do let us know in the comments.
I’d love to add more ideas to my jar and I’m sure other readers would as well. Connect with us over on Instagram to tell us how you chose to date yourself. Happy dating yourself! ❤️
About the Author
Kelly graduated from Liberty University with a degree in Advertising and Public Relations and a minor in Journalism. Even though it took her a little while to find her career path, she was always meant to be in Communications. She remembers writing poems and songs when she was a little girl and pitching to my parents the reasons why I should have a cell phone when I was a teenager. She currently has a blog (budding-joy.com) where she talks about her weight-loss journey, mental health and personal development. Her hope is to encourage and inspire readers and let them know they are not alone. Reading blog posts like that are what helped her in tough times and she wants to pay it forward. She loves dance fitness, listening to music, and creating layouts in her bullet journal. She's a big fan of planning, especially when cute notebooks and pens are involved. Her dream job has changed so much over the years; right now she'd love to co-own a dance studio.
Website: budding-joy.com