8 Fun Fall Date Night Ideas

I’m so excited to be writing a bae-inclusive post for you guys today! My boyfriend Francis is often on the other side of the camera (to clarify, he did not take the ones below- he’s gotten good but not thiiiis good hahaha) and overall plays a huge role in the success of this blog, so it’s fun to have an excuse to talk about him!

I think we have a pretty good balance when it comes to doing the things he wants to do and things that I want to do; over the weekends, we definitely take a lot of pictures, and will often go to brunch spots I’ve picked out, or hit up some cool wall I saw on Instagram. On the flip side,  Football Sundays are now a thing in my life (he’s seriously the first boyfriend to ever get me to watch football), and the day is typically reserved for meeting up with friends to watch the games. So, we both do what we can to make the other happy— Does Fran loooove taking pictures of me and do I looove watching football? Not exactly, but it helps create a nice little dynamic that works for us.

Although we each may have a whole list of weird hobbies that the other supports but will never fully understand (like, when you go golfing, why does it always take 748573 hours?! Why??), the good news is that there are a ton of things that we love doing together. I feel like our attitude on dates has been “go big or go home” since we first started dating, so we are always trying to come up with cool and exciting; we love doing activities, or things that are a little outside the box! Now that the world’s greatest, most pumpkin spicy season is upon us, I wanted to share 8 fun fall date night ideas that are on our list, and should be on yours!

Sweater // Jeans // Shoes // Bag (similar) // Sunglasses // Star Necklace

1. Do A Staycation In Your City Or Town

Last November, right around Christmastime, Francis and I checked into a beautiful room at one of my favorite hotels in Chicago, The Langham, did some shopping, checked out the Christmas Market, got mulled wine, went to the hot tub, slept in super late, it was the BEST. We are totally overdue for our next staycation. It’s such a great way to spend quality time together (we kept our phones away most of the weekend!) and to just indulge and treat yourself to some well deserved pampering. Definitely makes for super special date night!

2. Visit A Brewery

I love this date activity for a few reasons; 1) I feel like it’s perfectly suited for the fall season. Cozy sweaters + beer is always a winning combo in my book. 2) I love that it’s an actual activity; usually you’ll get a tour of the brewery, see how the beer is made, etc, so it’s a cool learning experience, and then you get to try out a whole bunch of in-house made beer! 3) The date is to go taste beer. That is awesome. A lot of places will have fun seasonal beers too (no shame, I love PSL brews!!)

3. Take A Trip To The Pumpkin Patch

Ya know, I realize this isn’t at all creative or something you couldn’t have come up with on your own. That said, this makes the list because I LOVE going to pumpkin patches. Last year around this time, Fran and I went with one of our couple friends to this patch out west of the city called Goebbert’s; we had a great brunch before, and then packed up into the car for our mini road trip (it was kind of a hike!). We went to this pumpkin patch because it had a million things to do; they had pig races throughout the day, camel rides, and exotic petting zoo with giraffes, baby tigers, kangaroos… It was insane. We got cider and apple cider donuts, went through the corn maze, got to go down a huge slide in burlap sacks, and took home pumpkins and fudge with us. It was such a blast! So, my advice would be to find a patch in your area that has a ton of different activities; you’ll feel like a little kid for the day!

4. Hit Up A Comedy Club

Obviously a fun activity to do any time of year, but I’ve always loved going for a date night during fall. Francis and I are obsessed with Second City, and have been to a toooon of shows over the years. There’s seriously nothing better than laughing your ass off with your babe! A lot of clubs have bars too, so we’ll normally order some wine, and then we always, always order boozy hot chocolate!

5. Take A Cooking Class

The last cooking class we took was actually a double date with the same couple friends we went to the patch with, ha (we love doing things together!!). I know in Chicago that there are a bunch of places to take cooking classes; Sur La Table has locations nation wide and is always mixing up their menu. I’ve taken a few classes here before and have had an amazing experience; I love that they offer “themed” classes (Fall Vegetarian Cooking, Risotto Workshop, Apple Harvest are all going on right now), that fall right in line with the season. If you’re in Chicago, The Social Table is one of my favorite places to cook for date night because of how intimate and romantic it is! It’s in a little converted house, with a professional chef’s kitchen, and then a beautiful, decorated little dining room you get to eat in afterwards (it feels like you’re in someone’s home!). Social Table is BYOB, and you eat as a group at the end, which is a little different; we really liked getting to meet some other couples around our age and just have some cool group conversation.

6. Take A Boozy Paint Class

YES! One of my favorite pastimes! Basically, the concept is you either BYOB or grab a drink at the studio bar (depending on where you go to), and an instructor leads you in painting a specific piece. They’ll tell you which paints to put on your plate, which brushes to grab, and make things really simple for you. You get to drink, talk, and laugh (probably) over how your paintings turn out.

7. Go Out For A Romantic Fondue Dinner

So, where you go obviously depends on what kinds of places you have nearby. That said, you could always order a fondue kit, find some recipes online, and do fondue date night at home! I actually grew up having fondue all the time for special occasions. If you are in Chicago, you HAVE to go to Geja’s Cafe; it is consistently ranked as one of the most romantic restaurant’s in the city, and for good reason. It is super intimate, very dark, candles everywhere, a classical guitarist playing… There are a couple different choices you have when it comes to your meal, but the concept is you choose one style of dinner (I don’t eat meat, so will always get the Deluxe seafood, which comes with scallops, lobster tail, and shrimp), which will provide you with bread and cheese fondue to start, your protein along with vegetables, and 8 different dipping sauces, ending with their flaming chocolate fondue, and tea and coffee! It is a FEAST, absolutely delicious, and quite a memorable experience. I think fondue wherever you go is aways very romantic, and the perfect way to spend a chilly October night.

8. Tailgate And Go To A Football Game

AKA, what we spent all of yesterday doing! Whether you’re going to a college game or the NFL, bundle up in your team’s gear, pack some beers and game day snacks, and go watch some football! We went up to South Bend for the Miami vs. Notre Dame game yesterday, had the most perfect fall weather, and it was just the best time. And I’m not even a football person! Seeing it in person and being apart of the action totally made it worthwhile and fun for me.

What are your favorite fall date nights? I want to hear in the comments! Also, you can shop my pumpkin-patch-appropriate outfit below: