When was the last time you went on a date? Do you make date night a priority? Is the cost of date night what’s keeping you back?

Sometimes, that’s why it’s pushed on the back burner with us. But, continuing date night, even as a married couple is extremely important. So, my husband and I have liked coming up with some creative and unique ways to enjoy date night for under $50 (not including paying the babysitter) here in Wichita.

Eats and Treats Date Night in Wichita for Under $50!

• Go on a progressive fast food date. We did this while we were dating in college, and it was so fun, we did it again recently. Choose one thing from the dollar menu or value menu from a handful of different fast food restaurants. Then, either go to a local park with picnic tables or take it all home and share the feast.
• Have a fast food tasting competition. Get a chicken sandwich from a handful of fast food restaurants. Or fries. Or hamburger. Or onion rings. Whatever you decide, grab a few from different local fast food restaurants. Make sure both of you try them all. Rank them from best to worst, then compare your rankings.
• Share a pizza. Buy a large pizza from one of our local pizza restaurants. Sure, you could always go for one of the larger chains, like Pizza Hut or Little Caesars. But, we like to try the specialty pizzas from local pizzerias.
• Enjoy breakfast and coffee. The best birthday surprise my husband gave me this year was surprising me with brunch at HomeGrown Wichita–on a weekday! Switch things up a bit and visit a local coffee shop and try a new crafted hot drink and enjoy some baked pastries and breakfast food.
• Go to a local candy shop. We love visiting the different candy shops around Wichita. My husband also loves to collect regionally crafted root beer. So, we like to grab a few pieces of unique candy and a few glass bottles of unique sodas.
• Chill out with some ice cream. There are a few different ways to do this. You could go to Dillon’s or some other grocery store, buy a few different flavors or brands, and have a tasting competition. Or, you could visit one our local ice cream locations and indulge!

Entertainment Themed Date Night in Wichita for Under $50!

• Trivia night at a bar. Personally, we don’t drink alcohol. But, we branched out of our comfort zone last year and went to a local bar that was hosting a Disney Trivia competition. We are both Disney fanatics. It was super, super fun – and we got second place (losing only to a karaoke tie breaker!). Regardless if you buy food, apps, drinks, or not, there are a ton of local bars that have different themed trivia nights!
• View some art. Did you know we have plenty of art museums (as well as other museums) in Wichita? Like, a ton! Ulrich Art Museum at WSU is free. And, on Saturdays, The Wichita Museum of Art is free. Also, if you have a membership to the other local museums, take advantage of a kid-free night and enjoy them!
• Go do a drive-in movie. Starlight Drive-In is open! Go see a movie together in Derby.
• Enjoy some live music. There are so many different local restaurants that hosts live music performed by local artists. Wichita Life ICT and Visit Wichita both have great lists for when and where to catch these musicians.

Fun, Games, and Adventurous Date Nights in Wichita for Under $50!

• Visit a local arcade. Go back to the 90s and have some fun at one of Wichita’s arcades: Round 1, The Arcade, Pizza Ranch’s Fun Zone. Don’t forget to trade your tickets for prizes!
• Go bowling. You are in Wichita – you have to go bowling. Many places even have a discount day for shoe rentals and games.
• Enjoy some lawn games at Chicken N Pickle. Enjoy cornhole, shuffleboard, pickle courts, and more while you munch on some small bites and enjoy some drinks.
• Go climbing indoors. Get some energy out, get out of your comfort zone, and try some indoor climbing at Bliss Climbing and Fitness.
• Do some mini golf. The weather is getting warmer. Try some mini-golf at All-Stars. See who can stay under par.

Outdoor Dates in Wichita for Under $50!

• Take a hike. Enjoy the nice weather and go on a hike at some of Wichita’s awesome trails. Try Swanson Park, Sedgwick County Park, Pawnee Prarie Trail, or Chisolm Creek Park.
• Enjoy a picnic at the Keeper of the Plains. Walk along the riverside trail and stop at the Keeper of the Plains. Have a quaint little picnic while watching the Arkansas River flow by.
• Feed the (goat) kids. Head over to Elderslie Farm on Saturdays to feed milk bottles to the newborn kids. And, support the small business by purchasing some of their delicious homemade cheese! The Brambly Ayr is my favorite!
• Peruse the garden. Go to Botanica and enjoy the nature. Take pictures with all the flora.
• Go treasure hunting. Sign up to go geocaching. I remember my family doing geocaching back when it first started – my dad bought a Garmin GPS specifically to track the caches. We had to print out clues and directions, like a treasure map. My husband and I have gone finding a few caches since we’ve been married and it’s always fun.
• Take a late night and go stargazing. We live so close to the country, that’s its easy to drive out a bit to star gaze. Kansas countryside is absolutely stunning, and the sky is even more so at night.

Downtown Wichita Dates for Under $50!

• Tour downtown. Enjoy the architecture. Go on a history tour. Take a walk and just enjoy the sites.
• Take a bike ride. Download the Bike Share ICT app, head downtown and enjoy a bike ride.
• Have a photoshoot. Take your camera with you (or your phone if you don’t). Take turns having a downtown urban photoshoot. Try taking a tripod and setting it up so you can have some close, cute, and cuddly romantic couple pictures. Don’t forget those amazing skyline rooftop photos.
• Support Second Saturdays. Every second Saturday, different local small businesses put out their best wares for you. Go shopping at Clifton Collective, The White Building, The Work Room, and other downtown and Design District shops participating.
• Buy farm fresh. Visit one of the multitude of Farmer’s Markets in and around Wichita. Support local farmers. We love going to the Kansas Grown Farmers Market at the Sedgwick County Extension Office.

Shopping Dates in Wichita for Under $50!

• Go antiquing. Wichita has numerous antique shops. Check them out for that rare find!
• Make a Trader Joe’s run. Everyone loves Trader Joe’s. But here is the challenge – make sure you stay under $50!
• Window shop at the mall. Walk around either Towne West Square, Towne East Square, or Bradley Fair and window shop. Take note of some items your significant other might enjoy for a birthday, anniversary, or other special day.
• Shopping scavenger hunt. Print out one of our scavenger hunts for either Barnes & Noble or one of the malls. Have fun!

Service Filled Dates in Wichita

• Fill up a blessing box. Buy $50 worth of boxed and canned goods and drop them off at one of our local Paxton’s Blessing Boxes.
• Volunteer at Kansas Humane Society. Help out some animals in need by volunteering at the Kansas Humane Society.
• Donate a book. Grab some old books off your bookshelf and donate either to a local library or one of Wichita’s free little libraries. 
• Serve at a food pantry, soup kitchen, or homeless shelter. Wichita has a lot of people in need. There are plenty of places that are struggling to fill volunteer quotas due to COVID. Ask your ministry for one in need.

Dates at Home for Under $50

• Play Chopped. Have you ever watched Chopped on Food Network? Chefs are given a challenge to create a meal based on four secret ingredients. It’s tough and it’s fun to watch. There are two ways to play Chopped at home. One my husband and my favorite to do. We watch the show and pause after the secret ingredients are revealed. Then we describe what we would do with the ingredients (neither of us have any culinary experience…it’s just all in fun). We watch to see if any of the chefs do anything similar to our ideas. Another idea is to buy some random ingredients at the grocery store, take them home, and each make something different based off those ingredients. This would even be fun for a double date.
• Tackle a DIY project. Choose an inexpensive project that has been on your to-do list forever. Blast the music to some tunes from your teenage years and get it done.
• Board game marathon. Pull out all the board games. Play game after game. Make sure to have some snacks and soda…and don’t worry – it will get competitive.
• Have a movie marathon. Pop some popcorn and turn on Netflix or Disney+. We recently watched all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in timeline order – one movie a night after the kids were in bed.
• Give each other massages. Candles, lotion, music, enough said.
• Discover your family history. Get to know your ancestors. There are many local resources beside familysearch.org, such as the Wichita Genealogical Society, the Kansas Historical Society, or even the Wichita Public Library.
• Fancy night in. One of my favorite dates my husband planned this past year during the pandemic was this. He had us both dress up fancy. Then, he surprised me with candles, romantic music, and our fancy tableware with a charcuterie board of bread, oils, cheese, fruit, and chocolate. Then, after we talked and ate a bit, we waltzed around the living room.
• Watch TV on the porch. I saw our neighbors do this during the fall. Every weekend, they would start a fire in their porch fire pit. Then, they would pull out a box TV from inside the house and place it on the porch with an extension cord. Wrapped in blankets and eating s’mores, they would watch a movie as the sunset.
• Workout in the garage. Enjoy a workout together. Maybe even do some fitness challenges.
• Create some TikToks and Reels. If either of you are into social media, have some fun with creating TikToks and Reels on Instagram. There are so many funny ones and dancing ones to take inspiration from. This will also help both of you get out of your comfort zone.
• Purchase an ICT Box. Support a local subscription box by purchasing one of their boxes filled with locally sourced and created items.
• Subscribe to a date box. Subscription boxes are all the rage right now. There are so many that are dedicated to date nights and even marriage. Try the Dating Divas box – some of my college friends are actually friends with the creators.