Top 5: Quarantine Valentine’s Day date ideas

5. High Seas Adventure: Eager to test out your sea legs with your fair co-captain? For this date, it is crucial that you and your beloved dress as pirates ready to set out to sea. The more homemade your costume is, the better. Once you are prepared to hoist the Jolly Roger and turn your sails to the wind, you must board your trusty vessel — your car will do just fine — and sail around listening to the finest sea shanties in the Seven Seas. Spotify has an excellent playlist of sea shanties, or you are free to create your own. However, be sure to pay attention to the road, err… sea, so as not to end up in Davy Jones’ Locker. Yo ho ho, you scurvy dogs!

4. Indoor Camping: Sometimes, the great outdoors can seem a little too … outdoorsy. It is probably best to forgo outdoor activities in subfreezing weather, but that does not mean you and your sweetheart have to forgo a fun camping adventure. You can always set up sleeping bags, or if your room is big enough, a tent. Turn out most of the lights and pull up a campfire on your laptop or tv and tell scary stories in the dark. You can also take a shot at making microwave s’mores; however, like in outdoor camping, please be careful not to catch anything on fire.

3. Karaoke Roulette: Are you and yours good singers? No? Perfect! This game is for you. All you need is a pair of noise-canceling headphones (really loud earbuds will do) and a good karaoke playlist. One person puts on the headphones, shuffles the playlist and sings the song that comes up. The other person has to guess what the song is based on the singing — bonus points if you sing the whole song. This date idea would probably work best in a lounge or public area so that you do not incur the wrath of sleeping neighbors or SAs, however, if you do sing in a public area, remember to wear your mask. 

2. A Night With Zoom: If you or your partner are quarantined or simply want to minimize your exposure, a Zoom date is the solution for you. Be creative! Play around with the backgrounds and filters, and use your imagination! If you want to use a beret filter, for instance, talk in a French accent. Zoom also gives you the option of uploading custom backgrounds, so there’s nothing to stop you from having dinner at a five-star restaurant in Paris, New York or Tokyo. The key is to be imaginative and have fun with your date.

1. Movies with a Twist: Are you a movie couple? Select a movie that you and your partner have not seen, and then put the movie on mute. Make up dialogue for all the characters and see if you can make it through the whole movie. Bonus points if you develop different voices for each character. To further add to the illusion, you are welcome to roll out the red carpet and dress in fancy clothes to the premiere. After all, it is your movie!