12 Fun Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day from Home

Valentine’s Day from home can still be special this year - whether you’re the creative couple, the foodie couple, the competitive couple, or the athletic couple, we’ve got you covered with these 12 fun date ideas from home!

Valentine’s Day is going to be a little different this year - but spending Valentine’s Day from home can still be fun and romantic! We’ve got some great date from home ideas that will bring out your creative side, encourage quality time and will also show that special person in your life just how much you care!

1. Bake Up Some Special Valentine’s Day Treats

Take quarantine baking to another level with some delicious Valentine’s Day desserts - trust us, your significant other will think they taste even better than bakery bought treats, because these sweet treats were made specially by you. And no matter what your partners personal dietary needs or restrictions are, we’ve got you covered with everything from chocolate-y, decadent vegan brownies to sweet vanilla, gluten-free cupcakes, for simple and worry-free baking!

• For Grain-Free Chocolate Brownies: Bob's Red Mill Grain-Free Brownie Mix
• For Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies: Pyure Organic Sugar-Free Bakeable Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix
• For Gluten-Free Cupcakes: Simple Mills Grain-Free Almond Flour Baking Mix 
• For Big 8 Allergen Free Cinnamon Rolls: Chebe Grain-Free Cinnamon Roll Mix

Here’s some extra baking tips we have to make your treats even more special: Use a cookie cutter to make classic heart-shaped cookies and brownies! Or add some food colouring to your icing for pink and red cupcakes and cinnamon rolls!

2. Make a homemade Valentine’s Day card 

Dig deep into your creative side and make a homemade valentine! Everyone appreciates a thoughtful, homemade gift and making your own Valentine’s Day card allows for you to express how you feel about your partner in your own way! You’ll feel like you’re back in elementary school, making a special valentine for your crush! And whether you wish to make it funny, sentimental or cute, this allows you to personalize your card and cater it specifically to how you feel about your special relationship with your partner. Plus, a homemade valentine is a sweet keepsake that they can save forever.

3. Heat things up, by cooking Valentine’s Day dinner together

Cooking together can be a romantic moment shared between a couple - it encourages good communication, listening to one another, and attending to each other's needs. It’s also exciting to learn a new recipe or to make a favourite takeout inspired meal together at home!

Here are some ingredients you’ll need if you want to make  . . .

Keto Pizza with Pesto:

Pizza crust 

Pizza sauce

Mozzarella cheese

Personal choice of toppings

Pesto to drizzle on top (or can use as sauce base)

Vegetarian Penne with Vodka Sauce:

Vodka Pasta sauce

Penne pasta

Roasted tomatoes

Parmesan cheese

Crushed red pepper flakes

Gluten-Free Tacos:

Taco shells or tortilla wraps

Taco beef seasoning  

Ground beef

Salsa

Guacamole mix 

Hot sauce

Avocado

Choice of toppings 

Making dinner from home tip: Put on some music, set the table nicely with some candles, and most importantly, put your phones away at dinner so you can be fully present and enjoy the moment together!

4. Create a charcuterie board for your Valentine’s Day Date from Home

Eating is a sensory experience and sharing food is intimate - especially when you add the variety of salty, sweet, and savoury flavours (and textures) of a charcuterie board into the mix! Now, we know making a charcuterie board can be intimidating, especially if you’ve never made one before, but we’ve made it super easy and broken it down for you:

The key components of a charcuterie board are cured meats (you can sub out if you are vegetarian), raw nuts and dried fruit, fresh fruit, crackers and crisps, olives, pickled vegetables, cheese (or vegan alternatives) and spreads, like hummus, mustard and olive tapenade. You can also add some dark chocolate, honey and jams as well, to amplify the sweetness! There are endless food mix possibilities for a charcuterie board, which makes it easy to cater to special dietary needs. 

Arrange and decorate your board however you please! Tip: If you don’t have a board, there’s no stress! You can use a wooden cutting board (one used strictly for cutting vegetables), a large serving tray, or a baking tray. 

Your charcuterie board should be colourful, full of various textures and shapes, and filled completely so you don't see the board or tray underneath. Use little bowls for dips and nuts. Add cheese knives and spoons. Finalize the look with fresh thyme, mint leaves and pretty flowers as decoration! 

Place your charcuterie board on the living room table, or somewhere that requires you both to sit on the ground. Place some pillows around and enjoy with some wine or a mocktail!

5. Make your own edible arrangement for Valentine’s Day

Edible arrangements are pretty, but they are pricey, and since at home deliveries are more common due to Covid-19 and recent lockdowns, these companies are definitely going to be even more busier than usual! But making your own edible arrangement really isn’t that hard, all you’ll need are some fun cookie cutter shapes, fresh fruit (such as pineapple, melons, strawberries, blueberries and grapes), chocolate chips, floral foam, wooden skewers, some greenery and a small to medium flower pot or vase (with a narrow neck).

A quick how-to: 

1. Place one cup of chocolate chips in a small pot until melted. Take fresh strawberries (washed, with stem and leaves still on) and very carefully, dip them into the melted chocolate. Sit these on plate with parchment paper to dry and wait for them to dry and harden. 
2. While the strawberries harden, take your melon and pineapple and slice them into flat disks. Using your cookie cutters, cut shapes into the melon and pineapple.
3. Once strawberries are hard, you’re ready to start arranging! Grab your fruit shapes and your blueberries and grapes (make sure these have been washed as well).
4. Take a skewer and arrange your fruits in various patterns to your own preference. Leave about  ¾ to half the skewer free (this will come in handy when arranging your edible bouquet in the pot or vase).
5. Leave a few chocolate dipped strawberries on a skewer by itself, to imitate “roses”.
6. Play around with different shapes and designs until you are happy with how they look. You should make about 8-12 skewers, depending on the size of your pot and how full you want your arrangement to be.
7. Once skewers are prepped, take floral foam and fit it into the base of your choice of pot or vase. Once secure, begin to arrange your fruit skewers to your liking. Play with different heights, by trimming some of the skewers with scissors.
8. Add greenery to fill in any spaces you wish to cover.
9. Wrap a bow around the neck of the vase or the pot.

And there you go, any easy, DIY edible arrangement - perfect for gifting and for snacking on after your Valentine’s dinner!

6. Have some festive Valentine’s Day treats for dessert 

Keep with the Valentine’s Day theme of chocolate and red, white and pink treats! We’ve curated a list of festive, Valentine’s inspired treats for you to amp up your date from home this year:

• Simply Delish Sugar Free Raspberry Jel Dessert
• Tony's Chocolonely White Chocolate Raspberry
• E&C’s Heavenly Hunks Gluten-Free Cookies Cranberry White Chip
• SmartSweets Plant-Based Low Sugar Sweet Fish
• Nocciolata Organic Hazelnut & Cocoa Spread Dairy-Free
• Simply Delish Sugar Free Strawberry Pudding

7. Give a gift basket with their favourite treats for Valentine’s Day

Candy and chocolates go hand in hand with Valentine's Day, and this year’s date from home is no different! However shopping for a significant other with food or diet restrictions can be hard. But we’ve got you covered, with a variety of treats, no matter personal diet restrictions or requirements. We make it easy to cater your shopping experience to accommodate a specific diet using the helpful dietary categories on our website (or click the following links: Keto, Paleo, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free and Vegan). And receive sweet treats right to your home doorstep!

8. Have a Valentine's Day movie night from home with some salty snacks!

Grab some pillows and blankets and cozy up with a movie (perhaps a classic romantic comedy? The cheesier, the better!). But a movie night is never complete without some yummy snacks - we think that a night at the movies calls for something salty, just like you’re at the movie theatre! Snack on some of our favourites: Mexican-style Siete tortilla chips, or handfuls of Lesser Evil popcorn - for a snack-filled, movie night at home! 

9. Shake up some Valentine's Day mocktails in the kitchen 

Get your mixology on and amplify Valentine’s Date night from home, with easy-to-make, but pretty looking mocktails! There are many different tasty mocktail variations to suit everyone's taste buds - from virgin cesars to mojitos to iced tea and daiquiris! If you’re looking for a new recipe inspiration, try out our Orange-Ginger Juice Mocktail or a Cinnamon Orange Iced Tea, for a delicious and refreshing mocktail.

10. Treat your partner to a Valentine’s Day breakfast in bed

Nothing like cooking up a delicious, hearty breakfast to show your significant other how much you appreciate them. This simple, but sweet gesture, is sure to start off your Valentine's Day right! Cook up some delicious chocolate chip pancakes with all of the fixings - whipped cream, fresh fruit, and tons of drizzled syrup!  Make some diner inspired home fries and season with everything bagel seasoning for some added flavour! And we didn’t forget, breakfast is never complete without a fresh cup of coffee - add a splash of pecan caramel or vanilla bean creamer, sure to make your Valentine’s Day from home super sweet!

11. Bring out your fun side this Valentine’s Day with a game night 

A games night can bring out the fun, competitive side in you and your partner! Break out the old board games, start up the video game console, or grab a deck of cards - and get ready for some friendly competition! Winner gets the last pack of SmartSweets sour blast buddies!

If games aren’t really yours and your partners thing, a puzzle is a relaxing, low-key alternative. Or break out the paint brushes and have yourselves a paint night!

12. Spend Valentine’s Day from home with a virtual workout or yoga class 

Sign you and your significant other for a virtual class, that you can do together right in your living room! Partaking in a class together, trying something new, exercising together, are all good ways to promote a healthy and strong relationship. And also add something fun and different to your regular at home workout routine!

And there you have it! Celebrating Valentine’s Day may be a little different this year, but love is still in the air and date night can still be exciting, with these 12 Valentine’s Date ideas you can do from the comfort of your own home!