Hallowe'en date ideas for couples who’d rather stay in and get a little unhinged

You don't always have to opt for a hectic party or fancy costumes on Hallowe'en night. There are some times when the only thing worth doing on such a day is to lock yourself in with your significant other and play a trick or two. Picture haunted gingerbread houses, murder mystery games, bloody spa treatments, and ghoulish flower arrangements.

Looking for ideas for a fun yet spooky date night? Here are some of the most thrilling experiences to give a romantic night a little more excitement: 

Make a haunted gingerbread house

No more charming gingerbread homes. This year for Hallowe'en, get ready to construct a haunted mansion out of gingerbread. Think lopsided roofs, candy tombstones, and chocolate spiders, all drenched in icing and straight out of some kind of paranormal nightmare. Put on the timer, turn it into a contest and watch your dark architecture side shine through. Winner takes all; loser does the dishes. Romance, but make it vicious.

Turn your bedroom into an escape room

The bedroom has officially been turned into a crime scene where one of you must find a way to evade a curse within 45 minutes from now, before midnight. Conceal messages in the books, leave keys under the cushion and place cryptic messages in the envelopes scattered around. Add a story background to the whole game and create that suspenseful atmosphere. And as a reward, the last locked box might contain a love letter, a small gift or your loved one’s favoruite snacks.

Host a potion-making competition

Welcome to your personal witch's lab, where the drinks are cursed and marshmallows are screaming out for you to set them ablaze. Go ahead and fill up on your favourite spirits, flavoured syrups, gummy worms, eyeballs floating candies, and marshmallows galore! Then challenge yourself to concoct an original Halloween drink recipe with some foggy effects, blood-red rimming and spell book-worthy drink names. Consider something like hot cocoa spiked with toasted marshmallows, blackberry margaritas, or a red concoction garnished with gummy fangs. Your task is to concoct something both tasty and dramatic with a wicked looking appearance.

Solve a murder before dessert

There’s a made-up murder, an odd timeline, and a bunch of mysterious notes and you only have 60 minutes to discover the killer. This is a romantic evening, but with a twist; this one’s for the detectives. Hide evidence, set up combination locks, and mysterious notes which will help uncover the truth. Collaborate to solve the mystery or race against time to see who has the better sleuthing skills. You lose and have to buy dessert or plan the next date.

 
Check into a vampire blood spa

This is your call to enter the villain phase, but the only thing that will be drained tonight is you! Turn your room into a crimson fantasy by adding burgundy towels, red rose petals, candle light and pomegranate beverages. Add face masks, feet soak, hand massages, and black robes. Prepare small menu cards of indulgent procedures such as Blood Moon Facial and Crimson Rose Treatment followed by red velvet desserts. This gives you Gothic romance and nothing else.

Have a gothic flower-arranging date

Flowers, but let them have a touch of darkness. Get those deep red roses, those dark green leaves and dead flowers, and while away the evening making bouquets of them bound together with black ribbon and vintage-inspired paper. Make it personal by selecting flowers which have some meaning for both of you – perhaps some memory or joke that only the two of you know, or simply something that you like about one another. Here’s the twist: Give your partner a bouquet and show them yours at the very same time.

Host a pumpkin art show

Who ever said pumpkin carving was a knife-filled, messy, gory activity? Just gather some pumpkins along with some acrylic paint, markers, and stick-on jewels and let the wild creativity flow. Opt for creepy faces, gothic designs or even designs that only the creator comprehends. Turn the music up, snack on salted roasted pumpkin seeds, and add an overly dramatic name like a gallery piece to the finished product. The victor picks the next date night.

The best Hallowe'en dates are the ones that turn an ordinary night into a memory worth keeping. Add your favourite person, a little spooky energy and absolutely no plans to behave.

Lead image: Getty Images 

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