Seven virtual date ideas for Valentine’s Day in lockdown that are actually fun

PSA: Even if she’s your girlfriend, ask her to be your Valentine

3 years ago

Boys and girls, if you’re stumped about how to make your lockdown Valentine’s special, look no further. For the last year, we have had to find different ways to date due to the pandemic. Personally, I feel like I’ve become somewhat of an expert and hopefully this article will give you some ideas to try and forget about the craziness, so get prepping.

Somehow lockdown has helped form lots of new relationships. So, if this is your first Valentine’s or fifth, here are some ideas you might like this very special Lockdown Valentine’s. Hopefully, this is the last time you’ll need to use these suggestions.

Here are our best virtual Valentine’s Day date ideas:

Cocktail making

This Valentine’s doesn’t have to mean drinking alone! Whether you’re together or apart this year you can still get down to Sainsbury’s and grab a cocktail shaker, your fave cocktail ingredients, and some painkillers for the Feb 15th headache. Then, just get dressed up and get on Zoom together.

This date idea can be super fun, try making some classic cocktails and then invent your own. But, in true Southampton fashion, you have to finish off with a Jesticle.

Painting

You’ll probably need to buy a few things for this one, but Poundland has got your back. Both of you will need to grab a couple of acrylic paints, brushes, and canvases. Decide on what you want to paint together, you could follow a Bob Ross tutorial together, or try doing portraits of each other – although be warned based on your artistic ability that could end in tears.

If you want to go sexier, you could draw each other nude. However, that assumes a lot of talent so I’ll probably stick to happy little trees.

Send each other food

As seen on TikTok, this game can mimic Valentine’s dinner but also tests how well you know your Valentine. For this, you will need to send your Valentine their fave drink, snack, dinner, and dessert. Then you can get together on Zoom and critique each other’s choices, watch a movie or just hang out and eat. If your Valentine is in Southampton I recommend using 8dol to send your food otherwise Amazon food delivery or UberEats/Deliveroo.

Puzzles or a games night

So far your Valentine’s might be looking a bit expensive. This next one is completely free and can take as long as you want. Just Google “puzzles online” and send your Valentine an invite. Hop onto Zoom and argue over pieces, disagree about whether to start with the border or not, and eventually give up- just like as if you were together. This is something a bit different but could be fun to do before one of the other ideas.

Netflix and chill

After a year of lockdown you probably already know about Netflix Party, unless you’ve been living under some kind of rock. This classic will always be a winner, I recommend getting on FaceTime so you can ask a million questions despite the fact neither of you has watched the movie before. For a more casual vibe, while making cocktails or painting, pop on a beloved series like The Office and forget about the pandemic for a few blissful hours.

Cook together or host a bake-off

Time to put your cheffing ability to the test: Decide on a recipe, get the ingredients, and try not to mess it up. This is super fun if you get your Valentine on your laptop and chop up veg and cook next to each other.

Obviously, this is more fun with a competition element so you could try a bake-off style night. Draft your ideas and set a time limit and see who’s the better Mary Berry. If you live close by you could drop off a slice of your cake to the other or get a family member or housemate to rate your creation – winner buys the booze.

Online poker

This is definitely something different, there’s plenty of websites that let you play poker with pretend money and even more with real money. All you need to do is get your poker face on, join a lobby and get betting. To make this even better maybe play with other couples and try to be the last couple standing.

Happy Valentine’s, from the Soton Tab