Valentine date ideas: 30 V-Day dates for every stage

• Budgetlow
• Best fornew couples, first Valentine's
• Time1 to 2 hours

Visit two or three chocolate shops and buy one small piece at each. Taste them on a bench between stops and rank them. It's sweet in both senses and gives you plenty to talk about.

• Budgetlow
• Best fornew couples, early birds
• Time2 hours

Go to a flower market or a big florist early in the morning. Pick one flower each for the other person, without looking, and make a tiny bouquet together. Then have breakfast with the flowers on the table.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forfirst or second date
• Timeevening

Many independent and revival cinemas show classic romantic films around Valentine's Day. Old cinemas have character, and a classic film gives you an easy topic over drinks afterward.

• Budgetfree
• Best fornew couples
• Time1 to 2 hours

Each of you makes a short playlist of love songs that mean something to you. Then go for a walk with one pair of headphones each and listen to each other's picks. Explain your choices over a coffee.

• Budgetlow
• Best forplayful new couples
• Time1 to 2 hours

Head to an arcade and try to win a prize for each other. Claw machines are almost impossible, which makes winning one feel huge. The cheap plush toy becomes a souvenir of your first Valentine's.

• Budgetlow
• Best fornew couples
• Time1 hour

Buy two postcards at a café, write them at the same table without peeking and mail them to each other. They arrive a few days later, which stretches Valentine's into the next week.

• Budgetlow
• Best fornew couples, cozy nights
• Time2 hours

Shape the dough into hearts, add toppings the other person picks and bake. It's cheesy in every way and that's exactly the point.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forcouples
• Time2 hours

Sitting at a spinning wheel with wet clay is messy, funny and surprisingly romantic (yes, there's a famous film scene). Many studios run couples' classes around Valentine's Day. You come back later to pick up your wobbly bowls.

• Budgetsplurge
• Best forfoodie couples
• Time2 to 3 hours

Instead of a table in a busy dining room, book seats at the bar or the chef's counter. You watch the kitchen, sit side by side and often get to chat with the cooks. It feels more personal than a regular table.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forcouples
• Time1 to 2 hours

Dance schools often run one-off classes for couples in February. You don't need any experience. Stepping on each other's toes is part of the fun, and you'll know a few steps for the next wedding.

• Budgetmedium to splurge
• Best forcouples, special dates
• Time2 hours

Some perfumers and craft studios offer workshops where you create your own scent. Make one for each other and keep the recipe. Every time you wear it, you'll remember the date.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forcouples
• Time2 hours

Pick a scent, a color and a jar and pour your own candles. Make one for each other with a scent that reminds you of the other person. Light them at home after the class.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forfoodie couples
• Time2 hours

Learn to cook rice, slice fish and roll maki together. The first rolls fall apart, the later ones look almost professional. Then you eat everything you made.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forplayful couples
• Time2 hours

Book a private room so only you two can hear. Pick the biggest love duets and sing them dramatically. Bonus points for slow dancing during the instrumental parts.

• Budgetlow
• Best forcute couples
• Time2 hours

Find two or three old-school photo booths in your city (some bars, malls and stations still have them). Take a strip at each with a different theme: serious, silly, romantic. Keep them in your wallet.

• Budgetfree
• Best forlong-term couples
• Time1 hour

Set a timer for three minutes and ask each other questions as if you'd just met. Switch topics every round. You'll be surprised what you learn even after years. Need questions? Try our meaningful questions for couples.

• Budgetlow
• Best forcouples, nights in
• Time2 hours

Spaghetti and meatballs shared from one plate, a rooftop dance or a dinner by candlelight on the floor. Pick a movie scene you both love and recreate it at home, music included.

• Budgetmedium
• Best forcouples
• Time1 to 2 hours

In February, the sun sets early. Book a table at a bar with a city view right before sunset and watch the lights come on. Then head to dinner or home.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forcouples
• Time1 to 2 hours

Three bottles (or alcohol-free options) and three chocolates: dark, milk and something unusual. Taste them together and decide which pair works best. Take notes like experts.

• Budgetfree
• Best forcouples
• Time2 to 3 hours

Hide clues at the places that matter in your relationship: where you met, your first kiss, the café you always go to. Each clue leads to the next place. The final one leads to dinner or a small gift.

• Budgetfree
• Best forany couple
• Time1 hour

Red paper, glue, glitter, cheesy puns. Make each other old-school valentine cards and swap them. The cheesier, the better.

• Budgetlow
• Best forfoodie couples
• Time2 hours

Cook a dinner where every course is red: tomato soup, beet salad, pasta with red sauce, strawberries for dessert. It's a fun challenge and makes great photos.

• Budgetlow
• Best forcouples with a sense of humor
• Time1 hour

The day after Valentine's, stores often discount their heart-shaped chocolates. Buy a few boxes, taste them all and rank them. Celebrating a day late has never been this cheap.

• Budgetfree
• Best forromantic couples
• Time1 hour

It doesn't have to be good. A haiku, a limerick or a rhyme with terrible puns. Read them out loud to each other by candlelight and keep the paper. A bad poem from someone who loves you is still a love poem.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forfriends
• Time2 to 3 hours

Galentine's Day, usually on February 13, is a celebration of friendship. Host a brunch at home or book a table with your best friends. Waffles, sparkling drinks and long conversations.

• Budgetlow
• Best forsingle friends
• Timeevening

Invite friends who are single (or just want a fun evening), cook together and play games. Everyone brings a dish and a funny valentine for someone else.

• Budgetlow
• Best foranti-Valentine's
• Timeevening

Gather friends and sing every breakup ballad you know at full volume. Hand out a prize for the most dramatic performance.

• Budgetany
• Best forsingle, solo
• Timeas long as you like

Take yourself out: buy flowers, go to a museum, eat your favorite dessert, see a film. Spending Valentine's alone can be wonderful if you plan it like a date.

• Budgetlow to medium
• Best forcouples
• Timeevening

Bring a picnic, a blanket and a few lanterns or battery candles. Set up on the sand before sunset and eat as the sky changes color. Check local rules about fires and alcohol on beaches.

• Budgetlow
• Best forany stage
• Time1 to 2 hours

Harbor ferries, like the Manly ferry in Sydney, are a cheap way to see the city from the water. Take one at sunset, stand at the front and grab fish and chips at the other end.