COVID-19 vaccine rollouts may be ramping up but here in Montreal, we're still in the red zone for the time being. With private gatherings limited to those in your household, it's the perfect time to get up-close-and-personal with your boo — and these date ideas will help.
If you're sick of ordering in and passing out in front of the TV, we've come up with a list of better ways to spend quality time with a special someone... and, as per red-zone regulations, you don't even need to leave the house to keep your lockdown love going strong.
Try a new crafting hobby together à la Ceramic Café
Why You Need To Do It: No matter your interests, it's the perfect time to learn a new skill. Recreate the pottery scene from Ghost by grabbing blank ceramic items and paint from a local Montreal craft store.
Le Ceramic Café, which has several locations around the city, also has an online store with everything you need to paint ceramics at home.
Try some really funky food mixtures from Montreal restaurants and see which ones taste best
lgrosluxe | InstagramWhy You Need To Do It: Five Guys fries in vanilla ice cream? Peanut butter and pickles from Schwartz's? Chocolats Favoris on cheese pizza?
Try out the grossest-sounding food combinations you can think of and rank your favourites together!
Recreate your favourite Quebec spa at home
Albertshakirov | DreamstimeWhy You Need To Do It: If you've been missing weekend spa days at Polar Bear's Club or Bota Bota in Montreal, you can create your own spa day with your partner at home, complete with mud masks, mani-pedis and couples massages.
Recreate Montreal's food scene with an international tapas bar from your own kitchen
Svitlana Tereshchenko | DreamstimeWhy You Need To Do It: The pandemic has been especially hard on those of us who were regulars and aficionados of Montreal's multicultural restaurant scene.
Draw inspiration from your favourite Montreal boulangeries and boucheries to create the most eclectic home tapas bar ever!
Step out of your comfort zone and try foods from different cultures that you've never tasted before.
Challenge each other to a Montreal-style bake-off
Milkos | DreamstimeWhy You Need To Do: Which one of you is really the Délices Lafrenaie cake boss? Challenge each other to the ultimate bake-off to see who can make the best Montreal desserts of your choice, from cannolis to crêpes.
Learn each other's love languages (and we don't mean English or French)
Milkos | DreamstimeWhy You Need To Do It: While most Montrealers are bilingual, they may not be well-versed in the many languages of love.
Learn whether your partner(s) prefer quality time to physical touch, or if they see gift-giving as the ultimate expression of your feelings.
Explore Montreal films
Why You Need To Do It: If you haven't explored the plethora of amazing cinematic experiences that were made in the 514, it's the perfect time! Especially if you've found someone you can stand to be with for at least two hours.
We recommend Jean-Marc Vallée's C.R.A.Z.Y. or Xavier Dolan's Laurence Anyways.
Take a romantic bath with BUTR bath bombs
Why You Need To Do It: The warm water will relax you and the new setting might bring about new topics of conversation.
Sprinkle some rose petals, sip on some wine and pop in a bath bomb from Quebec company BUTR for added romance and spice.
Plan a post-COVID road trip
Why You Need To Do It: Your brain has a hard time distinguishing between imagination and reality, according to science. So if you're feeling claustrophobic, plan out the first trip you'll take once lockdown ends — down to the nitty-gritty details.
We're betting domestic travel will be back before international travel, so daydream about all the amazing road trips you can take across our own belle province.
Sing your heart out at a DIY karaoke night
Why You Need To Do It: You wouldn't want to share a microphone with a stranger right now. But your significant other? Bring on the Celine Dion. There are tons of karaoke machines available on Amazon.
Pair it with some sake and hang some strobe lights for added fun. Trying to hit the high notes will be the most dangerous part of the night!
Put on a performance for each other like you're at Cabaret Mado
Why You Need To Do It: If you're bored of looking at your partner's face, why not give them a new one? Dress each other up in costumes and prepare a performance for each other.
You have the option to film it and post it... or not. It'll be just like a show at Mtelus... or not.
"Camp" out under the stars
Why You Need To Do It: If creepy crawlies and sleeping on the cold ground isn't your thing, you can turn your house into a campsite by putting up a tent, cuddling up under sleeping bags, lighting a fire (if you have a fireplace) and toasting some marshmallows.
If you don't have access to fire, dipping marshmallows in Chocolats Favoris fondu works just as well.
If you want to make it extra special, get an LED projector off Amazon that turns your room into its own galaxy. You and your boo will feel like you're floating in space.
