Not a Jamie Oliver in the kitchen but still want food to be part of your night at home? No problem. Order mains as takeout from your favorite restaurant and set up a romantic table for two at home (dimmed lights, candles, table linens). Ordering just entrees for takeout means you save on appetizers, marked-up wines and desserts that you'd normally order when dining out. Uncork a good but inexpensive bottle to accompany (see sidebar for suggestions), and try coercing a friend to play waiter for you, offering to do the same for them another night. Make sure they understand they're to hit the road as soon as appetites are sated. 

Maybe you both backpacked through Mexico after college or you both did exchange programs in Ecuador while in high school. Share your love of another culture by throwing an international night. Come up with an easy menu -- Mexican, for example -- and prepare your meal together. Borrow a few marimba and salsa CDs from the library to give your dining some atmosphere, and finish it off with a Mexican flick (Amores Perros is a fabulous one, if you haven't seen it) on the couch.

 

Try adding some sass to the classic movie night at home. Pick a theme like worst horror movie ever, best sci-fi flick or most unworthy Best Picture Oscar winner. Each person brings one video. Don't forget to prep your space for a night at the cinema. Pop fresh popcorn, drink your beverages through straws and make sure to watch all the DVD preview trailers to get in the mood. And, please, don't forget to turn off your cell phones.

 

You don't need to go far to take a vacation from your everyday… at least not if you have a bawdy sense of humor. Take a trip into the great outdoors with a backyard camping adventure! Set up a borrowed or rented tent and show off your inner grilling guru with dinner cooked over a camping stove (or use the barbecue if you feel like cheating). Borrow a chiminea or backyard fireplace and tell scary campfire stories while you roast marshmallows for fireside s'mores. Then, lay side-by-side on your back and look at the stars (or satellites, if that's all you can see in your location). The key to making this one as authentic feeling as possible is never going back into the house except for washroom breaks.

 

Does a little competition get your juices flowing? Up the ante with some board games made just for two. There is a modest outlay for the purchase of the initial game, but you can use it over and over again. A quick trip to your local sex shop provides a whole world of options. If pursuing passionate play is too presumptuous at this stage, borrow or rent a video game system and show off your playful side. Better yet, haul out your old Atari and Tetris game and set up cross-legged on the floor. Ms. Pacman never had it so good.