Behind the Scenes at $30DN

Learn a little more about Emma and Denis, the creators of $30DN. How $30DN first started and why they’re so cheap! Included are photos and the first designs Denis created of the $30 Date Night Generator.

Sex On The Beach

Its vacation time for Emma and me; we’ve survived the New Year festivities and are relaxing our way through a sunny beach-side Queensland holiday… The ocean is warm, the sand is gloriously soft and I’m feeling as frisky as a squid on Tuesday. Needless to say sex on the beach was a high priority on this beach-side vacation.

Sunshine and Good, Cheap Food

It was a beautiful day in Melbourne last Thursday. I always say there is nothing quite like a gorgeous Melbourne day. It is partly because we never know when the good weather might come back. It may be 30 degrees and sunny now, but by Christmas day we could have 17 degrees and pouring rain…

Something Simple

We’re up to the final letter in our ABC’s of dating, it’s the Z date! I’ve been wanting to take Emma to a Zen Meditation group. Meditation as a couple doesn’t get highly rated on $30 Date Night – nor should it… it sounds terrible!!! Which is exactly why I want to do it!

Y is for Laughter Yoga (Video)

This is one date I’ve always wanted to do. Laughter Yoga clubs exist all over the world.They are free to attend, usually held in public parks or city squares, and the benefits of practicing are enticing – more endorphins, less cortisol. An antidote for anxiety, stress and inflammation in the body. It may reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and more. You burn calories when you laugh. Best of all, you feel good!

The X Date!

Den takes Emma out on a date searching for hidden treasure… you’ll be disappointed with what they find! But, don’t let this stop you – the potential this date has to rock your sweetie’s world is HUGE – find out how… read more.

W is for Whisk(e)y Tasting

Not many of our $30 Date Nights involve alcohol due to the prohibitive cost. At best, there’s picnics with BYO wine from the cellar (doesn’t count if it was paid for eons ago… or even last week!) so you know you’re onto a good thing when you can get your hands on some hard liquor and a beer for your budget

V is for Vegetarian Feast

Our Alphabet Dating Challenge is drawing to a close and it’s getting to the pointy end of the alphabet where the letters are harder and harder to match to an appropriate date idea (X, Y, Z are all giving me cold sweats).

V, luckily, had quite a few options. Most of them food-related. I decided I was going to take Den once and for all to one of my favourite little restaurant gems…

In ‘U’SA we eat!

The concept of the “Great American Diner” is a novelty to Australia. I never knew it existed until Emma mentioned it, an all American diner in our very own backyard of Melbourne. Excited, I was dying to find out if the American Diner would cut the mustard amongst Melbournian pallets.

T is for Titanic

This was a fabulous date that we managed to squeeze in on our Vegas trip among conferencing and partying and getting married and whatnot.

And I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

For the next almost-decade, Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition will be docked at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.

S is for Shopping

I’m not one of those women who drags their husband shopping for new clothes. I always feel sorry for them, the guys who sit forlornly outside the changerooms in boutiques as their woman parades garment after garment in front of them for their “opinion”.
I saw a lot of it when I worked a brief [...]

Row Your Boat Date Idea

Includes Video! The row boat date idea on Central Park Lake – New York. Inside you’ll get tips on how to make your row boat date idea fun. The vid makes some reference to Emma’s karaoke performance in Vegas – I’ve sworn never to show it, but I’ve still got it. Make sure you comment and let her know how much you want to see it!

Q is for Quesadillas

I have to admit, Q had me stumped for awhile!

I turned to Twitter for inspiration and my fantastic Tweeps had a plethora of ideas for me… A day trip to Queenscliff, a game of quoits and a quickie among them… we settled on a late afternoon date that involved Quesadillas from Trunk Diner.

P is for Photography Night Walk

This P date was a great one. My darling husband bought me a much longed-for DSLR camera a year or so ago and I rarely get to use it for arty shots. Mostly because it’s hard to find the time

O is for Orienteering / Geocaching

Use your smart phone to locate hidden containers around you city. Daters Emma and Denis spent a few hours trekking through Melbourne CBD to see what hidden caches they could find. It’s cheap, easy to do and a fun date idea playing secret squirrel. Read more about Geocaching Melbourne CBD with $30 Date Night.

Date Night for 2011 begins! The Night Market.

The first date night for 2011 found us at the Suzuki Night Market at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne… and it was AWESOME!
You don’t want to be shy of crowds in any market – let alone the Melbourne’s Night Market – it was packed! Although I have seen it busier.
The night was warm, [...]

M is for Money

Money, money, money. Got a huge jar of spare change at your place? Cash it in at the bank and use the spoils as your date night budget this week! You won’t believe how much cash you have sitting in one little jar!

L is for Laksa

Would you believe that Emma has never had Laksa before? So this week, L is for Laksa… something new. Rce Queen. LEVEL 2 / 231 SMITH STREET, FITZROY – Melbourne (Australia). Check it out.

Fly my Kite!

In my head – I thought Kite Flying would be a breeze (no pun intended). The packaging had a label saying “not suitable for children under 36 months,” what it really should have said was “not suitable for under 32 year of age.”

J is for Jigsaw Puzzle

I loved our J date idea. It was a horrible, cold, rainy Melbourne afternoon – no one would want to be outside in that. Luckily, we were prepared and snuggled in our warm apartment with a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle that I picked up from the supermarket for $3.99…

I is for Italian Waiters Club

For a long time this iconic Melbourne establishment has been the choice restaurant for really good Italian food. It’s well hidden down an alley and up a flight of dodgy stairs.

G is (also) for Games Night!

Relationships are all about games. The Hard-to-get Game. The If-You-Don’t-Know-Why-I’m-Angry-I’m-Not-Going-To-Tell-You Game. The Hide-the… oh, nevermind. The point is…

G is for Game Show

It was quite awhile ago that a user submitted an idea to the date night generator suggesting to go participate in a studio audience.

It ticks all the boxes as far a great date night goes for us – something new we’ve never done before, cheap and above all, fun, giving you something to talk about while on your date.

Deal or No Deal, Baby!

Em’s and I have been keeping this one secret from you. G is for Game Show! DATE NIGHT on DEAL OR NO DEAL! The episode airs tonight (Thursday 15th July) – in Australia – 5.30pm EST on Channel 7.

F is for Football

With the high fever of the world cup that has been going on the past weeks, it was only logical that F be for Football in the grand scheme of Alphabet Dating.
After all, it’s only us Australians and the US that call it soccer. To the rest of the world, it is Football.

You [...]

E is for Ebay

Razzie from Melbourne, Australia submitted one of the more unusual date ideas on $30 Date Night – the ebay date idea. “one wife for sale, slightly used but still has plenty of years left in her. Needs regular attention otherwise may perform poorly. Does NOT come with a guarantee. No refunds!”

D is for Dumplings

There ain’t much romance in cheap dumplings – but who says you need romance to have a great time and a good feed?

D is for Dumplings and Delicious – you should DO it this week!

C is for Comedy Festival

And so our alphabet dating streak continues. C, for us, is for Comedy Festival which was a wonderfully spontaneous date we decided to go on last night.
What I love about the Melbourne Comedy Festival is that they run a box office from the Town Hall that you can walk into at any point during the [...]

The Complete List of $30 Date Night Reviews!

Den and I try and do a date night every week together. The catch is, we try and do something new together every time… keeps us interesting! I’ve rounded up a list of all the date night reviews we’ve done since starting this blog – and had great fun reminiscing back in the process! Click [...]

Happy Birthday to US! The Best of $30 Date Night.

I have to say, I’m a little fuzzy and happy right this second! I JUST realized that we posted our first blog entry one year ago today… Happy Birthday to us!
So, at one year old, we’re still toddling around finding our feet, but so happy to report that we are looking forward a much [...]

What’s your HOTTEST date night?

Share your most exciting date night you can remember… let us know what worked for you and the reasons why it turned you on. Click the title “What’s your HOTTEST Date Night?” and give us your secrets!