Kiss me, I’m a Trojan! 5 cute affordable and easy date ideas to do around the USC area
By: Tamanna Sood ‘24
The month of romance is coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean it has to stop! The giddiness of the love is contagious even after Valentine's Day has long passed. However, the honest and terrible truth is that finding the time to plan a cute date on a budget can be extremely stressful. Suddenly, you find yourself missing out on asking out your crush because you can’t figure out the perfect place to take them. Not on my watch!
Here’s five simple, fun, and affordable dates in the USC area that you can take your partner out to!
Paint and Picnic at the Exposition Park Rose Garden!
One of the easiest and most affordable ways to treat your partner is a well planned picnic at the most scenic place near campus! The Exposition Park Rose Garden sits across the street from campus and is known as one of the city’s best kept secrets. The Rose Garden is home to over 20,000 different roses and is easily the prettiest place (in walking distance) of the USC area.
Picture this: you and your boo chatting it up on a picnic blanket while sipping on TJ’s finest sparkling apple cider, snacking on prepackaged charcuterie platter from Target, and painting together with supplies you can also grab from Target Not only is this date fun, relaxing, and memorable, it’s only a short walk away from campus and is completely flexible to whatever budget you have.
Walk down memory lane at the Natural History Museum
If picnics aren’t your thing and you like exploring, definitely plan a cute date for your partner at the Natural History Museum. One of the many benefits of being a USC student is that you get free access to many places near campus, and one of those is the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (and is conveniently located right next to the Expo Park Rose Garden) .
The best thing about the Natural History Museum is, of course, the Dinosaur Hall. From full skeletons of multiple dinosaurs including the T.Rex to the only known pregnant plesiosaur fossil, the museum has many amazing things to see. Not only is this a date super fun, but it’s also a great way to get to know someone. The exhibits are great conversation starters for a first date!
Currently, the Natural History museum has four special exhibitions including Spiky, Hairy, Shiny: Insects of LA, Dinosaur Encounters, Scanning Electron Microscope Lab, and LA Underwater. My favorite exhibit is a part of the permanent collection called Becoming Los Angeles. It’s a beautifully curated and extremely thorough exhibit that explores the history of Los Angeles from pre-colonial times to the present.
Stop by the museum’s Nature Gardens to sit and chat on your way out. The Nature Gardens are definitely the most picturesque part of the museum and house over 600 plants, including multiple that are native to California, and animals including birds, butterflies, and squirrels. This is also a super cute picture spot if you’re looking to make it Instagram official!
Admire some art with your admirer at The Broad!
If you and your lover are anything like me, you enjoy appreciating art together. Los Angeles is an amazing city for art, and the best part is that most of the art museums are free! Coming from campus, the Broad is the definite winner as they’re in nearby Downtown LA and offer free general admission (just note that you’ll have to reserve the tickets in advance). The Broad is a beloved contemporary art museum that features modern art from the 1950s to the present day. You’ll find pieces there from artists including Roy Lictenstein, Yayoi Kusama, Jean Michel Basquit, and Andy Warhol. While the museum itself is free, do note that you’ll have to Uber or Lyft to get there, and prices will vary based on time of day.
Planning is key here, though, as some exhibits like William Kentridge: In Praise of Shadows is $18 except for Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and the Infinity Mirrored Room is free but tickets must be reserved on the last Wednesday of the month at 10 a.m. While scheduling a regular ticket is fairly easy, to maximize your experience, mark your calendars!
Target 30 minutes under 30!
If you and your partner’s love language is gift giving, this is the perfect date for you! This TikTok viral date challenge brings an edge of competition to the table giving you both 30 minutes to buy $30 worth of items in a scavenger hunt of sorts. Grab something in yourpartner’s favorite color, get their favorite snack, and pick up something new that you both want to try together. The challenge is extremely open ended and lets the players add more categories, change the times, and alter the amount you want to spend. You’ll get to see how much you know about each other and have a bunch of gifts at the end!
Can’t go out? Bring the date to you!
If midterms have you exhausted and you can’t seem to find the time to go out for a date, have a date at home! Here are some great ways to have a lovely date night in your own dorm or apartment:
Candlelit dinner!
They say that the way to the heart is through the stomach, and the easiest way to get your partner to swoon for you is to cook for them or even with them! Grab some easy groceries (my go-tos are marinara sauce, penne pasta, parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, eggs, and chicken breast to make some delicious and easy chicken parm!), put on either a YouTube video or a groovy playlist, and get in the kitchen together! If you want to spoil your partner, you could make a handwritten invite, prepare the dinner, buy a fancy tablecloth and a few candles, and tell them to dress up for a gourmet dinner at home!
Game Night!
If you and your partner love competition, this one's for you! Set up a cute game night in the comfort of your own home. Some cheap and timeless games you can pick up from Target include Uno, Phase 10, or basic playing cards! Beyond the childhood favorites, you could get to know each other better with 100 Burning Questions, and if you own any consoles or enjoy playing mobile games, the options are endless.
Movie Night!
Sometimes, all you need to catch up and make each other feel loved is a movie night. There are so many different ways you can jazz up choosing a movie off the dozen streaming platforms your parents subscribe to. Adding some fairy lights behind your TV or moving the couch pillows to the floor can make the date feel extra special. Setting up a tray with your partner’s favorite movie theater snacks to surprise them is another easy way of showing how much you care and know about them.
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