Valentine’s Day, while fun, can also bring with it lots of societal pressures, like feeling obligated to purchase expensive gifts and plan out some big date in order to “wow” your partner.

But it can be hard to go all out for that special someone while also being a college student, especially if you’re trying not to spend too much money. So here are some great fun and affordable date ideas for this Valentine’s Day to keep your budget on track broken into two sections: “Outside Offerings” and “Indoor Activities.”

Outside Offerings:

A Picnic at Elanor Tinsley Park

A section of Houston’s Buffalo Bayou Park, you can enjoy the day’s forecasted mild weather and the city’s pretty skyline view. Bonus points if you guys show up early for sunrise or stick around until sunset.

You can check the park out on the Downtown Houston Website.

Bowling at Armadilla Lanes

Armadilla Lanes is a bowling alley located in nearby Pasadena, and asks for $6 per person in a game, plus another $5 for the shoes. So, for a total of around $22, two people spending some quality time getting to bowl a game isn’t too bad.

The bowling alley itself also has a super vintage vibe to it, which makes for a more intimate experience compared to lots of newer (and more expensive) bowling alleys you’ve probably already been to.

You can find the addresses for both the Pasadena and Houston locations on their website.

Paying Cidercade a Visit

Cidercade in Houston houses over 275 arcade games, both new and classic, and grants visitors access to all of them with the purchase of a $12 entrance fee per person. No tickets, coins, or anything else. For those looking to try lots of different things out, a place with this many offerings that stays open until Midnight and offers access to all games for just $12 is a pretty sweet deal.

To get an even better idea of all that Cidercade has to offer, you can check their website out here.

Finding Some Festive Foods and Snacks

Grabbing heart-shaped food is also a very fun and festive way to spend the holiday. A couple major brands joining the fun this year are Marcos Pizza, which are offering a heart-shaped pizza starting at $7.99, and Chick-fil-A with their heart-shaped trays of Nuggets for $18, Chick-N-Minis for $12.35, and their Chocolate Chunk Cookies for $9.49. 

Indoor Activities:

Painting Together

Picking up a small pack of cheap brushes, reasonable quality acrylic paint, and affordable canvases can easily come in at under $15 from most big box stores.

And better yet, painting together at home isn’t just a great way to bond with your partner, the end result can also double as a touching (or funny, depending on how you do) gift to one another.

Scrapbooking and Bonding Time

Sometimes, just writing love letters and watching a movie is all you need.

Or, getting craft supplies and making a scrapbook page highlighting your favorite moments together to showcase can be really special and, again, also double as a gift.

To print out your favorite pictures together, your local Walgreens starts printing at 0.29 cents per 4×6 picture. 

Baking Together

Baking together can be a real test of love and patience. Commonly considered to get really expensive very quickly, couples looking to save some money while also baking a sweet treat together can always go for box cake mixes, like those that can be found at Walmart, for what feels like pennies on the dollar.

But for those wanting the full baking from scratch experience without stretching their wallet too thin, some stores that sell more affordable ingredients used for baking include Food Town and Aldi locations.