It’s not every day that you want to hit the town for date night: it’s expensive, it’s tiresome and tell me it’s not just us that feel like if only one person is going to see it, it’s a wasted outfit! Better to save your fine-dining options for those special occasions and power through date-nights as a master-chef couple. If you’re already cringing at the thought, a huge pat on the back for us—because that’s exactly what we expected. Which is why we’re armed this fine day, with a few tips and tricks up our sleeves, to make your in-house date night a raging success, so read on!

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First things first: get local. When whipping up a meal for date night you want to make it special. It shouldn’t be just another regular dinner at home. And the best way to ensure that you’re going to be serving up something delicious and different is by going local. Whatever is in season and fresh, go with that. Whether we’re talking white pumpkin (doodhi), baby spinach or fresh pomfrets—by picking seasonal produce you’ll ensure that your dishes are different from the last and packed with the flavour of the month.

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Next, make your dining room or table pretty. Scented candles, bunches of fragrant flowers, dim-lighting and the fancy china—bring it all out. When people dine at home they get lazy, but if you set the mood right, you can totally transform the environment to make you feel so-not-at-home and date night will be a-boomin’.

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To really make it feel like you’re on date night, you’re going to have to cut out all the other distractions you would have at home. No TV and no phone calls. Enjoy the food, company and the ambience and give your date the respect it deserves, that is #BuzzFree.

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The biggest scare with date night in-house is that you’ll be stuck with all the work and no play. To ensure that you have as good of a time, make sure you split the responsibilities. If you’re prepping the food, make sure he’s the one cleaning up after and in charge of the music or the other way around. You can always split both jobs—let him cut, clean and dice (let’s be honest, no one wants to be left teary-eyed after a simple onion chop, so let him do it!) and you can cook and plate-up and together you can both clean while chit-chatting and stealing in some kisses and cuddles.

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Don’t get lazy with the food. We’re not asking you to reach for the stars, but one appetiser or salad, a main course and a dessert is essential. You can split the responsibilities once again—but having restaurant-like portions and courses will only add to the charm of the night.

And with that, you’ve got your perfectly planned date night at home! Enjoy the night and make it a habit so you get better and better as you go along. You’ll not only appreciate your time indoors, but it’ll make better cooks out of the two of you, you’ll have better experience entertaining and you’ll find out so much about each other along the way.