Perhaps the best way to celebrate National Boyfriend Day is to keep it simple.
Make breakfast together.
Grab coffee and sit somewhere for an hour.
Watch the sunset.
Take a walk.
Buy his favorite snack on the way home.
Write a short note and leave it somewhere he’ll find it.
National Boyfriend Day doesn’t have to be expensive—or Instagram-worthy.
Sometimes the most memorable dates are the ones where you aren’t trying very hard to make a memory.
You’re just enjoying each other.
And since National Boyfriend Day falls on Saturday, October 3, why not make a whole day of it?
No elaborate plans. No pressure. Just a Columbus County fun day with a few stops along the way.
Here are three ideas for morning, midday and evening. Pick one from each—or, if you’re feeling ambitious, make a day of all three.
MORNING
Start With Something Happening
There’s something fun about starting the day at a community event. You’re out of the house, there’s something to see and do, and you never quite know what you’ll discover.
And this Saturday, Columbus County gives you a few choices.
🎃 The Pumpkin Festival
Head to Robinson Produce Farms in Whiteville for its 2026 Pumpkin Festival.
Pumpkins, fall activities, food, vendors, live entertainment and plenty of opportunities for a few seasonal photos make this an easy way to start the day. And if you’re the couple who can’t resist a good fall picture, you’ve got your excuse.
Just don’t be surprised if one of you leaves with a pumpkin you didn’t plan on buying.
🌲 The Pine Tree Festival
Prefer something with a little hometown flavor?
Head east to Bolton for the 27th Annual Pine Tree Festival.
The annual community celebration brings together a parade, vendors, food and entertainment—and gives you a chance to spend the morning experiencing one of Columbus County’s longtime community traditions.
It’s the kind of event where you can wander, snack, people-watch and enjoy the fact that everybody seems to know somebody.
☕ The Grand Opening of K&D Brew
Or head toward Chadbourn and check out the grand opening of K&D Brew.
Grab a coffee, check out the new local spot and make the morning about discovering somewhere together for the first time.
There’s something especially fun about being able to say, “We were there when they opened.”
MIDDAY
Go on a Thrifting Adventure
Now that you’ve spent the morning out and about, it’s time for a little treasure hunting.
Thrifting is a surprisingly good couple’s activity because you never know what you’re going to find.
One minute you’re looking through a rack of clothes.
The next, you’re arguing over whether you actually need a vintage lamp.
And you might end up leaving with a book you fall in love with.
Start your adventure at Finder’s Keepers Thrift Store in Whiteville. Give yourselves a challenge: each person gets $10 or $20 and has to find something the other person would actually like.
Then head toward Tabor City and check out Families Values Two.
Maybe you’re looking for clothes. Maybe it’s furniture. Maybe it’s records, dishes, books or something completely unexpected.
The fun is in the hunt.
And if you’re really feeling adventurous, make your third stop the 4th Annual Community Yard Sale in Tabor City.
Yard sales are where thrifting gets serious.
There’s no curated display. No carefully arranged boutique shelves. Just tables, boxes, closets and garages full of somebody else’s “I don’t need this anymore.”
Which, of course, means it might be exactly what you need.
EVENING
Takeout & Imagination
Let’s be honest.
Most movies depict the perfect romantic evening as two people sitting under the stars in a field, wrapped in a blanket, gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes.
And sure, that’s nice.
But who doesn’t love eating takeout in the car and people-watching?
Or better yet—how about an actual movie at home?
It doesn’t take much to make a movie night at home feel amazing. A little food, a few colorful lights, comfortable clothes and good vibes can turn the living room into your own little theater.
And Columbus County gives you plenty of takeout options.
🍕 Pizza Village
Go classic with Pizza Village in Whiteville.
Grab a pizza, take it home and make the couch your dining room. Bonus points if you order enough for leftovers.
🍕 Franco’s NY Pizza & Subs
Want something a little different?
Pick up Franco’s NY Pizza & Subs and turn your movie night into a New York-style pizza night without leaving Columbus County.
Choose a movie neither of you has seen and let the person who didn’t pick the movie choose dessert.
🍣 Tokyo Express
Or skip the pizza entirely and make it a sushi night with takeout from Tokyo Express in Whiteville.
Put on some music while you eat, turn down the lights, break out the colorful lamps or string lights and make the evening feel like something more than just another night at home.
Then pick a movie.
Or don’t.
Maybe you end up talking through the entire thing.
Maybe you watch something neither of you would normally choose.
Maybe you fall asleep halfway through.
That’s okay, too.
Make Saturday About the Two of You
National Boyfriend Day doesn’t have to be about grand gestures.
It doesn’t have to involve an expensive dinner, a fancy gift or a perfectly planned romantic evening.
It can be a pumpkin festival.
A cup of coffee.
A community celebration.
A $5 book you found while thrifting.
A ridiculous yard-sale purchase you absolutely did not need.
Pizza in the living room.
Sushi in the car.
A movie with the lights turned low.
Or simply spending an entire Saturday together without having anywhere you have to be.
Because sometimes the best dates aren’t the ones you plan down to the minute.
They’re the ones where you simply decide:
Let’s get out and have some fun.
And there’s plenty of Columbus County to go have it in.
