Use button to trigger date picker
<html lang="en"> <head> <title></title> <link type="text/css" href="js/themes/base/ui.all.css" rel="stylesheet" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/jquery-1.3.2.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/ui/ui.core.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="js/ui/ui.datepicker.js"></script> <link type="text/css" href="js/demos.css" rel="stylesheet" /> <script type="text/javascript"> $(function() { var pickerOpts = { showOn: "button" }; //create the date picker $("#date").datepicker(pickerOpts); }); </script> </head> <body> <div class="row"><label>Enter a date: </label><input id="date"></div> </body> </html>