Collin and I have a great relationship, but it's been hard for us to spend much time together lately. With both of us being small business owners and his income from the ambulance being our only stable income, it's been a challenge. He's working when I'm not and I'm home when he's at work. It's a pretty crazy life for us and it's caused it's share of problems. Because of that, we decided that we need to make dedicated time for ourselves as a couple.
Why am I telling you all of this? Well...because it spawned a project, that's why. I decided that we needed to start having some fun and interesting dates, doing things out of the ordinary like we used to. We've become too accustomed to just spending our time together vegging out on the couch. Don't get me wrong, that's quite lovely sometimes, but it's just not as much fun as I think we can have. And we both could definitely use a little fun.
So...I came up with the idea of the date box. I've created a list of date ideas that I've made into cards. Each week we'll draw an idea from the box and that will be our date for the week. If it requires more planning, then it will be our date in two weeks and we'll pull another card. There's no bailing out on a card just because we "don't feel like it". If the date is simply not feasible (due to season or budget constraints, etc.), then it goes back in the box. Once a card is pulled, it comes out of the running and gets stored away until we go through the remainder of the box. This way we still keep things fun and interesting. And along the way, as we think of other good ideas, we can continue to add to the box.
In order to keep this post from being crazy long, I've decided to break this project into three parts. This post is all about the list. I'll give you some ideas of where I found items for my list (hint: you need a Pinterest account) and then I'll even be so nice as to share pieces of my list with you. (I'm currently over 250 items.)
Part two will be all about the box and how I made it. It's fairly simple, but I think it's cute. We'll see what the verdict is...
And finally, part three is how I made the cards themselves. I busted out some serious Publisher skills and learned a few new tricks along the way that I think just might help me in a few other projects to come.
So...on with part one...the heart of the project. In order to pull dates, you first have to have some ideas. I had a few just based on dates that we had been on before or things that we've always said we wanted to do. But...I wanted us to break out of our shells here and there. So, as is of course totally rational and normal, I turned to Pinterest. I did a search and came up with a pretty decent group of websites that have wonderful date ideas. Some of them were great ideas, some weren't quite our style, and some just gave me a spark that led me to other unlisted idea. I'll tell you right now that there's no way I could've come up with this many ideas without Pinterest. Did I mention Pinterest?
I built my list in Excel. I listed everything out one thing at a time and then organized it in a sort from A to Z. I'm a little OCD like that. I want it organized. Organized = pretty. The plan is to add items as I find them.
By now you're just all chomping at the bit wanting all my hard work in your lap. I know you're just here for the list. Well...fine. I guess I'll indulge you. Some ideas are simple, some are cute, and some are quirky. I'm providing an edited list, as some of the items are really things that are location specific or relationship specific to us. There are also some ideas that can function as multiple dates. Hopefully some of these ideas will be helpful to you and your sweetheart. Happy Dating!!
160 Date Ideas
1. A game of tennis.
2. Go to a baseball game together.
3. Go to the batting cages.
4. Be a tourist in your own city and take pictures of the places you visit.
5. Take a bike ride.
6. Go bowling!
7. Go on a brewery tour.
8. Build a firepit for the patio.
9. Build furniture forts and wage war with paper airplanes.
10. Have a "Choose Your Own Adventure" date : Preplan with a story of your date. Create choices at specific points in the date that will lead you to one of two to three possible locations or activities.
11. Play the "Chopped Challenge". Pick 4 ingredients out of your kitchen and see who can come up with the best dish in twenty minutes. This might result in some interesting food choices...
12. Clean out the bedroom closet and donate clothes.
13. Go to an indoor climbing wall.
14. Go climb trees. Take photo evidence!
15. Color pictures together.
16. Cook together. Take turns with parts of the recipes.
17. Take a cooking class together.
18. Get couple's massages.
19. Have a crazy dinner. Go to the supermarket. Each person gets $5. Pick out any food item(s) you want and make a meal. (Candy is not off limits!)
20. Take dancing lessons.
21. Date Night in a Bag - Bubble Bath Date. Create a small group of items that fit together for a theme. Make a night based on those items.
22. Date Night in a Bag - Exercise Date
23. Date Night in a Bag - Game Date (Include treats.)
24. Date Night in a Bag - Italian Date (Movie, Food & Treats)
25. Date Night in a Bag - Memory Date (Places We've Been)
26. Date Night in a Bag - Movie Night
27. Date Night in a Bag - Our Favorite Things Date
28. Date Night in a Bag - Picnic Date
29. Date Night in a Bag - Rock Star Date
30. Date Night in a Bag - Spa Date
31. Date Night in a Bag - TV Date Night (Watch a whole season of one of your favorite shows.)
32. Take a daytrip.
33. Go see some dinner theater.
34. Do some Goodwill shopping!
35. Do the lamest tourist thing you can think of, but that you've always wanted to do.
36. Dollar store date! Each person gets $5 to purchase items to use on a date. Be creative!!
37. Go on a double date.
38. Dress up fancy and head out to dinner.
39. Drive aimlessly to somewhere unknown and have dinner in a city you've never been to. With fake names.
40. Go to the drive-in movies.
41. Eat a picnic lunch in a roundabout.
42. Eat hibachi together.
43. Go to the park and feed the ducks.
44. Find a local cheese tasting...or make your own.
45. Visit a local art exhibit.
46. Attend a local film festival.
47. Go fishing.
48. Float the river.
49. Go to the park and fly a kite.
50. Have a fondue night.
51. Go to an orchard and do some fruit picking.
52. Get a palm reading.
53. Go camping.
54. Go for a boat ride.
55. Take a scenic drive.
56. Go geocaching.
57. Go hiking.
58. Go horseback riding.
59. Go ice blocking.
60. Go ice skating.
61. Go "off the grid" for a weekend. No phones, no internet.
62. Go out for breakfast.
63. Go out for ice cream or frozen yogurt.
64. Go out for sushi.
65. Go swimming.
66. Visit a bookstore and leave notes to future readers in your favorite books.
67. Go to a carnival.
68. Go to a concert.
69. Have dinner at a diner and share a milkshake.
70. Buy something local from a farmer's market.
71. Have your fortune told.
72. Sing at a karaoke bar.
73. Have dinner at a new restaurant.
74. Visit the planetarium.
75. Go to a restaurant and convince the cook to create something completely new for you.
76. Watch a roller derby.
77. Shoot em' up at the shooting range.
78. Go to a wine tasting.
79. Go to the opera or the symphony.
80. Head to the airport. Spend the weekend at the location with the cheapest, soonest flight.
81. Visit the aquarium.
82. Go to the gym together.
83. Bet on the ponies at the racetrack.
84. Baha out on the sand dunes.
85. Go go-kart racing.
86. Have a backwards date. Eat dessert first!
87. Have a living room camp out.
88. Watch a movie marathon.
89. Have a poker tournament. Bet with candy.
90. Have an indoor unbirthday party.
91. Head to the coffee shop and just chill out.
92. Go to a local flea market.
93. Visit the museum.
94. Go to the water park!
95. Visit the closest amusement park.
96. Go see the animals at the zoo.
97. Have high tea at a hotel.
98. Watch a hockey game.
99. Play horseshoes.
100. Go house "hunting". Look around and see if you can find your dream house.
101. Play laser tag.
102. Lay in the backyard and look up at the stars.
103. Go on a letter date. Roll a 26 sided die or randomly pick a letter. Everything on the date should be themed to that letter. Roll an "H"? Go have some Hawaiian food, watch a hockey game and spend the night holding hands.
104. Take a long walk around the block.
105. Play MadLibs.
106. Bake a cake.
107. Make a family tree.
108. Have breakfast in bed.
109. Make chocolate chip cookies from scratch together.
110. Make chocolate covered strawberries.
111. Make homemade ice cream.
112. Make S'mores.
113. Make your own sundaes.
114. Make your own sushi.
115. Go mini-golfing.
116. Play a game of Monopoly.
117. Go rent a paddleboat.
118. Paint some pottery.
119. Go on a Passport date. Theme your date to a specific location. Provide your date with a fake passport and airline tickets.
120. Go people watching at the mall.
121. Have a picnic on the beach. If you don't leave near the ocean, find a lake, river or pond.
122. Plant a garden.
123. Play "guess and tell" to get to know each other more.
124. Go to an arcade.
125. Play croquet.
126. Play frisbee.
127. Build something together out of Legos.
128. Put together a puzzle.
129. Make a family photo album.
130. Read a book together.
131. Go golfing.
132. Restaurant hop. Go to a different restaurant for each course.
133. Take a ride in a hot air balloon.
134. Go skating at the roller rink.
135. Go on a scavenger hunt. Create the list of items by suggestions from Facebook friends.
136. Play Scrabble.
137. Go see a play.
138. Visit an astrologer.
139. Shoot some pool.
140. Shop for something new: One for him & one for her.
141. Sit outside and watch the sunset.
142. Spend the night at a local B&B.
143. Have a slumber party. Eat dinner in bed.
144. Take a bubble bath together.
145. Take a historical tour of your home town.
146. Go test drive a car.
147. Visit a bakery and pick out a treat.
148. Go to a bar with live music.
149. Visit a nearby landmark.
150. Volunteer together.
151. Walk around the city and perform short silent plays in front of security cameras.
152. Play WalMart Bingo.
153. Watch a movie you've never seen before. Set on mute and improvise the dialogue.
154. Go whitewater rafting.
155. Take a camera and a pair of boots. Make a photolog of a day in the life of the invisible man.
156. Write bucket lists.
157. Write a story together. Outside a cafe. Ask strangers for help.
158. Go yard sale treasure hunting - each person gets a $10 limit.
159. Take a yoga class.
160. Recreate your first date.
Plenty of choices! I'm sure you can come up with some creative ideas of your own. Have a great time dating your sweetheart!
This post is part of two separate series. See the entire list of creative crafting posts here. I will add links to the other two parts of "Take Me Home Tonight" as they are posted.
Love it! We haven't done anything interesting together in ages!
ReplyDeleteThis is an ancient post in terms of blog time, but oh my, is it a goodie! I'd love to do something like this with my boyfriend! :) Has it worked out well for you two?
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yes and no...when we use it, it goes well. Nice and spontaneous. However...we've kind of forgotten it for a while. It's time to break it back out. We've gotten in a rut.
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