Interesting Dating Ideas

Interesting Dating Ideas

Reader Question

I've been dating my boyfriend for two years now. We started dating our junior year of high school but we knew each other since the 8th grade. Things were going great for the first year but lately we have been fighting and not getting along well. At the moment he works 40 hours a week over the course of five days and also has classes on two of those five days. I am currently out of a job and start classes in the winter semester.

I'm looking for a nice romantic date to plan for him at minimal cost due to me not having a job. We normally go to the mall and see movies on a weekly basis. We also go for a walk every Saturday night together. Some of the activities that we like to do together and with friends are browse local flea markets, play laser tag, see movies at the mall, go out to dinner, play video games. We aren't into traditional go out to a fancy dinner or cook together, or go out to clubs/parties couple. Another thing is that he is only 18 and I just turned 19. I would really like some great date ideas that would show how much I care about him since most of the fights have been my fault. I've been searching the Internet for date ideas but none of them match our personalities of being really laid back yet crazy people. Please, any ideas will be taken into great consideration.

~~Crystal

Expert Reply

Dear Crystal,

Finding creative ideas for dating can be challenging. A date does not have to cost a lot of money, but a great date does require some planning. More importantly, planning a date will show your boyfriend that you are thoughtful and do not take him for granted.

Some important tips to keep in mind when planning a date is to think EAT; E eating, A- activity and T- talking. To heat things up, add a little adrenalin rush to an activity. Adrenalin stimulates excitement, which promotes attraction. To get an adrenalin rush, think about activities that involve competition or adventure. Some of my suggestions listed below should give you some ideas. I have tried to include both ideas that you can plan for the two of you and some for other couples to join in the fun.

Indoor/outdoor adventures

1. Wall climbing, indoor skydiving, indoor/outdoor miniature golf, midnight bowling.
2. Rent a hotel room at a hotel with an indoor pool or go the YMCA or local health club and have a pool party.
3. Design a scavenger hunt with other couples and break into team. Then have barbeque.
4. Go snow tubing.

Off the beaten path activities:

1. Attend a murder mystery or host your own. If you host your own, make sure everyone comes in costume.
2. Find a corn maze, hayride or go on a haunted house tour.
3. Tours for local sports arenas, Art complexes or theater centers.
4. Many cities offer ghost tours. To find one in your location try the Internet.

Romantic ideas:

1. Plan an indoor picnic and barbeque hamburger and hotdogs. For dessert roast marshmallows. Turn up the temperature in the room and instead of putting on suntan lotion, try giving each other massages with oil.
2. Check out the local massage or reflexology schools in your area. You can get discounted massages from students.
3. Call the local cooking school and see if one of their students will make a dinner. Lunch or picnic basket specifically for you at a student cost.
4. Plan a progressive meal during happy-hours. You don’t have to go to the bar to enjoy the discounted food. Choose a theme or sample foods from around the world, i.e., Asian, Latin or Italian.

The T part of the date does not have to be serious talking. Instead use this conversation to talk about the fun activity the two of you did on your date or come up with “No one has ever asked that before” type questions. As an example, if you suddenly came into $100, 000 what type of vacation would you take and who would you bring? If you could choose one super power which would it be and why? You can develop a bunch of questions put them in a bag and each take turns pulling one out at a time and answering it. The point of a good conversation with someone you care about is that it should make you smile, give you an opportunity to get to know each others thoughts, and become more connected as you share your hopes and dreams.

~~Lori