20 Date Ideas To Grow Your Bond

If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times, I don’t look online for relationship advice anymore but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy hearing other people’s stories or experiences. I also like looking for cute ideas, “d.i.y romance” you could call it. The typical humdrum “dinner and a movie” gets old, here is a few ways to spice it up or just wow on a first (or any) date.

Choose Your Own Adventure Date

There are a couple of different ways to plan this. If you want to go all out you can plan a scavenger hunt. Leave notes with 2 choices on a notecard and let them pick. Or use a site like Qzzr to send them a quick little pop quiz. This may seem like a lot of work but Qzzr does all the work. Just pick a few possible date ideas: Hike followed by picnic, crash a local sporting event, bar hopping in a different side of town (with uber in tow), wine tasting or a local brewery tour. Then create a few questions to gauge their mood.

Do you want to be inside or out?

Do you want to drink water or beer?

Eat there or before?

Go see a local  band neither of you have heard of

Live shows are always an awesome date. Music, beer and possibly dancing. Even if you can’t shell out for tickets to Coachella, you may discover your new favorite band or local artist and can say you were a fan before they got cool

Make a “No pay for a day” rule

Google tourist attractions and see what activities there are to do in your city. Many tourist spots don’t change an entrance fee because they clean up on the extras (gift shops, pictures, etc.) Or just go to a nearby river or lake and enjoy a walk and pack a picnic. 

 

Find your inner kid

Build a pillow and blanket fort in your living room and read your favorite childhood stories or play board games. Set up a comfy place on the floor and eat the snacks you loved as a kid while watching Disney and Pixar movies. 

My favorites: The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. 

Get a room

Rent a nice hotel room and make it a technology free zone. Order pizza, bring a bottle of wine and just talk. You can even bring cheesy quizzes or getting to know each other games and just connect without the outside world.

Film Festival For 2

Make your own food trays and grab you favorite candy and settle in for a day in a different world.

I recommend The Pirates of the Caribbean saga.

Go on a double date or a group hang

You don’t want to be one of those couples who blows off their friends because they found love. Go out with another couple or a group of friends, seeing your significant other with their friends can open your eyes to new stuff…not to mention they probably have some great stories about them.

Try a meet up experience together

The older you get, the busier life gets and it’s easy to stop doing the little things you used to enjoy. There are tons of other adults who are interested in doing things they used to like playing kickball or improv so why don’t you both step out of your normal routine and do something fun and random together.

Play ball

We sit too much! Go find a local court or course and have a fun game of your favorite sport. Make a bet to keep it interesting, loser buys dinner.

Take a dance class

Even if you have 2 left feet you are bound to bond at a dance class. Everyone else will be learning too so there is no need to be intimidated. Bonus: This gives you an excuse to get extra close!

Show off your smarts- Find  trivia night

Most bars have a trivia night. This is a great excuse for you to come up with a silly team name and show off your useless knowledge of pop culture or those history facts you memorized in high school. Intelligence is incredibly sexy.

Play American Idol

Go to a karaoke bar… if neither of you wants to sing then take turns “judging the contestants” not heckling or making fun of them. This is a really good way to gauge someone’s season of humor… you can talk in your best Simon Cowell accent.

Read

Go to a bookstore and pick out a book for each other then snuggle up with a blanket and some wines or take turns reading to each other.

Make up your own story

Go online and look for some mad libs then take turns picking the words and reading the story.

 

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Play would you rather

I have played this with friends, family and partners. It is not only a great conversation starter but really gives people an insight into who you are. Would your s.o. rather become a zombie or fight them Walking Dead style? These are things you need to know.

My favorite site is Rrrather because while there are some silly questions, there are some serious prompts as well.

Get Cooking

Find a fancy dish neither of you has made before to make together and see how it turns out… have takeout menus on standby.

Zoo or aquarium

Take an afternoon and spend some time watching animals and walking around.

You pick I pick dates

Each of you pick a new idea you haven’t done together before. Set parameters so you aren’t going from a hike to a wine bar. Or each pick something to teach each other. Teach him how to roller skate, then let him teach you how to make his super secret Bar-b-q sauce. This gives you a chance to bond and connection.

Consult the mystics to see if your love is meant to be.

Go to a local palm reader or fortune-teller and see if they think your love is written in the stars.

Go to see a local standup, improv show or play.

Everyone loves to laugh. Local entertainment groups often has shows for free or at a low-cost.

What are some of the best dates you’ve been on? What are some of the most original ones?