52 Dating Ideas for You and Your Spouse

Are you looking for ideas for dating each other as husband and wife, and yet you’re finding it difficult to come up with anything new? Doing the “same old, same old” is not appealing, to say the least! You want to get out of the rut you’ve developed. Well, below are a few links to 52 dating ideas, plus a few bonus ones, that could help you. We’ve used some of these and are thinking of using a few more.

Perhaps it has been difficult to think about dating each other because:

• Your budget is tight, and you don’t have a lot of money to spend…

• You have busy schedules and don’t have a lot of time to commit to each other in this way…

• And you need fresh ideas as to what you can do together…

But don’t let that stop you. We’ve found some great ideas for you that are very adaptable! And if you don’t immediately find ideas that you can use (or adapt in some way to fit your circumstances or surroundings) then just keep looking. Persevere and “do not grow weary in doing good” for your marriage relationship. Work to grow your relationship and make it fun, as well. It CAN be fun! We’ve learned this from personal experience!

“Play is essential for good health and good relationships. We wholeheartedly encourage the couples we counsel to find ways to play together. Making play an essential part of your life will encourage you to create joy at every opportunity. Whether you enjoy board games, sports, getting outside with your pets, or other activities, find what works for you and go with it. And if you’re not sure what kinds of play work for you, start exploring!” (Drs Les & Leslie Parrott)

So, let’s do some exploring!

52 Dating Ideas

We looked around the Internet to find a few lists of dating tips that you can use. We figured 52 tips would be great to give to you. That would be one dating tip that you can use each week of the year. Now we realize that you may not enjoy every dating tip that is given, so we found several dating lists for you to look through.

This first one can be found on the Fridaywereinlove.com web site. Look around and see what you can find that you and your spouse would like to try to do together. We’ve done a few of them ourselves. See what can work for you:

• 52 COMPLETELY FREE DATE IDEAS TO DO THIS YEAR

Before we give you another link to some more ideas, here’s a bonus idea given by our friend Debi Walter of Theromanticvineyard.com. You can find additional ideas on that web site, But here’s the bonus:

“Have a laughing challenge date night. Each of you pick You Tube videos that you think are funny. Take turns showing them to each other. See which one makes you laugh the most and that will determine the winner. The most important thing is to have fun together in your very own laughing place.”

Another Link to Dating Ideas

Next, here’s a bonus dating tip, given by Drs Les and Leslie Parrott:

“It’s not always practical to get out of the house for a date night. But that doesn’t mean you can’t create space for the two of you there. Pick out a dinner or activity, order take-out or make dinner, and do date night in. Just remember not to blur the lines too much. Honor your time at home as much you would at any other place.”

To help you even more with that tip, here’s an article posted on our web site that will give you some ideas you can use for date nights in: IDEAS FOR DATE NIGHTS OUT AND DATE NIGHTS IN.

Bonus Dating Tips

Here are two additional ideas, which brings the total up to 52 dating ideas. These two tips come from the the Intentionalbygrace.com article, “No More Excuses: 42 Date Night Ideas for the Date Night Challenged.” Here’s the first one we picked out to share:

• “Watch a TV series together. We got so addicted to LOST last year, and this year we’re into 24.”

That’s a fun idea. Steve and I have done this for a while with each other. We enjoy watching America’s Got Talent, and different animal rescue programs. We also enjoy “Dr Jeff: Rocky Mountain Vet.” Plus, we’ve also have enjoyed watching a Netflix series. It’s called, “The Kindness Diaries.” In it, the host, Leon Logothetis, travels the world with only a vintage motorbike and the kindness of strangers, which he pays back in unexpected, inspiring ways.”

There are other TV and social media series that can be enjoyable to watch. Just make sure you don’t watch anything that is ungodly or offensive to either of you. These types of dates are supposed to be enjoyable and wholesome—not creepy or degrading. You want to feel good that you watched them together. It’s supposed to be a positive experience.

Additionally

Another date that the Intentional by Grace ministry recommends is going on a:

• “Garage sale date. It’s a kind of like a scavenger hunt.”

Steve and I enjoy doing this sometimes. We also go to a thrift store here or there. It helps the budget, but it also is fun to find little treasures. Some spouses instead go to flea markets or open markets. We’re not sure if you have these or not; but they are places where you can find a variety of “gently used” items at good prices. And when we go, we do call it a “treasure hunt” type of experience.

In addition, you can extend your time by going out afterward for lunch together; or you can go out to get an ice cream cone or a special coffee, etc. Yes, it’s a bit corny, but we enjoy simple, corny outings. Try it. You may like it!

— ALSO —

But why should you stop at 52 dating ideas? Here’s an idea that may be able to work for some of you that came to us through the Romantic Vineyard E-zine we receive each week:

“When was the last time you planned some spontaneous fun together? Can’t remember? It may be time to give it some thought and enjoy the ‘wife of your youth!’

“Go on a MYSTERY DATE: You literally have no idea where you’ll end up.

1. Decide ahead of time: Heads = right; Tails = left.  And then choose a number between 1 and 5.  Keep this number and right or left in your mind. (You’ll need it in step #4.)
2. At every intersection flip a coin to see which way to turn. Do this 5-10 times.
3. Decide ahead of time how many times you’ll flip.
4. After the final toss — take the number you selected in Step #1 count the number of restaurants you pass, and whether you flipped right or left. When you get to your number on that side of the street – STOP. This is where you’re to eat. You could make it a meal, an appetizer or dessert.
5. If the place is unacceptable, you can always take a mulligan [a “do-over”]. How do you take a mulligan, you ask? You have to buy one of course, by removing one piece of clothing! So, there you have it.  We think this is a date you’ll both “flip over.”

Note:

“The mulligan part, we made up ourselves to add a few more options that are fun! If you take too many mulligans you may not care to eat out!”

Lastly:

Here are two bonus ideas. One is a bonus idea, and the other is a tip. The first one comes from Gary Thomas:

“Here’s a date-night idea! In the interest of holiness, what if husband and wife were to go to a nice public place and both ask (and then answer) one question: ‘What one area do I need to grow in to become more like Christ?’ Before you do that, friends, please, read, re-read, and memorize, Proverbs 12:1: ‘Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.‘”

Drs Les and Leslie Parrott suggest that when you date each other:

”Only talk with one another about positive things that spark happiness. Do not allow the news to interrupt your time together, relationship problems, or negativity! Allowing a conversation to take a bad turn can quickly kill the mood of your date. It will also be hard to recover from. Nurture one another and feed your marriage by focusing only on good things for a little while.”

So, there you have it. 52 dating ideas and a few extras. What do you think? Do you have some additional ideas and romantic tips that could be used for dating excursions that you could share with those who visit this web site? If so, please “Join the Discussion” by adding your comments below. We’d love to read your ideas.

Cindy and Steve Wright

— ADDITIONALLY —

To help you even further, we give a lot of personal stories, humor, and more practical tips in our book, 7 ESSENTIALS to Grow Your Marriage. We hope you will pick up a copy for yourself. (It’s available both electronically and in print form.) Plus, it can make a great gift for someone else. It gives you the opportunity to help them grow their marriage. And who doesn’t need that? Just click on the linked title or the picture below:

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