10 Date Ideas When You Don’t Know What to Do

You finally did it. You found a night that works, put it on the calendar, and the two of you are ready to spend some time together. Then you get in the car and this happens:

Spouse: “What do you want to do?”

You: “I don’t know. What do you want to do?”

Spouse: “Whatever you want is fine with me. Pick something.”

You: “But I want to do what you want to do.”

And now you’re both getting frustrated before you’ve even left the driveway.

Sound familiar?

Date nights are supposed to help you reconnect, not turn into another decision you have to make.

So instead of spending the first 30 minutes of your date figuring out what to do, make a plan ahead of time. Better yet, take turns being the one who plans the date.

It doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive. It just needs to give the two of you an opportunity to get out of your normal routine, have some fun, and enjoy being together.

10 Amazing Date Ideas to Try Together

Here are 10 date ideas to get you started.

1. Eat Your Way Through the Alphabet

Tired of going to the same restaurants? Start with a restaurant beginning with the letter A. Next date night, choose B. Then C.

Keep going through the alphabet. It gives you an excuse to try places you might never have picked otherwise, and you’ll definitely have to get creative when you get closer to X, Y, and Z.

2. Pack a Picnic

Grab your favorite foods, a blanket, and head somewhere you both enjoy. Try a park, beach, lake, botanical garden, or even your own backyard. Put the phones away, sit close, and enjoy a meal without the usual distractions.

3. Have a Game Night for Two

Pull out a favorite board game, card game, or something new you’ve never played together. Add your favorite snacks and maybe a fun prize for the winner. And yes, a little healthy competition can make the night even more interesting.

4. Take an Evening Walk or Hike

Find a trail, beach, downtown area, or park and go for a walk together. You could even time it around sunset or a full moon.

6. Take a Cooking Class

Find a local cooking class and learn how to make something you’ve never tried before, like pasta, sushi, pizza, or desserts.

If there aren’t classes near you, choose a recipe online, shop for the ingredients together, and turn your own kitchen into the class.

5. Rent Bikes and Explore

Rent bikes or cruisers and explore somewhere new. Ride along the beach, through a park, around a nearby town, or on a local bike trail.

7. Have a Progressive Dinner

Pick three different places for the evening. Start with appetizers at one restaurant, head somewhere else for dinner, and finish the night with dessert or coffee at a third stop.

8. Find the Best _____ in Town

Pick something you both love and make it your mission to find the best one in your area.

• Best burger
• Best tacos
• Best pizza
• Best sushi
• Best ice cream

Try a different place each time and keep your own ranking. This can easily turn into months of date nights.

9. Go See Something Live

Find a concert, musical, comedy show, orchestra, sporting event, community theater production, or local festival.

You don’t have to wait for a huge event. Sometimes the small local experiences end up being the dates you remember most.

10. Plan a Sunset Date

Find one of the best places near you to watch the sunset and make an evening of it. Bring dinner, grab dessert, and sit somewhere with a spectacular view.

Or, if you want to make it a bucket-list date, book something completely out of the ordinary, like a sunset cruise or hot-air-balloon ride.

The Best Date Is the One You Actually Take

Dates matter in marriage. They give the two of you intentional time to step away from work, kids, responsibilities, and everything else competing for your attention.

You don’t need reservations at the fanciest restaurant or some elaborate surprise every time. Just pick something, put it on the calendar, and enjoy each other.

Because sometimes the best thing you can do for your marriage is simply make space to have fun together again.

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