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| Back before we were married. Being a goofy couple in love. |
3. You can build a stronger relationship. Nobody courts anymore. That's a problem. We just have sex on date number one, therefore never having to woo our significant other. Or anytime we do spend wooing is in anticipation of sex, instead of marriage. So, instead of spending months getting to to know each other in every other possible way, we spend about two minutes learning about the person, and then just have sex with them. No wonder so many relationships fail. Trust me when I say that if you spend time finding non physical ways to express your love to each other you will have a stronger relationship later. I hear lots of women complaining that their spouses aren't romantic and only want to have sex all the time. Well, yeah. They all had sex before marriage. They didn't have to learn to love them in any other way.My third point in that post is that if you wait to have sex you have to find other ways to express your love beyond being physical. Getting to know them, on a real level, not just a superficial one.
I thought I might help you out with this and give you 150 totally fantastic ways to get to know and just spend time with the person that you want to make your spouse, or the person that IS your spouse. Dating doesn't end just because we've said our vows. I put together a pretty fun list of 150 goofy, serious, exciting, boring, memorable things to do while dating. Things that your mom will totally approve of! Let's just get right to it, shall we?
150. Write them letters.
149. Make up surveys for them to answer.
148. Go to the park, and swing, play on the merry-go-round.
147. Play tag.
146. Talk on the phone for hours.
145.Go to a sporting event.
144. Play mini golf.
143. Play chess.
142. Paintball.
141. Laser Tag.
140. Take a dance class.
139. Find a super awesome cause to get involved with together.
138. Make mix...playlists? Eh, go old school, make mix tapes for each other.
137. Play an entire game of Monopoly.
136. Read the same book, and discuss it.
135. Go to the library.
134. Go to the county fair.
133. Go read to people in a nursing home.
132. Go on picnics.
131. Pray for each other every day.
130. Keep prayer journals for each other.
129. Go to an amusement park.
128. Play Frisbee Golf
127. Cook dinner for each other's parents.
126. Conquer a Pinterest project.
125. Go to a photo booth.
124. Go Fishing.
123. Run a marathon together.
122. You should train for that marathon first.
121. Take an obscure and useless class like beer making.
120. Ice Skating.
119. Build a Snowman.
118. Have a snowball fight.
117. Have a food fight.
116. Go to church together.
115. Start a Bible study.
114. Do a Bible study, just the two of you.
113. Put together a jigsaw puzzle.
112. Go go-kart racing.
111. Make a scrapbook together.
110. Plant a garden at one of your homes, and raise it together.
109. Can the vegetables from your garden together.
108. Build something out of sugar cubes.
107. Learn a new language.
106. Learn to line dance.
105. Go berry picking.
104. Build something.
103. Horseback Riding.
102. Discuss and write down all of your goals and aspirations as a couple.
101. Go on a hike.
100. Find other couples abstaining and be a support system, go on group dates with them.
99. Take a cooking class.
98. Play Pool.
97. Tell them your biggest secrets.
96. Go to a museum
95. Visit that really "lame" to locals tourist spot in your area. Act like tourists seeing it for the first time.
94. Fly Kites.
93. Go on a hot air balloon ride.
92. Do the other's favorite activity.
91. Find a shared hobby.
90. Start a hope chest together.
89. Play twenty questions.
88. Talk about important things.
87. Discuss your expectations for your marriage.
86. Talk about how many kids you want, how you want them raised, etc.
85. Spend as much as time as possible getting to know their family. After all, you want them to be your family.
84. Go ice skating.
83. Go to a concert.
82. Go to a musical.
81. Go to events at the local high school, support the kids.
80. Head up a charity event.
79. Know where your political opinions lie.
78. Talk about the causes that matter most to you.
77. Seek out news articles/blogs that the other would find of interest, and send them links.
76. Arrange double dates with solid couples that have been married for various lengths of time [5,10,15,25,50+ years] ask them about marriage. Ask them what makes their marriage work. Take notes, learn from them.
75. Go rock climbing.
74. Go to a petting zoo.
73. Go to whatever town event is going on in your town, or a nearby one.
72. Go hunting.
71. Play football.
70. Climb trees.
69. Go bike riding.
68. Go to the gym together.
67. Go to a haunted house.
66. Go out to dinner, and pay for a stranger's dinner.
65. Restore a car together.
64. Sledding.
63. Build a snow fort.
62. Volunteer to babysit for a young married couple.
61. Play video games.
60. Befriend a widow. Pay attention. Some of the best relationship advice you will ever get will come from someone who has truly loved and lost.
59. Offer to do yard work/simple chores for elderly folks in your neighborhood.
58. Take meals to new parents.
57. Find a single parent, help them in anyway they need.
56. Volunteer to sit with a new baby so mom and dad can take a nap. Or a shower.
55. Convince your church to host "date" nights. With games, and scripture, and good fellowship for young couples.
54. Go to a gun range.
53. Pray together.
52. Go to Adoration ((for Catholics))
51. Take a pottery class.
50. Buy balloons, deliver them to the hospital for strangers.
49. Do an entire book of Mad Libs together.
48. Go to the circus.
47. Volunteer at an after school program.
46. Go to an aquarium.
45. Sing karaoke, in a legit place, not a sleazy bar.
44. Go to a pumpkin patch.
43. Go to a corn maze.
42. Go to a wine tasting. ((if you're legal-clearly))
41. Protest something.
40. Go to a drive in theater.
39. Attend a reenactment.
38. Go to an art festival.
37. Bake cookies.
36. Get dressed up super fancy like and go eat fast food.
35. Go on a scavenger hunt.
34. Buy presents for a kid from the angel tree.
33. Throw a party. Not like a drunk party, but like a dress nice, eat good food party.
32. Go to Wal-Mart. Set a twenty dollar limit. Split up. Buy the other person something that will make their life easier.
31. Volunteer at an animal shelter.
30. Check out a church that neither of you have been to before.
29. Spend time with their parent/s alone.
28. Hang out with their siblings.
27. Be in a parade. I'ts really easy to join one, I did on my wedding day, totally uninvited!
26. Have a game night with their best friend and yours.
25. Volunteer to help at a high school event. Prom, dance, sporting event, etc.
24. Without discussing it first, order for each other at a restaurant.
23. Pick out a chapter in the Bible for them to read every day for a week.
22. Switch cell phones for an entire day that you are apart.
21. Make a no smart phone rule while you are out together.
20. Go on a date where you can only speak in quotes.
19. Pick an accent for them to speak in. Use that accent all day.
18. Go on a day trip to nowhere in particular. No maps, no GPS, no cellphones. Get lost together, teamwork to get unlost.
17. Watch a movie over the phone together.
16. Pick a movie neither of you have ever seen and watch it on mute. Make up the dialog.
15. Watch a TV series neither of you have seen before. If Doctor Who falls into that category, I just picked for you.
14. Go to a political event for something you both disagree with.
13. Do something you both hate.
12. Have a light saber fight.
11. Evangelize strangers.
10. Have a silent dinner. You may only communicate with facial expressions and hand signals.
9. Hang out with each other's best friend. Ask them at least thirty questions about them.
8. Pick wildflowers.
7. Have a squirt gun fight.
6. Make macaroni jewelry for each other.
5. Take a picture on every date you go on. Make it into a picture book of your love story for your kids.
4. Going dancing. Not grinding. Dancing. Like ballroom dancing.
3. Get dressed up and go bowling.
2. Start a book club.
1. Put together a piece of furniture...if you make it without killing each other, your marriage will be fine.
These are in no particular order. Some of them are specifically for Christians, most of them aren't. I may separate them...but, at the moment they are mixed together. After three computer crashes, and one baby determined to delete this post, I just need to hit "publish" for my own sanity!
My goal here was not only to provide you with date ideas, but to also give you ideas on building a better relationship, getting to know each other better, and growing into better people together. The biggest thing I want to get across to you is that you need to know how to date, and how to show affection, and how to care without getting physical. You need to build a good, solid foundation before you try to build up a relationship.
The dating doesn't end after the ceremony. If you want your marriage to work, and to last. You need to keep getting to know your spouse. You need to keep dating them. Keep being silly, and keep falling in love! Clearly, this post is just as much for married people as it is for dating people.
*HUGE, monster shout out to Susan and Beth for helping me brainstorm on the last twenty or so. You guys rock!
My goal here was not only to provide you with date ideas, but to also give you ideas on building a better relationship, getting to know each other better, and growing into better people together. The biggest thing I want to get across to you is that you need to know how to date, and how to show affection, and how to care without getting physical. You need to build a good, solid foundation before you try to build up a relationship.
The dating doesn't end after the ceremony. If you want your marriage to work, and to last. You need to keep getting to know your spouse. You need to keep dating them. Keep being silly, and keep falling in love! Clearly, this post is just as much for married people as it is for dating people.
*HUGE, monster shout out to Susan and Beth for helping me brainstorm on the last twenty or so. You guys rock!
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