I asked you guys what you wanted to read about and you answered overwhelmingly: you want ideas for fun date nights. Ideas for things that are outside of the typical dinner and a movie box, and I get it. For me, the kiss of death is boredom, and that can be your first date or your 400th, when I get bored it’s all downhill from there.
While I certainly understand that not everyone is as fickle as I am about things like that, it’s always nice to spice it up a little and do things that might not always be thought of as outings that bring the sexy.
1. Bowling: There is something inherently white trash about bowling, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be all kinds of sexy in a fun and silly way. You’re probably reading this and thinking that I have lost my mind, but hear me out. Sure you have the gross shoes that are probably harboring all sorts of icky germs, but you’ve also got the ability to get close. Need some help with getting a strike – totally a reason to get close to one another so that you can “help” your date knock down those pins. And bowling is silly, unless you’re one of those scary, super serious bowlers, and if that’s the case you should probably skip this date because it’s not going to be a good time. But bowling, plus nachos with that fake skating rink cheese and some cheap beer is a good, silly and sexy time in my book.
2. Arcade: This could mean Dave & Busters or Malibu Grand Prix, or even Chuck E Cheese if you’re so inclined – though you may get some looks if you hang out with the mouse and you don’t have kids with you, just a friendly hint. Again, it’s all about excitement. Playing video games might not be your thing – it isn’t really mine – but they all have air hockey and ski ball and those basketball hoop things that move father away each shot you take. You can play giant Connect Four at D&B, which is pretty amazing, actually. Malibu has go-karts and batting cages and those little boats with water guns that you ride around and shoot water at each other with. You won’t get bored, and you can feel like a million bucks when you give the tickets you win to some sweet little kid. Unless you really need a yo-yo with a giant rat on it or a couple of boxes of Nerds and an eraser shaped like one of the guys from New Direction. Totally your call on that one.
3. Get lost: Nothing helps you learn more about a person than being cooped up in a car with them for several hours. So fill up the tank and head in a general direction and get lost. Stop and explore weird houses covered by kudzu (please make sure to wear proper shoes for this), take pictures by pastures with cows, drive down dirt roads and see what treasures might be hidden at the end, and talk! Play 20 questions and be prepared to answer the same ones you throw at your date. At the end of the date not only will you know more about each other, you will likely discover some awesome little spots you never knew existed.
4. Shoot together – or at each other: Shooting gets out so much aggression, and just like with bowling, it gives you a chance to get close to one another. You can do laser tag, paintball or shooting with real guns (don’t point those at each other). A lack of knowledge of shooting doesn’t give you an excuse to not try it. At any of the ranges there are plenty of people there who will help give you the basics to be able to enjoy yourself. Remember, you’re not in Boot Camp, so have fun with it and don’t worry so much about whether or not you’ll be good at it. As long as you have fun, then you’re halfway to being a pro at it.
5. Cook something: I’ve had people scoff at this idea before but they just don’t even know! You can take a class on how to make a certain type of meal (Italian, Greek, etc), on mixology so that you can make each other cocktails, you can learn how to bake cakes, roll sushi – the possibilities are endless. And like everything else on this list, it allows you time to actually talk with one another instead of just sit in a dark theater and ignore one another. And if you are anything like me, there’s a sense of competition to things like cooking, and one of fun. Once again, it’s something that allows the two of you to be close together, to laugh and to learn together, which is pretty amazing. You can also see if your date is a good sport or a crank, which might make it easier to decide on future dates – like if you want to actually HAVE any of them with someone who gets cranky about cooking for you!
