Turn your weekly date night into a romantic rekindling of love or do something silly and new together. Choose new activities that go beyond Red Box to something more unique and thrilling.
Studies show that when you tailor your date to something of more substance, you stimulate your brain’s reward system and ignite the love that brought you together in the first place, according to intimacy specialist and professor of social psychology, Arthur Aron. So, reconnect with your significant other by shaking things up on an alternative date night.
Ask the 36 Questions
Create interpersonal closeness with your partner by turning to Aron’s famous list of 36 questions for a unique date night. Discover a deeper connection and level of intimacy by becoming vulnerable in your self-disclosure. Go on an afternoon picnic, sit together next to a stream or get a table in a romantic restaurant and ask each other each question in order. You will undoubtedly learn something new about your partner no matter how long you’ve known each other; you might just learn something about yourself, too.
Questions begin innocuously with questions such as “Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?” Then, they become more weighty and personal as you move through the list.
Have a Costumed Night Out
Who says you can only dress up as your favorite movie character or super hero one night of the year? Defy the rules of Halloween and date night by finding a great couples costume to wear for a little fun together.
Decide together if you’d like to dress up as bikers, go to a biker bar and role-play all night; or find two Despicable Me minion costumes to roam around town in. Either way, you are sure to have fun breaking away from the same old dinner-and-a-movie idea.
Make a Fort
Build a blanket fort and hide away together. This will be your fortress for the evening (and next day if you so desire). The living room or backyard are ideal locations for your love lair. Give some thought into the architecture of the fort as well as the romance you bring inside. Although they are not necessary, consider bringing red light strings, champagne, chocolate covered strawberries, music, flameless candles and rose petals.
However, some essential supplies include:
- Sheets and blankets
- Pillows
- Safety pins, clothes pins or rubber bands
- Flashlight
- Twinkly lights
- Snacks
- Entertainment
No handheld electronics are allowed inside your fort unless they are playing music or a movie. Together create your den of love, and enjoy the outcome all night long. And, this might be the ideal time and place to ask Aron’s 36 questions.
Pretend to Be Tourists
Strap on a fanny pack because you two are going to explore your city, tourist style. Don your favorite Hawaiian shirt (you know you have one) and put on your walking shoes. This is your chance to grab your guy and get into the city. Go downtown to see the sites that are not often visited by locals, but frequented by tourists. Take pictures in front of the gothic cathedral and the famous statue or any other silly landmark. Then, turn those pictures into a collage you can cherish forever.