Relationship Tip: Make Dating Fun During the Holidays

It is no surprise that dating your spouse is important for a fulfilling and lasting relationship. Dating is a special way of saying “you are important to me” and shows a commitment to spend time together. So why does it seem that once the knot is tied, dating often loses its standing on the list of priorities? The results tell all: those couples who keep dating have a better chance at relationship success. Making an effort to keep the flame burning is well worth it. Because the holiday season brings a different kind of stress and more time constraints, dating becomes more difficult. So here are some ideas to continue dating and heat up the holidays:

1. After the kids are asleep, plan a list of the gifts you want to buy. Then schedule a time to go shopping together. Hire a babysitter or some loving grandparent to watch the kids. Make a dinner reservation at a cozy restaurant, where you can relax after shopping, or go listen to some live music, even if you don’t know the band. Review your purchases and commend yourselves on a job well done.
2. Go to a holiday movie. Opt for a comedic theme—the laughs will do you good. This year there will be a Will Ferrell flick and also a movie with Tyler Perry.  If you’re not into comedy, try the new Hobbit adventure.
3. Plan a special time, just for the two of you. Perhaps make it a surprise to your partner where you are headed. There’s bowling, ice skating, the opera, a play, or a trip to a museum. Many communities have holiday music festivals at churches, and classic plays by local high school students. Whatever the destination, just make it a time to be together and leave that to-do list at home.
4. If finances are strained (often the case at holiday season), here is an offer you can’t refuse: send the kids for a sleepover and then the two of you stay at home. Maybe a neighbor, or their friends, or a loving grandparent who just can’t get enough of the darlings would be just what the dating experts ordered. This strategy, which is not expensive, is called quality time together. Turn off all technical devices and become unavailable to the rest of the world. Then just hang out: cook together, talk while looking in each other’s eyes, slow dance in your living room, peruse pictures of when you met, hold hands and enjoy an old movie with popcorn, play a card game during which clothes must be slowly discarded, take a shower together, be intimate without interruption.
5. Plan a night to wrap the presents together. Then add the special touch of those moments of each other and renew all the things you are thankful for. You may be surprised at just how high your cup is filled.
6. As Pitbull says in his song: “Like a stop watch, let’s stop time and enjoy this moment.”

Go outside together at night, hold each other tight, and gaze at the stars. Perhaps it’s a cloudy, dark, and rainy night with no stars in sight; then take a walk around the block, sharing an umbrella. Flirt a little on the way home.

So make a date to have a date. You deserve some one-on-one adult time, and your relationship will thank you for it.  

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Never Too Old For Romance by Barbara J Peters

It’s never too late to believe in yourself enough to roll the dice one more time…but at what price?

The novel follows one woman’s quest to rediscover herself in ways she had forgotten existed. My hope is that the story will be an inspiration for others to achieve romantic love and fulfillment. This book is about confidence, taking risks, and making good use all of the 1,440 minutes of each day.   Never Too Old For Romance is available at:  Amazon.com