50 Fun Date Ideas (For When You’re Sick Of Just Going Out To Eat)

1. Poetry reading under a waterfall: Write your own poem, read classic poems or even song lyrics to your beloved. They probably won’t even be able to hear you because of the waterfall so don’t worry about your public speaking skills.

2. Read each other’s Tarot Cards: Things might get a little real, but it’s a lot of fun.

3. Go to the Nature Conservatory: Just be with the trees and the breeze and get to know your date outside of hectic city-scapes.

4. Go on a Kayaking double date- romance and friendship on the water, plus you’ll get a good ab workout.

5. Read to Each Other: There’s a 90% chance your date is going to find this sexy.

6. Play Board Games at a Coffee Shop: Great for competitive lovers.

7. Go Thrifting: Found objects are great conversation starters and thrifting can make for a fairly inexpensive date.

8. Take a Private Jet to a Different Country: Because… you only live once.

9. Go to an Author’s Book Reading: Especially of an author that you really like. Especially Charles Baxter.

10. Get Your Palm Read: Get your palms read by a psychic- do a couple’s reading if possible.

11. Go to a Sleazy Hotel: Rent out a cheap hotel room in your own city- have a local escape. This is the best date idea for those in the midst of re-modeling or re-painting their homes.

12. Take them to the Track: You haven’t really lived until you’ve gone to a dirt track to watch people race cars. If you’re lucky there will be fireworks.

13. Write a Song Together: Write a song together. This works best if you are musicians, but can be just as entertaining if you aren’t.

14. Go to the Woods: Pitch a tent, rent a cabin or stay at a family member’s secondary residence. Bring some wine, cuddle up by the fireplace and have yourselves a time.

15. Take a Trip to IKEA- this will weed out an inappropriate match in no time- trust me.

16. Have a Synth Party. Twisting knobs and plugging synths into drum machines and midi into midi to CV converters and ahhhhh…

17. TV Dance Party for Two: TV dance party. You just drink a ton of gin- turn the TV onto one of those music television channels and then dance. Hilarity ensues.

18. Draw each other naked: And please… try to flatter one another!

19. Play Photo Shoot: Have a photography day- this can also include nudity if you would like, but also just helps to break the ice a bit as one or the both of you relaxes in front of the camera.

20. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth: Make desserts. Something fast and delicious is preferable. If you want to really impress then cater your dessert to your date’s dietary preferences. A gluten free cake is definitely the key to a celiac’s heart.

21. Go to a Potluck: The weirder the food the better. Make separate dishes if you are both competitive types or prepare something together for a little bonding time. Potlucks attract strange types at times so you’re bound to both feel a little out of your comfort zone and often you’ll learn something new! Raw vegan food potlucks are crazy good and very strange! Or try a fruit-luck…

22. Invite a Third Wheel: Not for a threesome by any means, but be open to inviting just one friend single or not friend with on a date to switch up your conversations, add a different energy and open up the possibilities of the night, the more eccentric the friend, the better.

23. Join a Contest: Check to see if your city has any local contests going on and choose one. This could be a medallion hunt, a search for the next hot band or even a culinary challenge. Agree to join the contest and see it through until the end no matter what your prospects are for winning. This is a great date idea since it can spread out into multiple dates and maybe even unlock a hidden talent or two.

24. Local Festivities by Force: Force the two of you to go to whatever cultural event or festival everyone is going to, but you’ve deemed yourself “to cool” to go to. Put on your tourist trousers and enjoy it.

25. Indulge in a Tour de Food: Do a tour-de-food. This is where you order one very small item from as many restaurants as possible until you are full. It’s sort of the same idea as tapas, but between each “tapa” you switch restaurants. You can include drinks in the tour-de-food as well.

26. Paint Together: The couple that paints together- stays together.

27. Drink Wine in the Bath Tub: Drink wine in the bathtub, with the lights off and some candles going. Extra points if you buy really silly bubble bath.

28. Watch Lifetime Movies: Or B movies. These are so silly and predictable that you can probably talk all of the way through them and it’s important to spend time conversing while getting to know one another. Buy some weird grocery store dessert and relax in a way you’ve never known possible.

29. Walk a Borrowed Dog: Borrow someone’s dog (or catch a missing dog) for a day and take care of it as a couple. Take it on walks, buy it treats and play with it and return it before its owner gets worried. If you’ve found a stray then keep it until you can find it a proper home.

30. Play Video Games: You can find an arcade that has a pinball machine or big game hunter of some sort to play or dig up the Super Nintendo that you probably have stored somewhere in your parents’ basement.

31. Sing Karaoke- But Take it One Step Further: Karaoke- which might be a typical date, but make it weird by like… actually picking difficult songs or for real choosing your favorite songs without feeling embarrassed.

32. Nighttime Bike Rides: Nighttime bike rides- not as safe, but on a beautiful summer night with a perfect breeze I can hardly imagine anything more romantic or fun- just be sure to wear bike helmets and use lights.

33. Sign up for Groupon: Sign up for Living Social or Groupon and buy the first offer they have (if it isn’t too expensive) make that your mandatory first date- no matter how silly it is.

34. Make Astrology Charts: Figure out your compatibility using astrology charts. There are two types of readings you can easily find online for free they are called “composite charts” and “synastry charts,” be sure to figure out your birth dates beforehand.

35. Skinny Dip: Nighttime swims or skinny dipping. Both are really incredible, but save skinny dipping for once you know each other better if you can…

36. Go to Snow-Cross: You can wear your favorite coat, snuggle up and watch snowmobiles race around on a snow-covered track. It’s actually pretty cool.

37. Internet Window Shopping: This is for when you’re really bored and stuck inside together. What you do is go onto you favorite designer’s (or most expensive clothing store’s) website and you pick out outfits for each other that you would buy if you had money and OK if you do have a ton of money than this date can just be “internet shopping.”

38. Go Tubing: This is a summer activity and you can and should invite some friends. You just tube down a river drinking beers (if you would like) and chatting. It’s peaceful, sometimes crazy and also just really fun.

39. Throw a Themed Party: And invite your closest friends. Ideas: Halo, African Food, Vegan Food, Birthday, Throw Back Thursday, Chili Cook-Off, Hannah Montana, Moving Away & 3 Month anniversary.

40. At Home Food Challenge: Without going to the grocery store try as hard as you can to create a meal or snack using the ingredients in your cupboard. This is an activity where you can really impress someone with your resourcefulness.

41. Monster Truck Rally: Go to monster truck rallies, watch huge trucks fly through the air and a crazy fireworks display.

42. Sweat it Out: Go to the gym and spot each other on free weights then go race each other. If you’re a runner challenge your date to a run and if you’re a swimmer than challenge them to a swim.

43. Be a Tourist: Think of the absolute most tourist-y thing you could do in your city. If you can’t think of then go to a “Visit (enter your city name here)” website and I am sure they will have plenty of options. Choose one and go do it.

44. Gamble: Go to the creepiest casino you can find and gamble for real if you’re into it, but if you aren’t just play the penny machines, enjoy each other’s company and take in your surroundings.

45. Play Online Trivia: There are so many online trivia options that this well shall never run dry. This is great for weeding out potential dates as well.

46. Go Ice Fishing: There is nothing more romantic than ice fishing. You’re in a little cabin on a frozen lake, probably drinking beer or whiskey and practicing patience.

47. Rent a Car: Rent a really amazingly beautiful expensive car for the weekend and just drive around and listen to the radio. Show up with your new ride at your date’s place and you’re bound to please.

48. Ghost Tours. Find the nearest ghost tour in your city or take a road trip to a haunted house. Take pictures to capture the moment and check for orbs in the photo.

49. Watch shooting stars. Figure out when the next comet shower is and plan on camping out to see it. I think this date is probably the winner of the entire list and if you haven’t taken your beloved to go see stars falling form the heavens yet then you’ll really impress him or her by doing so ASAP!

50. Get Drunk While Wearing Formal Attire at Home: Totally stupid, but if you’re reading this list then you’ve run out of ideas and I promise you this is probably going to be more fun than any of the terrible dates you didn’t have planned.

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