Fun Date Ideas

When you first start dating and you don't know your date well, it can be very hard to know what would be an acceptable date, let alone trying to have any fun date ideas.

Fun date ideas can be hard to come by once we start to worry about what the other person might think of our choice of date. If you wanted to play safe then you could opt for the classic combo of dinner date with a movie or a show. That might not rank up there with the best fun date ideas though. So what to do?

One of the secrets of successful dating is to flatter your date. There are many obvious ways to do this, but you want to be more subtle, right? So here's the plan: find out some of the things that your date loves to do. Try to discover what their hobbies are, what they do in their spare time, where they go etc. Why do this? Because you are going to flatter them by insisting that together you will go and do their favourite things on your date.

It is very flattering indeed to have someone take an interest in the things that you like to do, and spend time with you listening to you talk about what you love about it. You would feel quite comfortable and at ease on your date, and you would appreciate the other person going out of their way to show their interest in you. 

By turning this around and generously giving your date this five star treatment, you will be putting them at their ease, allowing them to relax and enjoy themselves and feel comfortable with you. You'll find that people love to talk about their favourite things, and find it very flattering to be asked about them.

So you must be an excellent listener on your date, and be sure to ask questions about your date's favourite things to give them an opportunity to feel appreciated and to see that you are taking a real interest in them and the things that they love.

So how can you find out what your date enjoys doing, so that you can come up with some fun date ideas?

Ask their friends

This is a great strategy, as their friends will report back to your date that you were very keen to treat them well and ensure their happiness on your date together. By asking their friends' opinions you are winning the friends over to liking you, and this will all help in the long run.

Suggest things and watch for their reaction

This works best if you have time to talk about different things, and you can subtly mention different things in your conversations. After you mention something, watch for their reactions. So if you start talking about . Be careful though - if they start tlking about skydiving and they get excited about always wanting to do this, and then you take them skydiving on your date, they might turn out to be more scared than pleased. So always have a backup plan ready in case they don't want to go ahead with the main idea, and if they do want to switch to the backup idea throw yourself into this new activity as if you were never going to do the first one - never make them feel bad about skipping out on the first activity. Especially if you spent ages planning and preparing the first idea and it doesn't go ahead for some reason - don't make a fuss about it. Save the mention of it for further down the line, after you have been dating for a while. Nothing will reactivate that thrill of your early dates more than revealing the huge efforts you went to to set up an activity to make your date happy. Just don't do it too soon after the date itself.

Research several different options and give your date the choice of what you will do together

This will make your date feel like they are making the decisions not you, so you'll need to be clear about whether they want to be in charge, or want you to be making the decisions. Research a wide variety of things to do, so that they really do have a choice. Don't ask them which film they want to see - they might not want to see a film at all. Instead, offer them the choice of a film, a show, a day event related to their hobby, an evening baking brownies together and then taking them round to friends' houses to eat, etc.

Ask them directly what they would like to do, then make it happen

The easiest way to find this out is just to ask them: 'I'd love to do something that you like - what sort of things would you like to do?' If they seem hesitant to tell you then offer to take charge of the date - if they seem happier at this idea then go with it.

Ask them what their dream date would be like

If you ask them what their dream date would be like, they will not be expecting you to go straight out and deliver all of it at once. They will though be very impressed if you do at least one of the things that they mentioned, as this shows that you listened to them and that they matter to you.

Also you can spend time on future dates doing some of the other things that they mentioned would be part of their dream date. Imagine their delight as you make their dreams come true as each date unfolds!

Actual fun date ideas:

Ok, so all of the above hints and tips will help you out some, but here are some handy actual fun date ideas in case you get really stuck:

International Night

Arrange a date evening that is themed to a foreign country. Your aim is to decorate the vicinity of the date as if it was the actual country, and cook and serve up a meal reflecting that country's cuisine. Dress the room in appropriate items, print out pictures to put in temporary frames on the walls, and line up some music from that country to really set the scene.

For an added twist, get a friend in on the act and have them dress up in that country's costume and wait on your table. Even better, get them to attempt to speak in the accent of that country for the evening. This especially is a great ice-breaker, giving you both something to laugh at together.

Volunteer

Arrange a date where you both go and help out with something. This could be at a local charity shop, old folks' home, or any good cause you can think of. You'll both get to see each other at your best while trying to make a difference. And the focus on helping others will help to take the pressure off of the pair of you.

Dawn or Dusk

Find a great place to watch the sun rise or set, and drive or hike out there with your date to watch for a romantic hour. Combine this with a treasure hunt on the way back for added fun.

Treasure Hunt

Your date will love finding a series of little fun gifts on a treasure hunt, and the effort you put into writing clues and buying and hiding the treasures will not go unnoticed.