Budget Date Ideas 2

Relive your first date. Follow the same itinerary and include as many of the original details as possible. Even though you know how the night will end this time around, recalling how you talked, explored, and began your lifelong journey of getting to know each other can remind you that there is still much to learn — about yourselves and your relationship.

Have a gourmet picnic. Cruise the aisles of your supermarket and load your cart with whatever epicurean delights you can find: lobster salad, good-quality chocolate, wine or fizzy grape juice, gourmet crackers, gooey cheeses, and so on. Now head for the most romantic spot in town. If it’s too cold or wet to eat alfresco, why not try the atrium at the local zoo, botanical gardens, museum, or mall?

Get decked out — even if you’re just going to the local diner. Slip into your most glamorous duds — and have him do the same. No matter where you go, looking like your best version of yourself will make the evening feel special and inspire connection (and passion).

Take a dance lesson. Even if you end up stepping on each other’s toes, you’ll be forced to pay attention to how your bodies move together. Avoid dances that don’t involve touching (like line dancing). Instead, try learning how to tango, waltz, or even square-dance. At the end of the lesson, be prepared for your dancing fool to sweep you off your feet and straight into bed.

Rent a rowboat for a DIY sunset cruise and dinner. Keep your drinks cold by tying a rope around the bottle neck, or using a net to carry it, and trailing it behind you in the water as you head for the middle of the lake. Pack a blanket, lie back, and wait for the stars to appear. Don’t forget to make a wish together on the first one you see.

Go see a fortune-teller. It doesn’t matter if she gets it right. (Do you really need a crystal ball to tell you that you two are meant to be?) But it can be a giggle (if she’s wrong) or inspiring (if she’s in the ballpark) to hear how a stranger reads your romance.

Have a picture-perfect night. Take a camera with you and at different points on your night out, ask people to take your photo (make it a point to lock lips for some of the snaps). On your next date, flip through the photos together — or make a collage or slide show. You can also create great memories by making a date with a photographer for a fancy shot of the two of you in a tight clinch. Or simply head into a photo booth. “We always take goofy photo-booth pictures when we go out,” says one woman. “It’s fun, and sometimes illuminating, to look back over them. For instance, the snap we took a few months after our son was born — I remember feeling like we weren’t communicating well, but then I’ll look at that date photo and it shows how much joy and love we were also feeling.”

Head to your local department store and challenge each other to come up with the most romantic, intimate gift possible. Two things: It can’t cost more than $20, and it must be used that night. You’ll find that you really need to think about the essence of each other to come up with an offering that hits the right note. “Frank knows that I love bath products, but I never buy them because they seem like too much of a luxury,” says Pamela, 38. “So every once in a while, when we’re out for the night, he’ll pull me into a store and pick out some bath salts or oils. Then, when we get home, he’ll run the bath for me, wash me from head to toe, and dry me off.”

Take a trip to nowhere. No packing, no planning, no idea. Just get in the car and start driving off into the sunset together. Stop when you’re hungry or thirsty. If there’s an interesting sight or town, pause and explore. So much of life seems to be about following the agenda. By following your heart instead, you’ll recapture that exciting sense of the unknown you felt when you two first met.

Budget Date Ideas 1

Go for an all-day hike. Check out trails.comfor a listing of nearby treks and get lost in the woods together. 

Sip some fine wine. Find out if your local wine or liquor store hosts tasting nights. It’s only expensive if you buy! Other specialty stores hold tastings, too. Check out chocolate stores, cheese shops, or ethnic-food markets.

Get sweaty together. It’ll feel less like a chore and more like a we’re-in-this-together moment when you help each other to get your hearts pumping and cheer each other along. Or try couples yoga: Twisting your body into pretzel poses will bring you closer together in every way.

Go camping overnight. There’s no TV to interrupt your conversation, and the night is long, so you can retire early to your sleeping bags (zipped together, of course). 

Spend an afternoon test-driving cars, viewing model homes, or window-shopping. Even if you have no interest in making a purchase now, these activities can kick-start discussions about your goals. New lovers are always dreaming together about the things they want to achieve: exotic trips, houses, children. As love matures, you become more focused on the here and now — attending school meetings, folding socks — and forget to write the next chapter of your love story, or think you don’t have to because you’ve already discussed it all before. But continually setting shared goals gives love something to work toward and shape itself around.

Sunsets: Give in to the undeniably romantic allure of watching the sun go down. Head to the highest point in town, and when the light is romance-perfect for enhancing your sensuous mood, turn the scenic view into a background for a make-out session.

Kids Cater Your Romantic Eve

Let the kids in on the fun.

Have kids and want to celebrate a romantic anniversary together? Sometimes you can easily find a sitter and have the evening to yourselves. But sometimes you can’t– and sometimes it’s even more fun that way! Want to celebrate a romantic occasion with your kids? Put them to work planning and serving a romantic evening to the “special couple” (that is, you and your spouse)!

Explain the special occasion to your kids, and let them know you want their help. Then have the kids help come up with and create menus for you to use. Ask them to help set up a fancy table and assist with the cooking, if you like. Then have them wear their Sunday best and pretend that your home is a restaurant for the evening. When you and your spouse are ready for dinner, go outside and knock, and let the kids answer the door, treating you to a romantic night together. The kid will feel special, needed, and included, and you’ll all feel closer as a family. A romantic date idea the whole family can be part of!

Cozy Thanksgiving ideas

• Cook a meal together for two
• While playing hostess to your in-laws and simultaneously cooking a Thanksgiving meal for 10 may seem like a recipe for panic attack, cooking a turkey together with your best guy is filled with sexy opportunities. Envision sipping wine together as you stir the cranberry sauce and let your imagination run wild!
• Have someone cook a meal for you
• For those of you who think cooking is a chore rather than a delight, there’s nothing like enjoying a Thanksgiving dinner out on the town. Simply make a reservation, show-up and voila! While other women are spending the day slaving over a stove, you and your man can enjoy all of the pleasures of eating a five-course, candle-lit meal with none of the work.
• Stay at a B&B
• Holidays are so few and far between, why not extend your Thanksgiving into a Thanks-weekend and spend four days being thankful you’re not at home?
• Go somewhere warm
• Or even better, chuck the idea of a traditionally chilly Thanksgiving and relax the weekend away, basking in the sun at a tropical resort. The trees may not change color in Florida or the Bahamas, but there is still a lot of holiday cheer to be found there.
• Watch a parade
• You don’t even need to go anywhere to enjoy a romantic Thanksgiving. Sipping hot chocolate and holding hands together while watching a local parade can be just as lovely.
• Snuggle on the couch
• Don’t even get dressed! Thanksgiving is one holiday that’s made for sleeping in, so don’t hesitate to ignore that alarm for once. You can always TiVo the parade and watch it later.
• Volunteer at a soup kitchen
• For couples in pursuit of the true meaning of Thanksgiving, soup kitchens and charity organizations are always in need of volunteers on the holiday when attendance is even higher than usual.
• Go see a movie
• One of my favorite Thanksgiving traditions is going out to the movies with my boyfriend, just the two of us.

Making Out

Some common potholes on the road of Making Out:
1. Don’t lick your lips excessively right before kissing. There is a time and place for slimy, disgusting Making Out and it’s not anywhere you’re allowed to go for several years. You can, however, slightly moisten your lips if they’re dry as the Sahara desert.
2. Don’t be afraid to say “No,” “Slow down,” or “Not on the face!”
3. Don’t push too hard or go too far.
4. Don’t wear lipstick or lip-gloss. Chapstick is okay, I guess.
5. Don’t make out in crowded public spaces. An evening park bench is okay, janitor’s closet is good, behind the bleachers even better. But avoid well-lit parties, geology lectures, the back of the car while your mom is driving, and Grand Central at rush hour. No one likes a showoff.

First Date Kissing Poll

Get out of the Doghouse Quick 1

Clean her house, make her dinner, run her bath.

Prepare a good book or playlist on her ipod, then do not expect anything back, just be there or leave her alone.

DONT’s

• DONT’s

1. Be late. The last thing you would want your date to do is leave after waiting for you. The concept of arriving fashionably late does not apply here. It shows you are not dependable at all and definitely not worth dating.
2. Talk on the cell phone or keep meddling with it. It is very rude to talk on phone on a date. It also shows that you are not interested or getting bored on your date. If it is an urgent call, keep it short and tell them that you are busy and will get back to them later.
3. Be fake. Do not even try to be someone you are not just to make that person fall in love with you. If you do, you will be expected to keep up that standard for the rest of your life.
4. Get drunk. Of all the things, you wouldn’t want to pass out and embarrass your date. Worse, misbehave with the girl in case you lose your senses.
5. Make wrong advances. You wouldn’t want your date to think you are too aggressive or even desperate. There is a difference between harmless flirting and obvious advances and don’t take your date for granted.