If you’re looking for some date ideas for this month, here are a few to help you out.

Get Outside and Enjoy the Cold
If you live in a cooler climate, take advantage of the weather! Get out and enjoy some ice skating or sledding, followed, of course, by some yummy hot chocolate. What’s that you say? You haven’t skated since you were a kid? All the better. Remember, your date doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be fun. Hold on to your date if you’re wobbly!

Museums
If you’re into it, museums have a lot of great specials in the winter months.

Movies
Seeing a film is still a great date idea. The key to making a movie work for your date is to plan some time before or after for conversation. Perhaps you could meet at the movie and grab a soda and chat in the lounge before the flick. Or, you could arrange to grab a quick bit after the show and talk about the movie, life, or anything else. But sitting next to someone in a dark theater? Still very romantic, and December is a really great time to see the latest movies.

Indoor Sports
If you live in a part of the country where the weather is nice, of course, you can still golf, play tennis, or go for a bike ride outside. But if you’re in a colder climate, why not do some indoor rock climbing or racquet ball?

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

December Date Ideas

Watch the Parade
Make a date to cuddle up on the couch and watch the Thanksgiving day parade. There is lot of nostalgia with this parade which will prompt conversation topics and easy ways to get to know each other. Besides that, watching a couple hours of Broadway tunes, TV stars, and giant cartoon balloons is just too much fun to miss.

Volunteer
While volunteering at a rescue mission or food pantry might seem like a downer, it can actually help bond two people together fairly quickly. The key is make your outing about an hour, and no more. Under normal circumstances you should spend as much time as you can at a volunteer site, but when you are with a date it’s best to keep it on the short side. You’ll still get the benefit and honor of helping people, while also showing off your very best side to your date. Nothing makes you fall in love faster than seeing a date give of his heart freely.

Football Game
As a die-hard Packer fan, I’d be remiss if I did not mention sports. The traditional Thanksgiving game usually features the Packers and Lions, and for football fans this a welcome tradition. If you’re both into football, why not make it a game-watching date? At half-time, go outside and toss a football around, too. This will get your blood pumping (never a bad thing on a date.)

Make Dinner Together
If you both find yourselves without family on Thanksgiving, why not make a meal for two? Instead of a heavy dinner, think smaller appetizer sizes instead. Cooking together can be a very good way to talk and get to know one another. If you’re a whiz in the kitchen, what better way to impress your date?

Image: sxc.hu.

Post from: Blisstree

Thanksgiving Date Ideas

My daughter and her boyfriend, Greg, are doing number one on the list today – Tubing on the river. He picked her up a bit ago and we had a big discussion about sunscreen. For some reason she was resistant. Silly kid.

I’ve never been tubing myself. It sounds like so much fun. I do, however, float on a raft in hip-high water as often as my schedule permits. I think that a picnic at the park and a float on the creek would be a good addition to the list.

Other ideas include a mystery road trip and a restaurant crawl. I like both of those ideas. We have a small downtown area in my town and there are some great restaurants down there. I’ll have to keep that in mind for when my boyfriend is back in town. If we hit it on the right day, we could even catch some music.

The next date on the list is playing an online game together. I guess that would be fun for some people, but games are something that the kids do with my boyfriend. I want to talk or at least look him in the face, because it’s something that I rarely get to do. I think I’ll skip this one.

The next one is picnic, but hey, I already mentioned that. They do give a good recipe for a Garbanzo Bean dip, though, so you might want to check that out. Pack some gum in the picnic basket as it features a healthy amount of garlic. (Yum, but also high on the ick factor if you are hoping for some romance).

Cosmo suggests doing some of the fun things you did as a kid. What did you like to do when you were younger?

This is going to sound silly, but I liked to swing in the dark. When I was a teen – actually up until I was a young mom -I used to love to go to the park and swing in the moonlight. The park at night is both beautiful and creepy.  Believe it or not, that’s a pretty sexy combination. (Skip this one if you live in a high crime area. Yikes).

The last suggestion is to watch a movie under the stars. I have always wanted to do that, but those projectors are pricey. Cosmo suggests using your laptop. Okay, the picture is little, but it works and you can put the money you save by not getting the projector toward the mystery road trip suggestion.

Image credit: Michelle Smith

Post from: Blisstree

Summer Date Ideas

Here are my top ten date ideas for Fall:

• Get tickets to a football game.  Find out what his favorite team is and surprise him with tickets!  You can cozy up under a lap blanket at the game.
• Visit the fall foliage.  Depending on where you live you might have to take a little trip to see the leaves change color, but I guarantee that it is worth it (I did it for the first time last year and it was amazing!)
• Take a cooking class.  It’s way too hot in the summer to even think about standing near an oven, but imagine how fun it would be to bake a delicious pie together!
• Pick your own pumpkins.  Take the hay ride and spend time wandering to find the perfect pumpkin.
• Go on a bike ride.  If you’re not too athletic then pick a flat course and stop often to chat and enjoy beautiful sights.
• Visit a historic site.  Do a little research to plan a trip out to that piece of history or local lore that you have always wanted to see.  Take the train so you can enjoy the sights alone the way.
• Stroll through an apple orchard.  You can pick your own apples and then enjoy the hot cider and donuts back at the lodge.  Wear your wellies!
• Participate in a beer tasting.  There are tons of delicious seasonal beers that come out in the Fall, so visit a local microbrewery and experiment with new types you’re never had before.
• Make your own soup or chili.  Pick a recipe that involves a day of simmering.  You can enjoy the delicious aromas while hanging out all day.
• Plan a movie marathon.  You won’t feel guilty about staying indoors and vegging out when it’s cold outside, so pick a stack of movies that you’ve both been meaning to see and spend a day hiding out.

Image: sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Top 10 Date Ideas For Fall

Unfortunately, the current economy isn’t just affecting the housing market, gas prices, luxuries – it’s keeping some people from pursuing a relationship.

Here are some ideas for free or low-cost dating. If you have your own ideas, please leave them in the comments.

*If you are having trouble meeting people, take a look at this list.  Have you tried any of these ideas?

*Free online dating services have an undeserved bad rap. If you don’t have the money to shell out for a paid membership, then chances are pretty good that other people are skipping them, as well.  Give free sites like Plenty of Fish, Date.com, or the new Down to Earth.com.

*Take advantage of free date ideas like going for a walk, a hike, or a bike ride. Opportunities like this are free from distractions and allow you to really get to know someone, while firming your booty at the same time.

*With the coming of warmer weather, many communities will be offering special events like free weekly concerts in the park, chili cook-offs, or walking art tours.

*Make dinner together at your place (or his place). If you’ve been reading Dating Dames for very long, you might have read about how much I enjoyed my last boyfriend’s cooking.  There is no denying the appeal of a well-made meal and making it yourself is so much cheaper and intimate than sharing a meal in a crowded restaurant.

Please take a look at my newest poll. What is your status?  (Yep, I’m nosey).

Post from: Blisstree

Poll Update: Dating and Finances

Romance at the Lux Center for the Arts offers periodic events for couples, allowing them the chance to use art to create something lasting to symbolize their relationship.

Four couples took part in the last date night outings, held in December. Christine Emler was one of the recent date nighters, working with instructors Brandt and Peterson…

“I didn’t know we had to play together,” Emler says.

But that’s the point, says Brandt, education director at the Lux.

“Create something with symbols and icons that represent your love and relationship. Make something to remember the night by,” she says.

Eight pair of eyes nervously look up. Brandt says.

She and Petersen are both sculptors.

“We share a home, a studio and we work together. It is the best — and the worst — thing about our relationship,” Brandt says.

Last winter, she saw a brochure from a Pennsylvania art gallery advertising a Valentine’s Day date of making art together.

Brandt liked the idea. So much so that she decided it should not be reserved just for Valentine’s Day, but occasional Fridays through the year when couples tend to have date nights.

This sounds like a wonderful opportunity for new couples to get to know each other better and for an established couple to remember what they got together for in the first place. I hope that this idea takes off and arty date nights spring up all over the place.

Post from: Blisstree

New Idea For Date Night

I had the chance to visit Austin for the first time this past March for SXSW Interactive. Since I’ve been back, I’ve been saying that it is the coolest city I’ve ever been to. If it was easy to get a work visa for the US, I’d have been there by now.

I can definately see why it would win out as a great dating city. One of the reasons the article said that Austin was great for dating is that more alcohol is purchased outside the home than any other city. It makes sense…less depressed people sitting at home drinking themselves silly; more people out and about letting their guard down and tipping back the liquid-courage.

Way to go Austin!

Post from: Blisstree

Austin Is The Best City For Single Folk

Running out of date ideas? Tania, of AmO Life, has a list of some interesting romantic date ideas.

Among them, rent a boat and paddle out on a lake (may be more of a Spring/Summer activity), bellydancing, and crossing the nearest state line for an adventure (be sure you have your date’s permission for this one, if not, it might constitute kidnapping. I’m just sayin’…).

Can you think of something new and creative?  How about……. visiting a pet store? Especially if there’s something cute and and soft to pet. Who knows, might lead to some hand-holding later on.

Ceramics. Do men like those paint your own ceramic studios?  It would give you the excuse to talk again because you’ve got to go back and pick your stuff up later, right?

How about a cooking class?  As I’ve mentioned a few times before, cooking together is very sexy, plus there’s eating. I’ve heard that men do enjoy eating.

A train ride or ferry ride can be romantic. Riding to a destination leaves time to talk, look out the window, daydream together a bit.

What have you got?  Leave your ideas in the comments and maybe we can come up with a pretty nifty list.

Image credit: All Posters.com

Post from: Blisstree

New Ideas For A Romantic Date

Your mission is to create an ensemble that screams seduction and class.

I love it. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our lives that we forget that dates are supposed to make both of us feel “special”. After a while, the let’s-go-to-the-bar-we-always-go-to-with-our-friends-every-Friday-night outfit just doesn’t cut it anymore. Let your man know that you want to do something different, leave it up to him to plan it, but make sure you use Christie’s techniques to get a hint, and find something fabulous!

Post from: Blisstree

Reading: You Fabulous You

Photo© 2008 Sasha Manuel

I’m a confessed beach-addict, and I’ve noticed that ever since I started going to the beach with teh boyfriend, our relationship has grown.

It may be the soothing sound of the crashing sea, or the nights spent looking at the stars. For some reason, the lack of distractions on a beach let us be more private and intimate with each other, conversationally speaking. With no pressing concerns to worry about, our beach trips are usually spent genuinely conversing about our desires and dreams.

By extension, we also get to enjoy the company of other people more intensely. With schedules cleared and no clear plan to enjoy the sand, sea, and whatever’s available, we end up connecting naturally. Which is always a great thing in my book.

Wouldn’t you know it? The beach is also the perfect excuse to see some skin! Kidding! I’m curious though: have you ever been to a beach date? Has it helped your relationship with a significant other or even a casual contact? Let me know by commenting below.

Post from: Blisstree

Are Beaches the Key to Growing Relationships?