Date Ideas

When I was growing up, it always seemed like I had a balanced mix of friends-- some boys, some girls, some Mormon, some not, some athletic, some musical, some artistic, some reckless, and others reserved.  Something interesting has happened, though, very recently.  Ever since serving my mission and coming home, the majority of my close friends and acquaintances are girls.  Everything else is still fairly balanced.  This is the only thing that's changed.

I'm glad it's that way, though.  Most of my guy-friends are married now, and it would be extremely inappropriate for me to carry on a friendship with them when they should be focused on their respective families.  I suppose this post can be for friends like those.  Here are some ideas for what you can do for your wife!  Even married people need to go on dates.  (Especially married people need to go on dates.  Gotta keep that love alive.)

Another funny observation:  With the exception of one or two, all of the girls with whom I associate now have mentioned how hard it is to get asked out on a date nowadays.  They talk about how they feel sub-par-- that if they could be smarter or prettier or funnier, maybe they would get asked out every now and again.  (Not kidding, guys.  You're really hurting their feelings.)  The sad thing is, my friends are beautiful, intelligent, and hilarious.  A guy would have a hard time finding better.  So why are all of us girls hanging out every weekend when we (at least some of us) should be on a date?...  I'm old-fashioned.  Boys, ask my friends out.  They're awesome.  They deserve a good time.  I know you'll love spending time with them as much as I do.  I. DARE. YOU.

To help you out, here are some inexpensive and fun ideas that you can use WHEN you take my friends (or your wife) on dates:

• Go hiking.  You can't go wrong frolicking in meadows.  Heck-- I do this by myself whenever I get the chance.  It's amazing.  Pack a picnic.
• Go star gazing.  We're not talking "let's lie next to each other, look up at the sky, and hope that it turns into a make-out session" star gazing.  We're talking legit "let's use this star map to find constellations, planets, and stars" star gazing.  Tell the constellations' stories.  Eat moon pies.
• Throw a rave.  Buy a bunch of glow-sticks, stage a club in your basement, and add music.  Serve mocktails (cocktails minus the alcohol).  Keep it clean.  It's not a real rave, after all.
• Have a themed dinner and a movie.  Choose a foreign film and cook a meal to go with it.  Chinese movie, meet Chinese food.  Bollywood movie, meet Indian food.  Japanese movie, meet sushi.  British movie, meet fish and chips.  Get it?  There are a lot of possibilities here.
• Don't go bowling in formal wear.  Seriously.  Don't.  This idea isn't clever and cute.  It's stupid.  If you make my friends do this, I'll give them permission to punch you in the throat.
• Have a mini-bonfire.  All you need is a fire pit.  Roast marshmallows, and then see who roasts them better.  See who can create the best smore recipe.  See who has the scariest ghost story.
• Volunteer.  Every community has a need of some kind.  Go serve the community.  It's a great way to get to know each other.  Not sure where to go?  Here's a site that will give you some ideas:  http://www.justserve.org/
• Record a song together.  Got a cell phone that records sounds?  Great!  Got an iPad or laptop with recording capabilities?  Even better!  Think of it as karaoke + music video....  Music video....  That's a great idea!
• Play video games.  Despite contrary belief, girls like video games too.  Why not play video games together?  Seems simple enough.  Make sure you play multi-player games, and not the kind that say they're multi-player, but they're really not.  Don't forget the classics.  You can't go wrong with Mario Kart.
• At Christmastime, go caroling.  It doesn't matter if you know your neighbors or not.  If you don't think your neighborhood is safe, first of all-- man up and carry a gun.  Second of all, you can go caroling anywhere.  It doesn't matter if you know the people you're singing to or not.  (Although you may want to go to homes with Christmas lights to avoid offending someone who doesn't celebrate Christmas.)  End the night with hot chocolate or apple cider.
• Bake something and then give it away.  Cook something together and then give the goodies away to friends and neighbors.  Ding-dong-ditch the cupcakes/bread/cookies/brownies/whatever-you-made and watch your neighbors' reactions using binoculars.
• Make something.  Paint a picture.  Build a birdhouse.  Make jewelry.  It's girly.  It's cute.  It's fun.  If she's an artsy kind of girl, she'll love it.
• Nerf gun war.  Hide behind furniture.  Enough said.
• Visit historical sites.  Most towns (all towns, in fact) have a unique history.  Dig into that history and go to your town's landmarks.
• Study family history together.  Not everyone would like this, but I know some would.  Go to ancestry.com to find ancestors.  Visit a family history center-- most libraries and Mormon churches have some kind of a family history program already in place.  These programs, as far as I know, are free to the public.
• Learn how to dance.  You don't have to take dance lessons either.  There are plenty of YouTube tutorials you can follow.  If you're not into learning how to waltz, then learn the choreography to "Thriller."

I feel like I could go on.  I might.  Feel free to add your ideas in the comments below.

And, guys, I've given you a lot of great ideas.  Ask my friends to do some of these things with you!

Also, ladies, it wouldn't kill you to ask the guys out either.  If they say no, it's their loss.