Trade houses with out-of-town friends and enjoy a weekend getaway without paying for a bed and breakfast.
2. Go fishing.
Fishing is a relaxing, inexpensive way to spend the day.
3. Tour local landmarks.
Drop by your local visitors bureau (or its Web site) for information about local historic landmarks and other sites of interest, and then make a day of touring.
4. Visit a museum.
Is there a new exhibit in town, or perhaps a museum you haven’t yet explored? Let your inner artists mingle.
5. Relax in a coffee shop together.
Play board games and get goofy. Or show off your smarts by reading and discussing the newspaper together.
6. Indulge in a home spa for two.
Create ambience with candles, music and scented oils.
7. Ride bikes.
Enjoy the simple pleasure of a casual bike ride. Find a local wooded, riverfront or lakefront bike path and travel with your sweetheart.
8. Take a cruise.
Not the tropical kind — the steamboat kind! If you live near a river, a cruise on your local historic steamboat offers something fun and different.
9. Go to a park and share your interests.
Is one of you an artist? The other can sit for a portrait. A musician? Serenade your sweetheart. Or take turns reading classic romantic poetry by Lord Byron or Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
10. See a play at your community theatre.
These shows are usually less expensive and the seating is more intimate (perfect for snuggling).
11. Attend amateur night at a comedy club.
Laughing together brings you closer. So why not enjoy some stand-up during amateur night?
12. Wander around a farmers' market or street fair.
Hold hands and stroll as you enjoy a relaxing afternoon of new sights, smells, flavours and sounds.
13. Go to the zoo.
It’s fun. It’s different. And often, that’s all it takes to make a good date.
14. Play disc golf.
Disc golf courses usually are in lovely wooded parks. And all you need to play is a disc-golf disc (available at many sports stores).
15. Stargaze.
A clear night can offer the brightest stars. Find a dark field, snuggle up on a big blanket and share some hot chocolate.
16. Share a giant banana split.
This date evokes sentiments of the 1950s soda shop. (Besides, you’d probably never get to eat a banana split alone!)
17. Volunteer together.
Helping others often opens our own hearts in the process, making volunteering an intimacy booster. So pick a cause you both care about and make an afternoon of it.
18. Attend a lecture or book reading.
Lectures and readings often are free, and can stimulate conversations later over coffee.
19. Take a mystery drive.
Hop in the car and pop in some happy tunes. Then start driving, taking only left turns. Where the two of you will end up is a mystery!
