Ten Ideas for a Fun Date
My favourite dates happen during the day. I have never been a night person, even before having kids. And now, the days spent feeding, washing, playing, running, changing nappies, and wiping bottoms on repeat many many times. After finally putting my little sweet babies to bed, my biggest desire is to go to bed myself. Maybe not to sleep, but definitely to be in horisontal position and not moving!
So dates during the days are the best. But not only because I actually have the energy for quality time together, but dates during the day also offer such a fantastic variety of activities. Basically, pretty much everything that can be done in the evening and much much more fun is possible during the day. This post is a collection of ideas for the dates during the day.
I love to have dates for the whole day when kids are in daycare and we can do a few of the activities and also relax a bit. But if someone is looking after kids only for a couple of hours it’s still fun to pick an activity and enjoy it together!
Some sport: tennis, basketball, badminton, you name it. There is no need to have great sports skills to be able to have fun. Pick a racket and imagine yourself Andy Murray/Serena Williams/Rafael Nadal/Maria Sharapova etc. If you know the characters well you can even create a little story about the biggest ever tennis match in history between them. And if the time is around Wimbledon, then strawberries and cream after the match are a must! I love playing tennis with my hubby for fun, we enjoy it together and also feel competitive and try to beat each other. It’s a good way to get distracted from day-to-day worries and to-do lists. Last week though we decided to change it a bit and went to play basketball on our date. It was also great fun and even more so as we watched the NBA playoffs match on TV during one of our previous dates.
Watch a sports game live or on TV: Of course, watching live has a lot more of an atmosphere and experience. But watching on Tv could be captivating too, especially if one of you is a fan of a playing team. Supporting the team together and then, hopefully, celebrating the win brings a great sense of unity!
Walk or hike: we love to explore on foot. Picking a scenic place is a good start. I normally do a little bit of research to know the place is worth going to, and then we relax and walk with no agenda or pre-defined route. There is a sense of freedom in choosing a path to follow on the spot.
Picnic in a park and people-watching: this was one of our favourite activities before we had kids. We had most relaxed Sundays, we strolled to Tesco, picked coffee and a nice bakery, and then headed to a bench in the park. From that bench we watched the world go by, parents teaching their kids to cycle, or running and playing with the kids, dog owners walking their dogs, sportsmen, and sportswomen exercising and running. Now, we are those people running and playing with the kids and rarely get to watch the world while we have to watch our children. So it’s nice to remember how to relax and take an observer position once in a while.
Bike ride: A bike ride is another way to explore surroundings. It surely gets you farther than on foot! It’s much greener than driving and good exercise too. We had a few wonderful bike trips on our dates and I remember them fondly. We loved the places we found and the ride itself. Notably, the Richmond park ride was beautiful and great for cycling with well-deserved rest by the pond at the end.
City break: If London City is near it’s the best. My favourite walks are South Bank and Covent garden and Leister square areas. But many other parts of the city are lovely too. And even if London is not near, smaller towns could be just as wonderful for a day trip. I love exploring high street shops, little cafes, local architecture, and parks together. As a tip, it’s worth reading up on what’s in town in advance to give some context to the exploration.
Art Exhibition: Art exhibitions could be a wonderful source of inspiration and also a great way to spend some nice time together and get distracted from everyday life. Smaller art galleries could be just as good as big museums. One of my favourite trips was to Dullich art gallery to see paintings of Norwegian artist Nikolai Astrup. I loved his work and I also very much enjoyed high tea in the garden after the exhibition.
Shopping together: shopping together could be great fun as long as there isn’t too much on the agenda. For us, it works best to browse home-related departments and to dream about what we will buy in the future. Recently we went to a garden center together on a date and chose little dog and hare sculptures for our garden. We also decided that when we buy a new house we will plant an olive tree in the garden. I don’t know if we will when it comes to it, but it was fun to dream and choose together in a relaxed atmosphere.
Take away and watching a movie: this option is so simple and so enjoyable. However, choosing a movie sometimes feels like a challenge. So we retreat to watching a show in this case. Our current favourite is “Interior Design Masters” on Netflix.
Board games: monopoly, settlers of Catan, and good old scrabble all can provide a couple of hours of good entertainment and fun on a rainy day!
What are your favourite things to do on a date?
