Surprise date adventures
Keep your spouse guessing by turning date night into a surprise adventure. To begin, make a set of cards (either decorated and written by hand or done on the computer) with one activity listed on each. For example, one could list a movie, and the others could list a restaurant, a dessert café, or a stop by his or her favourite store to pick out a small treat. Each card would then be sealed in an envelope. Present the envelopes to your date and have them choose one out of your hand. Whatever they pick, do it! Repeat the process until all the date options have been chosen.

Lunch date
Turn a lunch into a date. If you’re fortunate enough to live close by your spouse’s workplace, take them out to a cozy café or restaurant. But instead of treating it merely as lunch, treat your outing as a date – meaning, get dressed up a little, flirt with each other and avoid talking about what needs to get done at home. Why wait until evening to reconnect with your love, when you can do it at noon?

Comic couples
When was the last time you and your spouse shared a good laugh? Plan a comedy-themed date with the goal to laugh all evening. Before your date, ask your love to collect silly jokes and think of funny childhood memories to share at dinner. For more laughs during your meal, play the straight-faced game – see who can hold their serious expression without laughing first. Try it multiple times: Winner gets a big bite off the other’s plate! If you don’t care about the other diners watching your silliness, sit side-by-side so you can take photos of yourselves making the goofiest faces. Top off the evening with a side-splitting time at a local improv show.

Follow the stars
On a clear take your love on a stargazing adventure. Start by picking a big, bright star, and follow it on foot while holding hands and talking. At any point, stop for ice cream or dessert, at a park, or anything you come across along the way. Follow your star until you can’t follow it anymore, then pick another star to follow. For a surprise, take your spouse to a different neighbourhood or part of town, and use this activity to explore it together!

Five-dollar date
For a simple and economical date, take your spouse to a farmer’s market, flea market or antique shop with only five dollars each. Together, scour the stalls for the perfect five-dollar gift for each other. Unusual or quirky items make good gifts, as do market foods, used CDs, jewellery, books, records and small antique items. And be sure to be sneaky and buy your gift when your mate isn’t looking so you can unveil your treats for each other together.

At-home spa
Give your love some tender care by planning a relaxing massage date. To create your at-home spa, set up a quiet room with candles, flowers and light, classical music. Fill the room with a light scent, preferably an essential oil burning in an infuser. Then, have your spouse lie on the bed with fresh sheets, and begin with a head and neck rub, followed by a back massage. Be sure to take your time and ask your spouse what pressure they prefer and what spots need the most attention. If you want help with your massage skills, there are plenty of books available to give you tips. But don’t worry! Whether you know how to give a perfect massage, giving a gift of loving touch is a surefire way to convey love and care to your mate.

Springtime blooms
With the snow melting and flowers now appearing, take your loved one on a date to your local botanical gardens, parks or plant nurseries. Trade the dreariness of winter for the colourful offerings of spring’s first blooms. If visiting a botanical garden, find out what is growing there beforehand and ask your date to learn the names of the flowers. Then, during your date, see who can identify the most plants. Or if you plan to visit a nursery, take a few seedlings home with you and plant them together in your garden to enjoy.

The more the merrier
A double date with a twist! Have the husbands become one date-planning team and the wives become another. With your date-planning partner, collaborate your ideas for a super-secret creative date for your spouses. Who knows what new and exciting ideas you’ll come up when you brainstorm date ideas with a friend? Throw in a little friendly competition by setting the expectation that each team should try to outdo the other on their turns to impress! This way, your double dates might just get better and better each time!

A Valentine’s surprise
Are you looking for a creative Valentine’s date idea beyond just a dinner and a movie? Add some excitement to your special night by planning a surprise scavenger hunt for your love. Before leaving for work in the morning, give him or her the first clue, and tell them not to open it until they get home or until a certain time. Then, plant their favourite treats, special gifts and love notes around the house stashed with the next clues, which will eventually indicate the restaurant where you’ll be waiting with flowers.

Hop on, hop off the bus
When the weather outside is frightful and going out by car provides a challenge, try a low-key date using the public transit in your city or town. Rapid transit, buses or tram cars are an excellent alternative to driving and allow for more focussed conversation without the distractions of traffic. When it’s not rush hour, you’ll be more likely to find a double seat to yourselves. Hop on a route you’ve never taken before or explore an area of town you don’t visit often. And since no one is driving (or back-seat driving), you can both kick back and enjoy the sights as someone else takes care of dodging traffic. If there’s a street you know with lots of places to eat and things to see, add spontaneity to your date by getting off any time there’s a place either of you want visit. Then, take the time to explore the area before hopping back on the bus and discovering your next venue.

Festive photography
Armed with a digital camera and bundled in warm clothes, set off together to one of your favourite spots in town. But instead of shooting photos of each other in standard poses, find items you think describe the other person or select an abstract theme (like “irreplaceable,” or “hope”). For example, if you choose to describe your wife, you might take a picture of a glittering ornament, one of her favourite things, or even a collection of your wife’s facial expressions – just for fun. Be creative and think outside the box! Afterwards, find a cozy café, and get to know your mate’s creative side as you share your images over a steamy cup of hot chocolate.

Literary adventures
For a simple date, cozy up with your spouse at your local library. But instead of going your separate ways to find a book for yourselves, both of you will choose ones you think the other would enjoy. Mix it up! Choose your favourite books, ones you enjoyed as a child (like picture books and young readers) or even books you’ve never read before. Reading something new helps spark new ideas, new thoughts and reactions. You never know: your husband may end up loving your favourite, Pride and Prejudice (albeit, secretly), and your wife may come to share your childhood love for The Hobbit. Whether you end up loving or disliking a book, both of you will have engaged in sharing yourselves with each other. It may be a great way to sharpen your minds, but it also provides a chance for you to flex those communication and imagination muscles.

A movie under the stars
In today’s multi-screen movie theatres, it’s next to impossible to avoid the gaggles of teens and crowds of parents with young kids. Instead of facing the bustle of an evening film showing, try a drive-in theatre where you and your spouse can experience the big screen from the privacy of your own car. Even if you don’t have bench seats, you can still cuddle up in your vehicle under cozy blankets. If you own a station wagon or SUV, take advantage of your trunk space by turning it into your own romantic theatre seating. Back your car into your spot, pop open the trunk (while turning off all inside lights) and lay down blankets and pillows. The same can be done with a hatchless truck. Or, bring lawn chairs to prop by your car and have a true outdoor movie-watching experience. Either way, watching a movie under the stars can refresh your indoor theatre routine and give you ample excuse to stay up late and snuggle.

Shall we dance?
Great for double dates or just the two of you, dancing lessons can be a lot of fun and inexpensive. By nature, dancing is a romantic activity where you can spend plenty of time in close proximity with your spouse while establishing a connection in your movements. Formal dancing lessons can cost more, but many community centres offer informal drop-in lessons for beginners wanting to learn more traditional folk dances, such as Scottish Ceilidh (pronounced “kay-lee”) dancing, square or line dancing. Some locations even offer drop-in beginner lessons for slightly more complicated dances like swing and salsa dancing. Even if you feel insecure about your coordination, taking your loved one dancing is a creative way to interact with your spouse, hone your verbal and non-verbal communication skills and have fun. Like marriage, dancing requires both of you to learn your individual roles, which you must then learn to use together in performing the dance. Most importantly, success in dancing relies on attentively listening to your partner’s physical cues and verbal instructions. These are definitely useful skills to practice and apply to marriage! Remember, it’s not about how coordinated you are, but how much fun you have in the process together.

Summertime festivals
With great summer weather comes outdoor festivals, providing creative options for a date with your spouse. Many towns and cities often hold different cultural events during the summer, like jazz and folk festivals, fireworks shows, ethnic celebrations, free outdoor concerts or movies under the stars. Some cities even hold summer night markets where street vendors sell food and interesting knick-knacks for a bargain. Of course, events will vary according to where you live. Start by doing an Internet search for what’s happening in your area, then make plans with your spouse to experience some new festivities together. Bring a blanket or your walking shoes, and enjoy what your town has to offer under the long summer sun.

Row, row, row a boat
One of the great things about summer is that the evenings stay bright. Take your spouse for an evening paddle in a canoe, paddle boat or double kayak. Many lakeside marinas rent boats by the hour and provide all you need, from life jackets to paddles, for your water adventure. Pack a snack and choose a destination where you can enjoy your time together at a park or isolated beach. If it’s warm enough, go for a swim or just enjoy the solitude of your location together.

A day at the zoo
Who says the zoo is just for kids? Consider taking your spouse on a date to your local zoo for a picnic and to pick out your favourite animals. With plenty of walking paths and exotic animals to see, the zoo offers a great place for you and your spouse to marvel at God’s creativity. Petting zoos can be great fun for adults, too. These are typically smaller and offer up-close opportunities to interact with the animals. Going to the zoo may seem like child’s play, but sometimes that’s what it takes to help couples release the pressures of everyday life and to have fun! Go ahead, monkey around!

Sensory surprises
Surprise your spouse with a different kind of picnic. Gather your loved one’s favourite foods, and even some unusual or uncommon foods – ones that your spouse may never have tried (but which you think he’ll enjoy). Find a quiet place, such as a park, the beach or even your backyard, and blindfold your spouse. Make sure he can’t peek! Then, feed him a piece of food and have him describe what kinds of flavours, textures and memories he experiences. Don’t let him guess what the food is until he’s shared his observations. Your spouse’s different reactions, comments and guesses provide opportunities for great dialogue and conversation (especially if your spouse thinks an olive tastes like fish and reminds him of an eyeball). With the new foods, you get to know your spouse better, and while feeding him his favourites, you’ll remind him that he’s worth being known and loved. To spice things up, take turns eating and feeding.