50 Playful Dates to Spice up Your Relationship

Source: Source: kai Stachowiak / Face finger love heart / License: Public Domain

A recent discussion in my Psychology of Close Relationships class probed the topic of how relationships transition from hot and heavy often in the beginning, to more comfortable and emotionally intimate as relationships progress. As you can imagine, this isn’t always welcome news to an undergraduate and the discussion quickly turned to how to avoid this relationship rite of passage.

First and foremost, it’s important to understand that this transition is totally normal and has to do with the diminishing amount of novelty and excitement in the relationship. One way to stave off this transition is by adding novelty back into your partnership. Researchers have examined this phenomenon from a self-expansion standpoint and claim that people have an innate drive to grow, learning, and expand. The introduction of a new partner necessarily allows for new experiences and opportunities. However, when the novelty of that partner begins to fade, the two of you could engage in new adventures together.

One particularly interesting finding is that couples who engage in “novel play” show increased relationship satisfaction. As you can imagine, my undergraduates had a number of suggestions when it came to “novel play.” I figured I’d share the G-rated date ideas with those of you looking to spice up your relationships in the new year. It’s worth noting that from a self-expansion standpoint, not all play is considered equal. Those activities that are more exciting led to more positive outcomes than those that were just pleasant, so some of these activities are a little daring or extreme (particularly if like me, you’ve passed the age where injuries heal quickly)!

1. Go-cart racing
2. Paintball
3. Volunteer at an animal shelter to walk/play with puppies
4. Rollercoaster rides
5. Take a ghost tour
6. White water rafting
7. Skydiving
8. Bubble soccer
9. Aquajets
10. Lasertag
11. Bungee jumping
12. Water park
13. Go for a hike
14. Take a dance class
15. Trampoline park
16. Ice skating
17. Escape room
18. Horseback riding
19. Play hide-and-seek
20. Rock climbing
21. Arcade fun
22. Have a snowball fight
23. Workout together
24. Drive a race car
25. Cheer for your favorite team
26. Habitat for Humanity build
27. Karaoke
28. Mud Run
29. Pick fruit at a local orchard
30. Flight lessons
31. Clay shooting
32. Zipline
33. Travel to a new destination
34. Parasailing
35. Plant a community garden
36. Ride a bicycle built for two
37. Putt-putt golfing
38. Paddleboarding
39. Watch a scary movie
40. Go for a swim (perhaps with dolphins)
41. Attend a concert
42. Take a pedal tour of your town
43. Scuba diving
44. Tour a brewery/winery/distillery
45. Play a sport (kickball, dodgeball, tennis)
46. Corn maze
47. Take a spin class
48. Scavenger hunt
49. Kayaking
50. Tour an local attraction (art museum, botanical garden, aquarium, state park, butterfly garden)