I’ve rarely been taken on a proper date, when I have, it’s been a restaurant. Where did a fun date of yours occur? Seeking clever ideas.
On our first date, I took the woman who is now my wife to a see Garrison Keillor do APHC open-air. I know she was a big NPR fan, so it was something I thought she would like, and I was right.
One of my favorite early dates is to go knock some balls around at pee wee golf. It’s silly, it’s fun, and it provides a nice public place to have conversation with someone you’re just getting to know.
A picnic in a public park is also enjoyable. Can include a hike if you’re so inclined. You can both bring contributions to the menu.
Is there a museum or art gallery nearby? You can learn a lot about someone sharing such an experience with them.
If you know the person well enough to do stuff that’s more private, a drive to the desert or out to the country to stargaze is another fun activity. Snuggle up under the stars with a preferred libation and show off your astronomy knowledge (or lack of same).
I always thought the worst first dates were going to a movie. To… sit side-by-side and stare together at a screen. Ugh.
Have fun.
I like looking at quirky attractions.
Some, like trip advisor, also recommend hotels and restaurants. Or you can just pack a picnic lunch and road trip. I take lots of pictures.
Got some money to spend?
Go for a two-person glider ride. (Yes, there are gliders that can take two passengers in the back seat.) Google for a place near you that does this – it may be a day-long day trip.
Glider ride pilot’s blog with whole bunch of photos:
The big question is “What would your date like to do? What are they interested in, what do they like to eat?”
My girlfriend once said she appreciated having me come to her and say “Hey, if you’re free some night this week, I was thinking about eating someplace new. Any places you’ve wanted to try, or new cuisines?” (Be sure to do some research in advance, so you’ve got suggestions, too)
She was glad to be involved in the decision… knowing her previous boyfriend, I’m betting he’d announce that he’d paid a ton for hockey tickets practically right on the ice it’ll be awesome!
My theory / experience is that you will never sleep with a woman if your first date was for dinner.
I was about to argue with this, until I thought back to my own personal experience and realized there’s some truth to this. I am an active person, and each of the four men that I’ve slept with in the last decade has done something active with me as the first date. (Using the word “date” loosely - maybe dinner was our first official date but we worked out earlier in the week or something.)
One guy got together and did an Insanity workout with me, one met up to do an obstacle course race with me, one met up to go for a hike, and one met up with me at a ninja gym. Which may sound wonderful or awful depending on your own interests, but I think the larger point is that you tend to get along better/are more attracted to people who have similar interests anyways.
The last time I was dating I found many gals like spending a few hours looking through an antique store. They always find and item or 2 that their grandma or another relative had. It brings back some good memories. Plus I can impress them with my knowledge of some of the collectible stuff. Buy them a little something and they have a memory for the day.
OMG, the picture of the glider pilot looks a lot like a guy at my old job. He was an amateur glider pilot. He was also a serious drunk. I’d never willingly get in a plane with him! But it’s unlikely it’s the same guy. I’d fully expect him to be long dead.
I’d have loved to go to a hockey game! But I’m enough of a fan to know that ice level is a terrible place to watch a game from if it’s the game you’re interested in.
When was the last time you were dating (bolding mine)? The 50s??? Heh, it’s actually a good idea, but the word “gals” always makes me think of cranky old guys who matured in the 1940s.
I lived in the Los Angeles metro area for a long time, including my adult dating period from age 23 to 45. On every “first date” it was day trips to local notable outdoor places.
My fave, which I did several times, was an afternoon starting at Olvera Street near Union station, then the La Brea Tar pits and returning via the Griffith Park Observatory or Travel Town. No official meal was in the itinerary, though it might happen.
I enjoyed outings because conversation was usually assisted by the surroundings.
Other places? Venice boardwalk, Hollywood boulevard, a tour of the Coliseum (you had to arrange that), the close by L.A. museum of Science and Industry, driving Mulholland boulevard up in the hills.
For the gardener: Descanso Gardens in La Canada.
And if you knew the right person, a visit to the Magic Castle. (Strictly a dinner-and-show date, but what fun!)
And perhaps strangely, walking around the Hollywood Hills or Glendale Forest Lawn cemeteries. Many notables and celebrities are there and the F.L. staff will tell you where to find them. (To be fair, F.L. was never a first date event.)
A local university had a monthly public night at the astronomy department’s observatory, with a lecture or film and a look through telescopes, big and small.
Ice skating.
Rock climbing.
Wine/beer tasting.
Build a snowman, followed by hot chocolate.
Bake or cook together.
Frag n00bs together in TF2 (or whatever the kids are playing on their RTX Nentendo Gamestations these days.)
My wife and I’s first date was drinks and dinner. My preference is for something quiet where conversation is easy. That includes dinner, coffee, pubs, etc. All standard and boring first dates, but I found them easy to fit into busy schedules and they form a good foundation to decide whether you click or not.
Another successful first date was my date coming over to my house to have me cook dinner for her while she was in the neighborhood. That worked out exceedingly well if sleeping with someone is your goal. I’m not a sleep-on-the-first-date kind of guy (I like to wait three), but that one was on the first date.
The funnest first dates I’ve been on were when I was younger and had a lot of time on my hands. Playing cribbage and going bowling. Ice skating and hot chocolate and wandering through the city. Showing a pretty German girl around town and driving across the city from a college baseball game (she was big into baseball), followed with visiting a cafe, grabbing something to eat at an Indian restaurant, then ending the day on the Skydeck at the Sears Tower. Meeting at the zoo and riding the tram around the city. These were all six hour plus long dates, something I found little time for in my thirties. Once I got to that age, meeting at a bar and grabbing some food became the standard “getting to know you” first date.
I don’t know where you, or the OP, live but the majority of our members are US-based. It’s wintertime in the US. The highest high in my local 5-day forecast is 37°; DE thru VA just got blanketed with up to, & over, a foot of snow that kept people in their cars, trapped on I-95 for over 24 hours. Snow will probably be on the ground there for 2 or more weeks. Mini-golf & ice cream stands are all long closed for the season.
Temps are cold, the ground in frozen. Unless we were both part of some outdoor group & were joking about doing such anyone who asked me to a picnic now I’d probably respond that I had plans to wash my hair that day & then block them…& I’m an outdoors type of person.
With Omicron raging, I’d personally skip dating for now but it is cuffing season so if you’re looking for dating ideas for now think of one of those adult/family fun centers - indoor carting / Skeeball / arcade / tramp(oline) park, etc, like Dave & Busters
Auto-correct? (… Curling? Huffing?)
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I only know two people under 70 who use that term, and there’s always a dismissive tone to it. Or at least a strong feeling that they’re not taking someone seriously. “A bunch of gals at work were gossiping…”
All of us should work on our vocabulary, attitudes, and our table manners (though somehow my best friend who hunches over his plate as he shovels food in his mouth married a wonderful woman)…
…before that first date.
Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize I needed to qualify my post with, “weather permitting…”
Given that I just endured 14" of snowfall in my rural USA location, a power outage that lasted for 3 days and was only able to leave my home in a vehicle yesterday for the first time in more than a week because the driveway was snowed in, you can safely assume I was aware of weather as a factor for dating. Hence the suggestions you omitted, such as visiting an art gallery or a museum.
That would be about 2009 when I was in my early 50’s.
Nope, typed correctly - cuffing season
Ignorance successfully fought. Thanks, I doff my hat to you.
My most cherished dates with my most recent girlfriend started with going to an open mic night at a museum. In between each act, they asked a question about classical music, and each winner got a big prize.
On one of those questions, her hand shot up. “TCHAIKOVSKY!” Her favorite composer. She was right. And we won tickets to our greatest date: A delightful evening of classical music, six rows from the stage, front and center.