Date ideas in the age of COVID

COVID numbers keep rising. More and more people recognize the need for safe distancing and isolation. But fewer and fewer people are willingly engaging in it. Why? We’re bored.

A night in does not necessarily have to mean a night of doing nothing, though. In fact, you can find some amusement at home AND add some relationship equity with your significant other by doing an at-home date. The following are some creative at-home date ideas appropriate for social distancing in the age of coronavirus (and beyond, probably).

Submit to a randomized experience

Let AI lead your dating experience (are we heading towards an AI-controlled world anyway?). There are several apps and web sites that will make choices for you: what to watch, what to eat, what to do.

You can totally submit to a robot overlord and let it dictate the terms of your date night by using a generator like this one from TheCalculator.co. OR, you can take some of the power back pulling a list of date ideas and then having your partner pick a random number. This list from Healthline isn’t numbered (you’ll have to do that yourself), but it’s packed with novel ideas.

We like watching things on many of our date nights. But selecting what exactly we should watch is a huge pain. We easily get paralyzed by choice overload. Reelgood made a dope app that will select a movie or show for you! You can even let it know what streaming apps are available to you. Give the movie roulette wheel a spin for yourself.

Play Would You Rather

Get the conversation sparked with this classic party game–which can be played with just the two of you. There are thousands of lists of free questions online–and many are tailored around specific themes. So do a little surfing and find one that fits you.

If you want to get started easily, here are a few of my favorite Would You Rather questions:

• Would you rather give up Netflix or social media?
• Would you rather be alive at a time in the future or a time in the past?
• Would you rather be the funniest person at the party or the most intelligent?
• Would you rather kick a puppy or make a child cry?
• Would you rather be rich and famous or just rich?
• Would You Rather Spend $5,000 On Traveling Or On A Physical Item Like A TV?
• Would you rather know how you’re going to die or know how I’m going to die?

Virtual museum tour

OK, it’s not quite as enthralling as the real thing. But virtual tours are still pretty cool. And they’re often free. AND they allow you to go places you’re otherwise unlikely to go IRL (like the Louvre!).

Search your favorite museum, or just search “virtual museum tours” and see what strikes you.

Online dance tutorial

All arms and legs like me? Now you’re spared the embarrassment of revealing your lack of grace because you can get down and get shakin’ where nobody is watching (besides your partner). YouTube offers everything from ballroom basics to choreographed hip hop routines. Pull up whatever interests you (or your partner) and give yourself a little space to move.

There are also high-quality paid options like MasterClass and ShowHerOff.com.

Online couples’ yoga

This works the same as the online dance tutorial: find yourself a video and an open space and see what happens. YouTube hosts videos of everything from erotic couples’ yoga to power yoga workouts.

Art night

Why not make something together? Pick up some cheap canvases and paints and see if you can make portraits of one another–or of the family dog (she might be less offended by how it turns out). Or give a go at acrylic pour painting. We did that one evening and found it addictive.

Communication activities

Get clinical in your communication and try a therapist-recommended communication exercise. Some of the most recommended communication activities for couples include:

• “Mirror mirror”: each participant gets three to five minutes of uninterrupted time to tell a story. The listening partner then has to repeat the story back. The exercise helps with active listening skills and empathy.
• “Eye see you”: participants sit facing each other. Both people silently maintain eye contact for three to five minutes. After the time of silence, each participant gets an opportunity to guess what their partner was thinking.
• “It’s all in a name”: participants make positive anagrams out of their partner’s name. So using each letter of your partner’s name, you’ll provide a compliment or positive quality.
• “Music lyrics”: choose three songs that you relate to and share the lyrics with your partner. This activity prompts conversation about how you’re feeling. When you’re done sharing, use your songs to create a couple’s playlist/mixtape.
• Journal together: Use journal prompts to write out your feelings before sharing them with one another. Writing before sharing provides practice for thoughtfully approaching our conversations. And the prompts challenge us to consider ideas or topics we don’t normally consider. Here are a few to get started:
  • How do I show love to my partner?
  • Who are five people I admire most? Why?
  • What am I most grateful for in our relationship?
  • What are my partner’s dreams?
  • Describe three ways I am supportive of my partner.

You can probably see the value in what the journaling prompts inspire. I particularly like exercises that inspire a positive introspection–like the last prompt. I may feel convicted to show more support and my spouse and I have the opportunity to share how we’re attempting to be positively present for one another.

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Whatever you try, take a bit of openness and whimsy with you. This pandemic period demands adaptability–and that carries over into our relationships during this time. An aspect of adaptability is an openness to try and fail. So all these ideas might not work splendidly. But maybe you’ll still have fun in the misadventure.