Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

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Tired of the same old date ideas: Going out to the mall, dusting off the bowling shoes, or going out to dinner followed by some lame movie that you really didn’t want to see?

We here at Weekend Kindness want to help!  So, we’ve scoured books on dating and would like to present for your approval the following list of 7 more Unusual Date Ideas taken from "Date Your Mate":

1. Let’s Make a Deal

On a piece of cardboard create a three-door game that will let your lover select the place and price level of subsequent outings.  Label the doors 1, 2, and 3.  Behind each door write the description of a particular date ( for instance, "A dinner at [a favorite restaurant] followed by a night at the theater seeing a live play" ).  Behind another door may be a less extravagant date such as "A fun-filled evening shopping for a new pair of shoes (on me, of course)".  The last alternative might be something like "You’ve won an exciting evening at home with two videos of your choice and a bowlful of popcorn."

You can switch the cards around after your lover chooses and replace the date selected with a new idea in the same price range.

Make this like the TV game by first giving your lover a gift of $20 to go out with or to trade back for a chance at the doors.

2. Mug For the Camera

Spend the evening with your lover taking outrageous photos in a photo booth.  Invest a few dollars and get one strip of pictures with the two of you doing goofy poses, one strip of the two of you wearing funny hats and glasses, etc.  Or come up with a plot for a pantomime and try to tell a story using pictures and whatever props you have on hand.  Who knows– your pictures may come out so well that you will want to have your photo-booth prints framed and hung!

3. Portable Restaurant

You will need the help of friends for this one.  Find an unusual setting (i.e. a crowded shopping mall or the top of a building) or a romantic spot (ocean cliffs or a secluded lakeside location) and set up a table (a card table works nicely).  Tell your date to dress up because you’re going to a very well-known place for dinner.  When you arrive, have your friends dressed appropriately as waiters and the table set with china and candles.  As you eat, be sure to compliment the impeccable service and comment on the ambience of the place.  (FOOD TIP:  You could have someone be the chef and barbecue your food or simply bring it in from a nearby restaurant that has prepared it "to go."  Another solution is to fix some item that can be easily kept for several hours, such as cracked crab salad on ice.)

4. Hawaii at 20-Below

In the dead of winter surprise your mate with a luau in the living room.  Get some Hawaiian music, sand and water in a jar, fruit drinks (served in coconuts with straws), roasted pork, and flower leis.  (Most florists will throw something together for you that at least will resemble a lei.)  Be sure to turn the thermostat to 80 degrees.  It’s important that you dress for the occasion.  Shorts and a Hawaiian shirt would be great.  If you have been to the islands, dig out some old pictures or project your slides on the wall.  Visit a travel agent and talk him out of a poster or two.  If you can afford it, cap off the evening with tickets to you-know-where.

5. The Best ????? in Town

For a fun way to figure out where to go to eat, agree to try to find the best of a certain kind of food in town.

For instance, you may want to discover who has the best pizza in town.  Every time you go out to eat, try another pizza place.  For added fun create scorecards and rate the food, service, and atmosphere.  You may have the watress and maitre d’ convinced you are food critics for Bon Appetit.

You can play this with any specific kind of food (such as pizza) or category of food (i.e. Italian).

Make sure to hit all the restaurants in town that specialize in the food you are testing.  You never know– sometimes the "dives" turn out to have the best food.

6. Sailing . . . Takes Me Away

Something about a sailboat is romantic.  Rent a small sailboat and cruise the harbor for a special afternoon.  It is not hard to get the hang of it and it is fun to learn together.  (Be prepared to get wet and don’t go outside the harbor.)  If you are not near a harbor or lake big enough to sail on, try a rowboat or a canoe.  Don’t forget to pack a good lunch (in a waterproof container) and bring along a camera.

For added fun you can give yourselves ranks and pretend that you are on an old schooner.

7. Ethnic Dates

Dress in the kind of clothing worn by the people whose food you’ll be eating that night (i.e. Chinese, Mexican, French, Italian, etc.)  Try to talk in that language (or at least heavily accented English) all night.

And that concludes this edition of 7 more unusual date ideas.  Tune in next time for game board dining, the love boat, and the photogenic date!

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