27 Unique Ideas for Dates

Planning a great date will score you major relationship points. The key is to understand your personal style and preferences as well as those of your date. Here are some unique date ideas to cover a wide range of hobbies, activities, and interests.

For Homebodies

1. Cook a meal together.
2. Play a board game and rediscover your childhood.
3. Watch a full season of your favorite show on DVD for a TV marathon night.

For True Romantics

1. Create love coupons for foot rubs and back massages and cash them in.
2. Go all out with a traditional candlelight dinner.
3. Reserve a B&B getaway.

For Adventure Seekers

1. Spelunking (not the best idea for those afraid of heights).
2. Whitewater rafting.
3. Racecar driving school.

For Artistic Types

1. Take a pottery class.
2. Paint ceramics together.
3. Attend an art show.

For Those Who Love to Learn

1. Take a cooking class and expand your cooking repertoire as a couple.
2. Audit a class on your favorite subject from history to art to marketing.
3. Attend a poetry or book reading.

For Charity Givers

1. Help with bingo night at the local senior citizens' home.
2. Volunteer at the hospital.
3. Take an underprivileged kid to a ballgame or the circus.

For Sports Lovers

1. Watch a minor league game.
2. Join a pickup game in the park, from softball to volleyball to ultimate Frisbee.
3. Take scuba diving or golf lessons.

For Travel Buffs

1. Go for a weekend getaway.
2. Plan a vacation together.
3. Get in the car and drive.

For Family Lovers

1. Double date with the folks.
2. Play charades.
3. Plan and cook a big family dinner

Jeff Cohen is the author of Dating, Inc., a book that shows single women how to use proven business principles to find, select, and keep the right man for a relationship -- many of the same skills that already make them successful at work. He's appeared on CNN, CBS, and Voice of America, and been interviewed by USA Today, Daily News, Denver Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Herald, and Martha Stewart Living Radio. He earned a dual degree in marketing from the Wharton School of Business and psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. He readily admits taking charge of his love life through a game plan that included 77 blind dates before he found "the one."