Great First Date Ideas (Part 3)

We hope that you liked our first and second parts of dating ideas! In this part you can find more creative ideas. Any romance needs work and a good imagination. Choose the best Valentine's Day idea if you want to surprise your significant other.

Random Restaurant Date. Search Yelp for restaurants in your area, close your eyes, roll your mouse and point at the screen. Just like the mystery band date, you never know how it’ll go — it could be a hidden treasure or a total health hazard, but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?! Read Each Other’s Tarot Cards. Things might get a little real, but it’s a lot of fun. Read to Each Other. There’s a 90% chance your date is going to find this sexy. Rent a Car. Rent a really amazingly beautiful expensive car for the weekend and just drive around and listen to the radio. Show up with your new ride at your date’s place and you’re bound to please. Rent a Chopper. Looking for a really grand gesture to impress your date and woo them on the very first date? Hire a chopper for a ride and soar through the night sky. It’s posh, expensive and something your date will love talking about, during the date and after the date too! Restaurant with a View. If you have a choice, pick a restaurant with a view, be it a garden, the horizon or the sea. Rifle Range. This is an adrenaline pumping action at its best. If you want to get your date all worked up before a meal, head to a rifle range and fire a few rounds. It’ll definitely work up more than just the appetite. Rock Climbing. If you live near a climbing gym, this can be a super fun activity to do on a first date. Rates are cheaper during the week, and if your date is afraid of heights, just stick to bouldering! Roller-skating. You can often save big on roller-skating if you go during the week. Also, do a search for coupons; many rinks offer discounts in the local paper or parent’s magazine. Of course you can always skate outside for free in the park as well. Scuba Diving/Snorkeling. Going for a swim is always fun, but if I really want to have a great time, I bring along a mask and go snorkeling! If my date is scuba certified, we go for a dive too, although that may be more difficult to do if my date isn’t. Sign up for Groupon. Sign up for Groupon and buy the first offer they have (if it isn’t too expensive) make that your mandatory first date - no matter how silly it is. Skinny Dip. Nighttime swims or skinny-dipping. Both are really incredible, but save skinny-dipping for once you know each other better if you can… Sneak into a Rooftop Pool. They often have them at hotels, but they are usually only open to guests, so you might have to use your best sweet-talking skills, but it will be totally worth it if you can swing it. My suggestion? Just act as if you’re supposed to be there and them questioning you is really just a waste of your time. Be charming but efficient. Godspeed! Special Events. Is there a special event in your city that comes around once a year? Special events and celebrations are a unique experience that can be memorable and fun too. Spooky Date. If your date’s adventurous, go to a haunted house. Not the real kind, but the fun kind where all the ghosts and skeletons are jack-in-the-boxes and there’s creepy music in the air. Each time you see a skeleton pop up, it’ll either be a laugh or a hair-raising experience. Either ways, it brings both of you closer! Street Fair or Carnivals. An explosion of colors is a wonderful thing to experience, and it can’t get better than a street fair or a carnival. You can spend hours together, act silly and still have a perfect date. Stroll a Used Bookstore. Both literature buffs? Take turns walking each other through your favorite sections and discuss your all-time favorite novels. Bonus: If things go well, at the end of the night you can live out your college fantasy of kissing in the stacks. Sugarhigh Date. Simple. Go to a convenience store. Buy cheap, evil, sugary treats. Find somewhere to sit and glut yourselves on them. Then see what happens. Spontaneous dancing? A completely misguided shopping trip? Leapfrogging over small children?! Let us know! Sweat it Out. Go to the gym and spot each other on free weights then go race each other. If you’re a runner challenge your date to a run and if you’re a swimmer then challenge them to a swim. Take a Hike. Guys love being active, and it’s a major turn-on when a girl isn’t afraid to break a sweat too. Plus, all the moving around will actually help calm your nerves while you talk. It isn’t as intimidating as talking face-to-face. Take a Music Lesson Together. I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar or some other instrument. Inviting my date along for a partner lesson at a local music school might be a fun way to start your lesson and get the much-dreaded first date out of the way. Take a Private Jet to a Different Country. Because… you only live once. Take a Trip to IKEA. This will weed out an inappropriate match in no time - trust me. Take into Yoga or Other Fitness Class. If I or my date is really out of shape, this might not be a great idea for a first date. Otherwise, we pick a class that will fit both of your fitness levels and have some fun! You should know that getting hot and sweaty. Take Them to the Track. You haven’t really lived until you’ve gone to a dirt track to watch people race cars. If you’re lucky there will be fireworks. The Case Of The Mystery Band. Grab a copy of your local newspaper or magazine, close your eyes, run your finger over the “live music” section and choose a band neither of you have ever heard of to go and see. It could be amazing; it could be completely hellish — you won’t know until you go! But even if it’s shocking, it’s definitely a bonding experience and maybe even something to tell the children, eh? The Double-Netflix Date. For those of you not in America, Netflix is an on-demand DVD rental service that the entire country seems to have a subscription to. Sorry to be so geographically specific, but “double-Netflix” rolls off the tongue a little better than, “Let’s just each brings a movie and subject one another to our extremely questionable taste”! The Generational Date. Pretend you’re an age that you’re not, then act accordingly. A senior citizens date might involve going lawn bowling, making applesauce and watching “The Price Is Right”. A teenager date might involve roller-skating, making out in public and drinking vodka in an alleyway. You get the idea… The Really Long One-Way Walk. No rules except that you just have to walk for a really long time in one direction and not turn around. When you’re really exhausted or you hit the ocean, it’s time to go back. Catch a taxi or a bus or something to ease the pain. The Recession Date. Triple B’s: eat at Burger King, take the bus to get there, then go and play bingo. Maybe you could go window shopping afterwards or huddle around a cigarette for warmth (very Withnail and I). The Silent Date. In a loud, noisy, overstimulating world, it can be nice to unplug and escape. But it can be nice to do that with your new favorite person, too. Hold hands and read books on a wharf and occasionally look adoringly at one another. Cool. The Socially Irresponsible Date. One word: graffiti. You rebels! Theatre. This is a classy version of the movie/dinner date idea. When you go to the theatre though, it is a lot more memorable and there is generally an intermission where you can chat. Themed Restaurant. Themed restaurants are always fun, but for a first date, opt for something with a romantic touch, be it candlelight or a band of mariachis. Three-Hour Make-out Session. Choose a good location and use a stopwatch if necessary. Sounds like a good way to spend an afternoon to me! Thrifting. Each of you has a budget of $5 or $10 to spend at a thrift store. The challenge? See who can find the most outrageous or hideous outfit. The crux? You have to change into the outfit and take pictures. Travel without Going Anywhere. The premise is simple. Have a normal date but speak with an accent. You both have to do it, by the way, or it doesn’t count. Choose something difficult for extra hilarity points, like Scottish or South African. Tree-Climbing Date. No explanation required, but if you take them to a secret treehouse that no one else knows about, please don’t be surprised if they propose on the spot! Trivia Night. This is an especially good first date idea for people who are bad conversationalists. The trivia will fill in for the lack of chatting. Visit an Art Museum. If you’re into art, then you can save big if you buy a membership to your art museum. For instance, we pay $60 per year to be members of the Detroit Institute of Art. But we get in free, and get tickets to all the special events. This can pay for itself in no time. Even if you don’t buy a membership, art museum entry fees are usually cheap anyway. Volunteer at a Soup Kitchen. One of the best first dates I’ve ever been on involved to serve breakfast at the local soup kitchen. Not only did we get to know each other better but we got to do something worthwhile that helped our community. It’s hard to come up with a reason why giving back to your community could be considered a bad idea for a first date! If we don’t have a soup kitchen or other short-order volunteer opportunity, we try to be creative and come up with our own. There is always somebody nearby who could use some help if we are willing to give it. Walk a Borrowed Dog. Borrow someone’s dog (or catch a missing dog) for a day and take care of it as a couple. Take it on walks, buy it treats and play with it and return it before its owner gets worried. If you’ve found a stray then keep it until you can find it a proper home. Walk Dogs. Do you have a dog? Does your date have a dog? Go walk your dogs! Finish up at a local coffee shop for a treat. Walk Dogs at the Humane Society. If it’s nice out, why not volunteer to take shelter dogs out for a walk? They never get personal walks like that, and doling out love to a needy dog is a wonderful activity to do with someone. Watch a Game. Does your date love a good game? Plan something together, but only if you think your date’s favorite team is going to win! Watch a Movie at Home. Cozying up under a blanket with a special someone can be romantic or sexual, as long as you pick the right movie. But invite a date home only if you know them well already. Watch Cartoons Together. If you’re a child of the ’70s or ’80s, then you remember Looney Tunes. In fact, I have 6 DVDs full of those old Looney Tunes cartoons. They just don’t make them like that anymore. If you love cartoons, why not hang out at your house, in your pajamas, and watch cartoons together? Don’t forget, plenty of those old Looney Tunes cartoons are up on YouTube. Watch Lifetime Movies or B movies. These are so silly and predictable that you can probably talk all of the way through them and it’s important to spend time conversing while getting to know one another. Buy some weird grocery store dessert and relax in a way you’ve never known possible. Watch Shooting Stars. Figure out when the next comet shower is and plan on camping out to see it. I think this date is probably the winner of the entire list and if you haven’t taken your beloved to go see stars falling from the heavens yet then you’ll really impress him or her by doing so ASAP! Wii Olympics. Tag teaming on the Nintendo Wii is a fun and free way to spend time together. This works especially well for double dates. Write a Song Together. Write a song together. This works best if you are musicians, but can be just as entertaining if you aren’t. Zoo. Walking through a zoo can help both of you feel really comfortable with each other. It’s hard to hold your excitement back when you’re staring at wild animals indulging in wild antics.