Dating: Make it memorable

Just to be sure it's memorable -
Record your date
Especially if it's a walk in the park or your date's first time bowling.
For example: take a one-time use camera and use it up - then plan to get together next week to look at the photos.

Leave the person you're dating with a memento or special reminder of your unique date (they'll think of you every time they see it) or email photos later...

Art-fest
Get together huge sheets of paper and pens, or charcoal, or crayons or watercolors.
Take your date to an art museum or art gallery or art festival.
After, return home (or go to a park with a picnic table or other location) and create your own artwork.

Lickey Sticky Date
Go for a simple walk in the outdoors or along the beach. Build a fire and roast and share sticky, gooey, messy, s'mores.
Lick your fingers or whatever else it takes to get cleaned up...

Floras Notta Bora
A botanical garden, arboretum or a community garden can be a great place to visit, especially in the spring. Take a camera, snap pictures of each other frolicking through the foliage.

The next day - a Beautiful Bouquet

Drama Whamma
Try out local, small theaters, not just movies every time. Sometimes the plays are excellent and some are just plain entertaining.

Whip Up a Banana Split
Chocolate syrup, bananas, strawberry syrup, ice cream - build a banana split and apply whipping cream as appropriate?

The Big Laugh
Find your local comedy club and laugh yourselves silly.



Factory Functions
Factories and manufacturers offer interesting factory tours.
Type into your search engine: "Factory tour" "Your town name" and find your local tours.

Back to Nature
Drive to the country, or a park and hunt for 4-leaf clover?

The next day send a Field of Daisies

Historical Histrionics
Check out your local museums - there are history museums or nature museums or aeronautical or sports museums tucked away in an area near you.
For a History museum date
You can pick one era upon which to concentrate while you're at the museum. Then find a video or movie set in the same time-frame to watch after your museum tour.
Civil War - "Gone with the Wind"
First World War - "For Whom the Bell Tolls"

Sail Away
Take sailing lessons together.

Groovie Movie
Can't decide - tape a newspaper on a wall (or somewhere that you don't mind holes in the wall - like the inside of a garage door).
Open the newspaper to the movie/entertainment page and ask your date to throw one or more darts to select the movie? Bingo. Or limit the number of choices by taping up a limited number of movies and toss away.

The Fat Lady Sings
Try an opera - sit in the nosebleed section if need be (for the economy-minded) and take binoculars? (If you don't think this is hot, watch the movie "Moon Struck.")

Jazz It Up
Find local jazz - check out coffee houses or jazz festivals.

History Buff
Check out local historical sites Often there are walking tours of historical areas in your town?often self-guided.

Game-Playing
Hit the arcade get an ice cream cone, then go bowling?

Artiste Unleashed
Go to an Art Museum - afterward use ideas from the art-fest date - OR buy clay or other materials for creating your own sculptures - or paper mache or paper, fabric, photos for collage.

Radical Reels
As an alternative to regular movies - animation festivals, documentary presentations, foreign and limited-run films can be a blast. Do a little research and check your newspaper's entertainment section. Even museums sometimes run specialty films.

Extra points for Guys
Guys:
Give her flowers (and bring a special one for her mother) ++++
OR send her a bouquet that reminds her of your date...

First Dates with First Date Ideas and Tips

Be creative.
Take a little time to think it through.

A three-hour date with a movie that lasts two and a half-hours is not a good way to get acquainted.

Then again, you don't want to be stuck staring at each other without a topic of conversation.

A daytime meeting takes the heat off.


Lunch or coffee is a good start
(If you want to checkout a local spot to meet for lunch, you can go to Dine.com, enter your zip code and get ratings for restaurants in your area.)


Even better - a trip to the zoo.

Plenty of topics for discussion without having to deal with issues like: "What happened to your last relationship?"
And you can avoid the usual casual chit-chat like:

"My wife is still missing."

"I met my first boyfriend on the prison bus."

Yada. Yada. Yada.

Clothing

Clothing is not optional.

Wear clothes that make you feel good.

New clothes always help - but if not new, be sure they're clean, pressed, and fit well - or if that's not your style - be sure they fit whatever way makes you feel the most comfortable and still look presentable.

Help the Other Person Feel Comfortable

Find something nice about your date and compliment her or him.

But mean it. Don't just say, "Nice shoes, Gladys."

"Swell belt, Ralph."

Let's review.

Find something nice. If it's painfully difficult to come up with something that you sincerely like about the person, you shouldn't be out with them in the first place.

Manners and/or Kindness

Thank the other person for the date - always, without exception.
Good manners are still in style. Well, not necessarily good manners - but common sense. Human kindness. That sort of thing is always in style.

Focus on the Other Person - pay attention to your date.
No wandering eyes. No preoccupation with old relationships, work, bank robberies.
Be THERE.

Listen actively to what your date says.
Don't interrupt. While your date is talking, don't spend time thinking about what you're going to say when it's your turn.

Attitudes and Habits - stay positive.
Don't complain on a first date.
Be cautious about alcohol - if you drink heavily, you're not going to be at your best.

If your date gets swacked on your first date, it's not necessarily due to nervousness.
He or she is likely to be a heavy-drinker, at best, and could end up drooling on your new, pressed clothes as you shovel him or her into a cab.

Date ideas for the week:

Take a class together.
Wine-tasting?
Photography?
Or cut to the chase with a massage class.