These are tough times to be dating in. Cash windfalls are the stuff of legend, craft beer is negotiating the terms of our bankruptcy, and the world constantly seems to be falling apart on every level. We don’t blame you for suggesting a cosy date night indoors with your partner, blocking out the financial apocalypse as best you can…
Apart from saving the pennies, a casual home rendezvous can strengthen any intimacy you’ve started to build after a couple of meet-ups. For a guide to wooing someone this way without coming on too hard, look no further:
Rolling the dice
Whether you want to show off your risk-taking persona, or fancy testing your beau’s brain in an attractive bout of mental combat, there’s little better than a good, hilarious board game to get your relationship onto a winning streak. Mix liberally with wine or spirits, of course, and wait for the half-serious joking to be plugged by a kiss out of nowhere.
Scrabble, Mouse Trap, Cranium – these and more will let flirtations flourish as you chide each other for being better/worse than anticipated. Just please, for the love of all that’s sacred, stay away from Monopoly. Actual wars have been started on lesser arguments.
Double portions
We’re guessing you’ve thought briefly about what food you’re going to make, or order from the grease-blitzed chippy down the road. Consider instead what gastronomy can do with a fresh spin on the I-cook-you-eat tradition.
Launch into a co-concoction, and make it interesting by asking your partner to bring a couple of surprise ingredients, without telling them what you have in mind. Or, if you want to be utterly insane, cook two separate meals, yours for them and vice versa. You’ll be dipping into each other’s dishes anyway when candlelight’s flecking your faces at the table.
Drinking games
The classic staple of teenagers splurging on their uni loans, adult drinking games can be far more mannered and sophisticated, if you want them to be. Load up a movie you both love, for instance, and designate various rules that require a vodka shot. Sam and Frodo are looking at each other longingly? Knock it back, darling, and refill the glass.
Sing to win
Alternatively, you could initiate a karaoke set-up, a real one with actual microphones and screen captions. This’ll require you to buy the kit, but it’ll be worth every penny. Do song battles, duets, and work on your harmonies whilst dancing around the sofa. If you’re both semi-talented, you’ll be bowled over by how lucky you are; the sound of two cats drowning in a sink, on the other hand, can bond you even tighter, like a conspiracy of awfulness should.
Go on – draw the curtains, light the incense, kick your Xbox into the corner for now. Perfecting a date night of this nature will prove the match is ideal. If you’re chilled and confident about setting your partner at ease, there’s no telling where things could lead to.
We’re all for encouraging home-birds to add a fellow to their nest: join FreeAndSingle to find the one for you!