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Go On An…

After Hours Supermarket Sweep Expedition

As a new couple, you’ll probably find yourself up at all hours talking and finding out out about each other. Put that time to good use and set yourself a task: to go bargain hunting at some mad time in the morning (I suggest about 2am) at a 24hr supermarket. Relish the empty aisles, check out what each other puts in their trolley, dance to the night shift’s music and snaffle a fresh, still-hot-from-the-oven baked good for an early pre-breakfast snack. Sounds weird, but honestly? This is fun.

 

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Indoor Igloo Build and Movie Adventure

If its raining cats and dogs outside, grab some blankets and as many cushions as you can find and build a tent/fort/igloo in front of the TV. Once you are all warm and snuggly and construction is complete, pop on a movie and curl up with your home made popcorn and drinks to watch it. Childish games are a great way to let down barriers and break the ice, helping you to really get to know each other and enjoy each other’s sense of fun.

 

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Bake-Off Style Mission

If you found yourself glued to this year’s Great British Bake-Off then you need to get your date into a kitchen, stat. Challenge each other to make something from a baking recipe book and set-to with a will. Baking can be stressful, so you’ll get a good idea of how your prospective partner handles hard work. You’ll also get a glimpse into their childhood, as everyone has a baking story from when they were little. Not to mention, when all is done you have two delicious cakes to sample and judge.

 

Go On A…

Walk through the Wintry Weather Exploration

Wrap up warm for this one. Hold hands as you wander through the rainy countryside, or head out on a snowy day and enjoy a snowball fight. Your pink cheeks will make you both more attractive to the other and the fresh air will stimulate an appetite for a tasty lunch. This date only gets better if you have a dog or can borrow one for a walk. Remember to take a ball or find a stick and prepare to be entertained by the dog’s antics – especially useful if you are shy and need a catalyst to get you talking.

 

Go On An…

Explore a New Town Escapade

Can you say you know you county as well as your home town? There are attractions and interesting places everywhere, but we often overlook those close to our homes. Try taking a day trip to a nearby town you have never been to before and explore it together. You’ll find any historic attractions, galleries or museums (even if the museum only holds a rusty spoon!) are usually free and you can treat yourselves to a coffee at a hole-in-the-wall cafe (no chains!)

 

Have a great date at the seaside, check out Fit Free and Single for beach bunnies

 

With all this rain we’ve been having it seems appropriate to have a list of inside activities you can do away from your own home – after all, meeting someone you’ve met online should, for the first time at least, occur in public. If you have any ideas or wild successes, do please send them in!

 

For the Young Free and Single, Summer automatically calls to mind long, warm, balmy days that you can spend outside at the beach or the park. However, if its rainy, the lure of the parental residence is not so appealing. Instead of turning to cinemas, which are entertaining but not exactly great if you are trying to get to know someone, look outside the box. Try an indoor ski slope and try your hand (or should that be your feet?) at learning to ski or snowboard. Learning a new activity together really sparks off the conversation and makes sure there are no awkward pauses! If you’re looking for something a bit more chilled, why not sign up for a baking class and make each other cupcakes while brushing flour off your noses?

 

Free and Single Parents have a double whammy to think of new activities – more likely than not your kids will be involved in the outing. A visit to a historical site can be perfect. Jousting tournaments and characters entertain the kids (often there will be kids-only crèches or activities) while well-deserving parents can take a stroll through the grounds, learn a bit of history or just sneak into the café and enjoy a cream tea. If your kids are a little bit older, why not try a fun activity day like ‘Go Ape’, where you all get harnessed up and swing through the trees, teasing each other and motivating everyone – it’s a great way to forge bonds and encourage interaction.

Free and Single want to help you with your own dating success story!

How is this for the most perfect success story you have ever heard?

It is the stuff internet dating dreams are made of.

So have a little read of Janet’s story to see how she initiated contact with Martin and how they both fell in love and are now in their happy ever after…

‘I first winked at Martin on 25th June 2011 and we had our first date two weeks later on Friday 8th July. Martin said he didn’t usually reply to winks but when he saw my profile and photo he couldn’t resist (aww!).

From then on, we spent every weekend together and gradually realised we’d hit the jackpot and fell in love. We started talking about getting engaged in August but thought it was too soon and were worried about what other people might think, so we decided to wait until June 2012 which would have been Martin’s Mum’s birthday – sadly she passed away a few years earlier.

By September we were both positive we had something amazing and changed our plans – we bought the ring but waited until Christmas day to get engaged – it was so special and Martin almost cried. We now have the Wedding booked for 21st March 2014 at Cooling Castle Barn in Kent and i just can’t wait!

If someone had told us this time last year that we would find our perfect partner online and be engaged and planning a dream wedding by this time, I think we would have both been a little scepticle – but it has happened and we are both over the moon.

We can’t thank you and your team enough – we now have an amazing life together to look forward to. It’s a dream that absolutely came true!

Online dating really does work!

Jan and Martin
xx

Whether you celebrated Valentine’s Day as a couple or a single, it’s all in the past now. It is almost like a second New Year’s Day, as you vow that this time next year you’ll have met someone, or changed this, or tried that to improve your luck when the next February 14th rolls around.

 

In this new light of promise then, why not try online dating? The success rates speak for themselves and for those reluctant to try it out, ask yourself; Why?

 

Is it the ability to narrow down who might suit you and who might not at the click of a button, instead of sorting through them manually in a crowded bar, stopping you?

 

Is the terrible notion of being able to let your friends vet your choices (or indeed, prevent them from having any say in the matter at all) without actually having to perform introductions, preventing you from turning on the computer?

 

Here’s one: You can peruse the lists however much you like, but you can do it in the comfort of your pyjamas and wait to get dressed up until it is actually worth it and you have a date to impress.

 

Whatever persuades you to try internet dating, let there be a few standards kept in mind.

 

-When choosing a picture, think of how it portrays you. A drunken pose with your girlfriends in the local club sends out the wrong signal, really, doesn’t it? As does a picture taken years ago, when you were 5lbs lighter or didn’t have quite so much of a receeding hairline… Take this opportunity to dress up nicely and take a proper picture of the way you are at the present (no use starting out on a lie, leads to heartache later).

 

-When filling in your profile, do so truthfully. Embellishments are all very well, but saying you are good friends with Prince Harry when your closest connection is your best mate’s sister’s hairdresser’s cousin who saw him once, maybe, at a bar in London is only going to make you look foolish when the truth comes out.

 

-When looking for a possible date, don’t judge too harshly. After all, you’re not perfect and you can’t expect every date to be. Don’t dismiss someone just because their hair is straight and you prefer curly, or because they support Manchester United. Everyone deserves a chance and your perfect match could be the least likely suspect – after all, its not like your ‘usual type’ tends to work out well for you, or you wouldn’t be here. How about narrowing down your list to a category like ‘cuddly’ or ‘professional’ and using Free and Single to aim your profile at people you actually want to be contacting you?

 

-Once you have chosen a likely few people to be your first dates, its time for the hard part. The making contact, the breaking of the ice! This takes bravery, it will be tricky. The good thing is that once you have a list of people picked out that you would like to know more about, you can approach them all while you are feeling courageous! Send out a message and see who replies.

 

-Even if it all goes up in the air and the first person you message doesn’t even reply, you can simply pick yourself up, dust yourself off and chat to the next on your list. They don’t know you just got rejected. In fact, nobody does because nobody saw it happen – it was all online! Serendipity is the bravery to just chat to people. After all, you’ll never know what could have been if you don’t even try to start with, do you?