Spring has sprung! With this fresh new season comes better weather, more chances to be outside, and the possibility of new love.
Just as plants start to blossom, love also seems to blossom more so in the spring than any other time of year.
If you’re in need of some great date ideas, here are six free ones to springboard you into romance.
1. Plan a picnic
Picnics are a great opportunity to be together, be outside, and be romantic with low pressure. Who doesn’t enjoy reveling in nature while eating food with their beloved?
The great thing about picnics is how versatile they are. You can eat any type of food practically anywhere! Get takeout from your favorite place and go eat it at your favorite outdoors place (mine would be In-N-Out on the beach). Make food for each other and keep it a secret until you’re there. Surprise her with the location. The possibilities here are endless!
If your picnic happens to get rained out, take it indoors or to a covered balcony or patio. This date will only cost you the price of food and you can control that completely.
2. Go to a library
Pick out books for the other to read and then have a book club where you’ll discuss them at a later date (bonus points here for a date that naturally leads to another date). You could also try to guess the other person’s favorite genre or subject, guess their favorite book or author, or any number of things. You could both get books on a subject neither of you know anything about and learn together.
Another very versatile date, this one is completely free!
3. Explore with a nature walk
A quintessential spring activity, nature walks give you time to be in and talk about nature while also being together and learning more about each other. Make it a game by seeing how many different flowers or plants you can spot or how many different insects. Take this up a notch and download a plant identifying app (like PlantNet) and take pictures of everything you see to identify them. This is a great way to learn about the natural habitat of your area.
To get to know each other better, questions like, “What’s your favorite flower?”, “Have you ever watched a butterfly burst out of its cocoon?”, “What’s your favorite type of weather?” are great ice breakers.
Bonus points: Make wildflower bouquets for each other!
4. Get cozy with an at-home movie night
Theaters can be crowded and overpriced, and don’t always play a movie either of you would be interested in seeing! Take control of this time-honored date and do it at home instead. Go to the dollar store and get all kinds of typical movie snacks, pop some popcorn, dim the lights, and pick a movie.
Watch her favorite movie or pick one neither of you have seen. Try a new genre. Do a double feature. Pick a movie you both love and discuss all your favorite parts as you go (you can talk in your home theater!). Play rock, paper, scissors to see who picks or whose place you watch the movie. Dress super fancy like you’re going to a movie premiere or dress in pajamas and be super comfortable.
Again, the possibilities with this one are endless.
5. Walk through a nursery
Not a baby nursery, a plant nursery!
In some cities, local arboretums are free to walk through and others aren’t. If your local arboretum isn’t free, go to a plant nursery and walk through it instead. There’s just something calming about walking through a greenhouse (probably all of that extra oxygen) that sets a relaxed mood and opens people up for talking and having fun.
Plus, if you really wanted to, you could buy a couple plants for your place while there and start a garden with your significant other when you get home. It can be a bonding experience to have something to take care of together.
This date is free, unless you decide to adopt some plants.
6. Stargaze
You don’t necessarily need a telescope for this date, but that would be a bonus. After dinner, when the sun has set, get outside together and look up at the stars. Try to identify as many constellations as possible and look up their stories. The etherealness of the stars will lend some extra romance to your evening. Also, some of the best stargazing spots are usually local make-out spots, so go in knowing this! Of course, you could use that to your advantage, too.
This date is free year-round and can be repeated at different times throughout the year, since the constellations will change. Having a date to get you outside year-round is great and maybe you’ll both take a new interest in stargazing. Developing common interests together is a huge deal for a relationship!
Happy dating!
Ready to meet someone this spring? Try the new Catholic Singles online dating app! We’re the only established Catholic dating site where you don’t have to pay for messaging with your mutual favorites!
